Consultant Clinical Psychologist

Lancashire Care Foundation Trust; Blackpool; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

An opportunity exists for a Consultant Clinical Psychologist to join the SCAYT+ team at a leading mental health trust. You will provide clinical leadership and support for children in the care system, working collaboratively to enhance their emotional well-being. The role requires substantial experience and a strong focus on systemic consultation and trauma-informed practice.

Qualifications

• Registered Clinical Psychologist with substantial post qualification experience.
• Experience working with children looked after and adopted.
• Knowledge of attachment and complex trauma models.

Responsibilities

• Provide clinical leadership and governance in the SCAYT+ team.
• Conduct assessments and offer direct therapeutic support to children.
• Supervise and train multidisciplinary staff.

Skills

Leadership

Clinical Governance

Systemic Consultation

Therapeutic Support

Education

Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology

Job description

Our Vision is to provide the best mental health, learning disability, autism and community based services for the populations we serve.

As an integrated mental health, learning disability and community Trust, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust provides a range of services including:
• Primary and secondary mental health care for children and adults including specialist inpatient child and adolescent mental health provision, perinatal mental health, forensic services including low and medium secure care.
• Specialist community support for children and adults with learning disabilities and autism, including intensive support.
• Community physical health and well-being services for children and adults.

The Trust was first established in 2002 and employs approximately 7,000 staff who provide care from more than 400 sites. The organisation offers opportunities for medics, mental health and general nurses, allied health professionals, psychology, administration and clerical staff, apprentices and volunteers.

Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust supports flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as; term time, part time, compressed hours, home/remote working, and flexi-time.

For more information visit our website via Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS FT.

Please note that further communication from Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCft) will normally be to the email address given on the application form. You should also ensure that email addresses and telephone numbers are provided for your referees, to enable LSCft to contact them.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Consultant Clinical Psychologist to work within the SCAYT+ team, on a one-year maternity cover contract. SCAYT+ is based within Lancashire Local Authority and supports the emotional needs of children looked after and adopted. Our aim is primarily to provide systemic consultation, training and a psychological perspective to professionals and carers within fostering and adoption services, as well as offering direct therapeutic support to children.

The post holder will provide a clinical leadership role in the SCAYT+ service and will work in close collaboration with the SCAYT+ Practice Managers. You will hold responsibility for clinical governance and quality of therapeutic practice within the team. The SCAYT+ team includes social workers, therapists, psychologists, education specialists and other childcare professionals all working to promote the emotional wellbeing of children looked after and adopted. Duties in this team will include assessment, formulation, clinical supervision, consultation, training and clinical leadership for the multi-disciplinary staff team, as well as support to carers and staff within Lancashire local authority.

Main duties of the job

You will receive regular management and clinical supervision, with opportunities to develop clinical and professional practice in line with service user needs and organisational values. As a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, you will have a leadership role within the teams, and with the other psychologists working in the network. You will also play an important role in service development and supporting team colleagues who may not have received formal psychological training.

Applications are invited from suitably qualified Clinical Psychologists, able to demonstrate competencies at Consultant grade level and with the experience, skills and competencies to undertake the duties and responsibilities of the above posts. An interest in working with individuals who have experienced early life trauma, skills and experience working as part of a multidisciplinary team and experience in applying models of attachment, complex trauma and systemic consultation based approaches is also essential. Experience of multi-agency working and leadership is desirable.

Working for our organisation

Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust provides a range of services including secondary mental health care across this area. Specialist provision comprises inpatient child and adolescent mental health services, perinatal mental health and forensic services including low and medium secure care.

The Trust also provides a range of physical health and well-being services in the community alongside a range of partners in the Lancashire, Cumbria and Sefton area.

Lancashire & South Cumbria Foundation Trust encourages flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as; term time, part time, compressed hours, flexi-time and career breaks. We encourage applicants to state clearly on their application forms this request and discuss these options at interview.

For more information please visit our website via Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS FT

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached the job description and person specification for more information about this role

Person specification

Education

Essential criteria

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or the equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS, specifically including models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.

Desirable criteria

• Post-doctoral training in one or more additional attachment focused area of psychological practice.
• Formal training in supervision.

Experience

Essential criteria

• Substantial post qualification experience.
• Experience of working with children looked after and adopted and understanding the complex psychological needs of these populations.
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings.
• Experience of maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
• Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified care co-ordinator and also within the context of a multi-disciplinary care plan.

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Doctoral level knowledge of clinical psychology, including highly developed knowledge of lifespan developmental psychology, models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology and two or more distinct psychological therapies.
• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
• A high level ability to communicate effectively at both a written and oral level complex, highly technical and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and a wide range of lay and professional persons within and outside the NHS.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
• Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of clinical psychology.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Please be aware, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) when submitting an application is monitored and if you have used AI to generate an application, you are required to declare this on your application form. Failure to do so, may result in your application being withdrawn.

We want to highlight the importance of integrity and authenticity in your application form, and ask you to use AI tools responsibly to ensure your application form is a true reflection of your skills, knowledge and experiences.

We are looking for you to demonstrate personal experiences of how you meet the essential criteria and as an NHS Employer, we value authenticity and honesty.

Please consider that AI-generated content may lack specificity and fail to address key criteria outlined in the job description providing impersonal and inaccurate information.

Please ensure that you read the person specification attached below as your application will be measured against this document.

Applications from job share partners are welcome and other forms of flexible working will be considered for all posts.

For all posts which require a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check please be aware of the Disclosure and Barring Service Code of Practice, a copy of which is available by logging on to the DBS website. If the post is subject to DBS disclosure, a charge will be made to the successful candidate(s).

You are advised to consider applying for LSCft vacancies as soon as possible as in some instances vacancies are closed as soon as a sufficient number of applications have been received. If you are not invited to interview within three weeks of the closing date then please assume that on this occasion you have been unsuccessful, as it is not possible to contact all unsuccessful candidates.

LSCft is committed to celebrating difference as an asset and we know that recruiting talent from diverse backgrounds helps to create a more flexible, creative and effective workforce. We actively challenge discrimination and welcome applications from people regardless of age, disability (particularly those with experience of accessing or caring for someone who has accessed mental health or learning disability services), ethnicity, gender, religion or belief or sexual orientation. Our goal is for the Trust to be truly representative of the communities we serve so we are particularly keen to receive applications from people in under-represented groups. If there is anything you'd like to discuss in relation to your application then please ask.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

• JDPS (PDF, 560.3KB)
• NHS Staff Benefits - 2023 (PDF, 556.9KB)
• We Do More at LSCFT (PDF, 654.2KB)

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