Highly Spec Clin/ Counselling Psychologist | East London NHS Foundation Trust

East London NHS Foundation Trust; London; Hybrid; GBP 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare organization in London seeks a qualified psychologist to join their Acute Psychology Service. The ideal candidate will work with adult mental health wards, providing interventions and supporting innovative projects to enhance psychological services. Key responsibilities include direct patient support, staff development, and collaboration with community services. Previous experience in acute mental health settings is essential, along with a passion for creative approaches in a diverse context.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in inpatient mental health settings.
• Ability to speak an additional local language is desirable.
• Demonstrated skills in culturally inclusive practices.

Responsibilities

• Provide psychological interventions in various settings.
• Engage in leadership for evaluation and quality improvement projects.
• Support the discharge process in collaboration with community services.

Skills

Experience in acute mental health services

Ability to engage with diverse communities

Creativity in psychological approaches

Collaboration skills

Education

Qualified psychologist

Job description

Are you a psychologist with an interest in inpatient mental health and a passion for bringing psychological ways of working to complex systems?

If so, read on!

We are looking for an enthusiastic qualified psychologist with experience in working with systems and families to join the Newham Acute Psychology Service (NAPS). This team provides psychological services to people who reside, work, and visit Newham Centre for Mental Health (NCMH).

Why work with us?

Within the NAPS team, you will be encouraged to bring your ideas and creativity to develop the psychology provision in your wards and across the service. Staff development and innovation are very important to us. See below for some of our current projects:

• Relational Security (i.e., See, Think, Act) and trauma-informed care implementation.
• Quality improvement projects (e.g., Inpatient Sexual Safety).
• Sensory intervention in NCMH.
• New project in development for systemic working with families and systems to support transition to the community.

CPD opportunities:

• Collaboration with the local Systemic Therapies service.
• Research opportunities in collaboration with NELFT and the University of East London.
• CPD opportunities (e.g., systemic working, indirect approaches, leadership).
• Local Secondary Care Psychological Services network offers further opportunities for learning and connection.

You will be responsible for bringing psychological approaches to our adult mental health wards. The NAPS team aims to foster a compassionate, safe, and therapeutic culture for all people within the service. You would be expected to play an active part in planning, prioritising, and reflecting on how best to organise your work to move towards this aim.

Roles will include direct interventions with patients in group, individual, and family sessions; staff support and development including team formulations, reflective spaces, and training; leadership of co-production, evaluation, and quality improvement (QI) initiatives throughout the service. There is a current focus on supporting the discharge process and interface with community services, in collaboration with our local systemic therapy team. Where required, this may involve seeing families in their homes.

We are looking for applicants who bring enthusiasm and creativity around inpatient working. Experience in acute mental health services and providing culturally inclusive psychological approaches in NHS services is also highly desirable, as well as the ability to speak an additional local language to engage wider communities.

The Trust has embraced flexible working. We are interested in hybrid ways of working that are within the scope of the role.

We look forward to welcoming the successful candidate; their ideas, passions, and aspirations into our team.

Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

For full details of the job, please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification attached to the vacancy profile.

This advert closes on Friday 5 Sep 2025.