HCPC registered Band 7/8a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

South West London & St George's Mental Health NHS Trust; Teddington; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional mental health service provider in Teddington seeks an HCPC registered Band 7/8a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist. The role involves providing neuropsychological assessments for dementia and supporting older service users with severe mental health issues. The position is fixed term for 12 months to cover maternity leave, emphasizing professional development and flexible working. Candidates should have experience in mental health assessments and interventions, with a commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Benefits

Professional development opportunities

Flexible working hours

Support for career progression

Qualifications

• Experience in providing psychological assessments for older people.
• Understanding of evidence-based psychological interventions.
• Ability to work autonomously and as part of a multi-disciplinary team.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist psychological assessments of clients for mental health issues.
• Formulate and implement plans for psychological treatment.
• Conduct neuropsychological assessments for clients with suspected dementia.
• Support service users aged 75+ with severe mental health problems.

Skills

Neuropsychological assessments

Therapeutic interventions

Risk assessment and management

Communication skills

Education

HCPC registered as Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

Job description

We are seeking an HCPC registered Band 7/8a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist to join our well established multidisciplinary mental health and memory assessment services within Older People's Services in Richmond (0.3) and Sutton (0.2). The post is fixed term for 12 months (2026), providing cover for staff movement due to maternity leave elsewhere in the service. You will be joining other established Clinical Psychologists based within the same services, providing neuropsychological assessments for dementia and psychological therapies for older people.

Psychology is highly valued within our services and you will be well supported within Older People's Psychology, where CPD and career development are encouraged. We have specialist pathway psychologist leads in Neuropsychological Assessment, Therapies, and Distressed Behaviour in Dementia, and you will receive regular individual supervision and support from senior psychologists in the service as well as opportunities for regular peer supervision and CPD. Our psychologists practice a range of therapeutic models and we have staff working towards the Specialist Register of Clinical Neuropsychologists. The service has strong links with the University of Surrey Clinical Psychology Doctoral Training Program, providing regular placements and program teaching.

We are happy to support flexible working hours to fit with other commitments and would consider applicants who only wish to work in one of the locations. Within the Recovery & Support Team you will provide direct therapeutic work for service users age 75+ with severe and enduring mental health problems and their families. Within the Memory Assessment Service you will work directly with service users of any age with suspected dementia providing neuropsychological assessments of dementia and therapeutic work. Both roles involve MDT working including providing consultation and complex case discussions. You will be encouraged to contribute towards service improvement, either by supporting local Quality Improvement Initiatives or larger Trust wide projects.

Responsibilities

1. To provide specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the client's care.
2. To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a client's mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the client's problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings.
3. To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across teams employed individually and in synthesis, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.
4. To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.
5. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.
6. To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients' formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
7. To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group.
8. To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
9. To act as care coordinator, where appropriate, taking responsibility for initiating planning and review of care plans under enhanced CPA including clients, their carers, referring agents and others involved the network of care.
10. To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.
11. To work with older people in community care homes and day centres who are displaying behavioural and psychological symptoms as a result of their mental health.
12. To undertake specific assessment of individual service users with challenging behaviour and to contribute to the formulation and implementation of a multi-disciplinary care plan.

At South West London St Georges Mental Health Trust we are committed to providing services which embrace diversity and that promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Committed Employer, and welcome applications from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We are Members of Stonewall Diversity Champions and Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion.

Staff Networks

• BME (Evolve) Staff Network
• Christian Staff Network
• DiverseAbility
• Deaf Staff Network
• Mental Health Staff Forum
• Women's Staff Network
• LGBTQIA+

We are committed to supporting the Armed Forces Community and has signed the Armed Forces Covenant.

We provide reasonable adjustments to the interview process for any candidates with a disability.

Please note

• That the closing date listed is a guide only and that the vacancy may close earlier should sufficient number of applicants have been received
• That once you have submitted your application you agree to your application being transferred to a 3rd party e-recruitment system
• That should you not have heard from us within three weeks from the closing date your application has not successful
• That priority consideration for applications may be given to at‑risk NHS employees
• That should you be successful and appointed, you authorise South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust to confirm your previous NHS service via an Inter‑Authority Transfer (IAT) process
• That your employment is offered subject to successful completion of a Probationary Period depending on your Band (except medical roles)
• That we are a smoke‑free Trust

NHS AfC

Band 7 Preceptorship / 8a