Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust; City Of London; On-site; GBP 61,000 - 69,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent NHS Trust is seeking a Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist for its inpatient CAMHS teams in London. The role involves providing specialized psychological assessments and therapeutic interventions for adolescents facing severe mental health challenges. Applicants should hold a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and have experience in CAMHS or similar settings. This full-time position offers flexible working conditions and excellent professional development opportunities. Salary ranges from £61,631 to £68,623 per annum.

Benefits

Continued Professional Development

Flexible working hours

Qualifications

• Register with HCPC and experience in CAMHS or inpatient settings.
• Skills in managing emotionally stressful situations.

Responsibilities

• Provide psychological assessments and interventions for adolescents.
• Supervise and support junior psychologists and provide teaching.

Skills

Communication

Crisis management

Psychological assessment

Therapeutic interventions

Education

Doctorate in Clinical Psychology

Post-qualification training in CBT or DBT

Job description

Overview

Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist roles in inpatient CAMHS teams working with adolescents with a range of mental health difficulties. Two posts are available: one based at the Bethlem Adolescent Unit (BAU), Bethlem Hospital, Beckenham; the second based at the Maudsley Adolescent Unit (MAU). The MAU post is currently based at the Bethlem Hospital site but will move to the Pears Maudsley building, Denmark Hill in due course. Please indicate on your application which post(s) (BAU/MAU) you wish to be considered for. The closing date is 07 October 2025.

Each role offers the opportunity to join a highly experienced psychology team working across three Child and Adolescent inpatient units, with links across the trust. The role includes significant face-to-face work with young people and the MDT. There is some potential for a small amount of remote working. We seek to hire a HCPC registered clinical psychologist (band 8A). We welcome applications from newly qualified and recently qualified applicants eligible to occupy the post at band 7 in a preceptorship role.

There are exciting research and service development opportunities and the service provides placements for several clinical psychology training programmes. Excellent supervision, support and opportunities for Continued Professional Development are available.

Main duties of the job

On the unit you will be part of multi-disciplinary teams, providing psychological assessment and interventions for adolescents who present with a range of severe and complex mental health problems such as eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, psychotic and affective disorders and neuropsychiatric conditions. You will also provide support, consultation and supervision to other members of the multidisciplinary team.

As one of the few trusts in London we are proud to offer flexible working as part of our new ways of working, and we are happy to discuss flexible working at the interview stage to help people achieve a good work–life balance.

About us

You will be joining a committed and highly experienced multidisciplinary team with a focus on continuing service improvement and supporting young people to reach their potential. There is a strong emphasis on supporting parents and carers and close liaison with community teams. There is also a school on site, offering opportunities for close collaboration.

About our location: Maudsley Hospital (headquarters). Our Trust headquarters is located at Denmark Hill, less than 5 minutes from the train station (zone 2) and within walking distance from Ruskin Park and local amenities.

Job responsibilities

Job Purpose:

To provide a highly specialist psychology service to children and families at the BAU, including specialist assessment, treatment planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes.

To contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by creating a psychologically safe environment.

To provide clinical supervision and consultation as appropriate, functioning as a lead specialist in psychological assessment and treatment including therapeutic models such as CBT and behavioural interventions.

To undertake service evaluation, audit and research.

To work as an autonomous professional within BPS and HCPC guidelines and codes of conduct, and guided by service policies and procedures.

To agree outcomes/results with the clinical/professional lead and decide how they are best achieved.

Key Responsibilities:

KR 1 Clinical and Client Care

To provide highly specialist psychological assessments (including neuropsychological assessments), formulations and interventions for young people in the BAU including psychosis, eating disorders, personality disorders, learning disabilities, neurodevelopmental disorders, etc., at a level expected of a psychologist with post-qualification specialist development equivalent to a postgraduate diploma.

To provide culturally appropriate psychological interventions with carers or families when required.

To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans.

To act as care co-ordinator when required, taking responsibility for initiating planning and reviewing care plans, CPA co-ordination and meetings.

KR 2 Contributing to team or service clinical functioning

To contribute to the effective functioning of the team or service and to a psychologically informed framework for the service.

To contribute to delivering accessible and acceptable services to diverse local communities.

To challenge discrimination and support the development of culturally competent services.

To advise other members of the service on specialist psychological care of clients.

To liaise with referrers, GPs and other professionals to develop and review care plans.

To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and in team work.

KR 3 Policy and service development

To implement policies and procedures in own area of work and propose improvements or beneficial changes.

To contribute to service development through appropriate projects and engagement with service users.

KR 4 Care or management of resources

To care for and use resources responsibly and ensure the post-holder has sufficient resources by estimating future needs and ordering supplies as needed.

KR 5 Management and supervision

To be responsible for the allocation and supervision of the work of more junior psychologists with support from a senior psychologist.

To supervise trainee applied psychologists within own area of specialism.

To contribute to the appraisal and recruitment of junior psychologists, as appropriate.

To provide supervision for the psychological work of other multidisciplinary staff as appropriate.

KR 6 Teaching and Training

To undertake occasional teaching and training of pre- and post-qualification psychologists and provide specialist training to other professions as appropriate.

To contribute to the development of knowledge and skills within the BAU and the wider inpatient CAMHS service by maintaining awareness of current developments in psychology and applying knowledge in practice.

To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and, where appropriate, publications.

KR 7 Record-keeping and Information Governance

To ensure all information generated by own work is recorded in line with Trust policies and procedures.

To maintain high standards of clinical record keeping and report writing in line with professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry.

KR 8 Research and development

To initiate, undertake, support and supervise regular complex service evaluation and audits; to initiate and carry out appropriate research; to contribute specialist research expertise to inpatient CAMHS.

To initiate and implement outcome measurement and assist others in implementation.

KR 9 Maintaining professional standards and continuing professional development

To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more senior psychologist and to maintain ongoing CPD in line with HCPC, BPS and Trust requirements.

To stay up to date with developments in professional practice and relevant legislation and policies, and adhere to HCPC Standards and BPS guidelines.

KR 10 General

To travel to home visits, community placements, psychology meetings and across the Trust as required. To be aware of risk related to aggression and challenging behaviour and follow policy accordingly. There may be flexible working requirements including late clinics or Saturday work as needed within the Job Plan.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or equivalent accepted by the HCPC for purposes of professional registration
• Additional training in a specialised area of psychological practice (e.g., CBT or DBT or child neuropsychology) through formal post-qualification training (PG Diploma or equivalent), or an evidenced portfolio of supervised practice-based learning assessed as equivalent

Experience

• Evidence of working as a clinical specialist under supervision in CAMHS and/or an inpatient setting
• Experience supervising assistant and/or trainee psychologists

Skills

• Ability to communicate sensitively and effectively with clients, carers and colleagues, overcoming barriers to communication including cultural differences and distress
• Capability to manage emotionally stressful situations and work with victims of abuse, trauma, self-harm or aggression
• Skill in administration of psychometric and neuropsychological tests, including those requiring complex manipulation of materials

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and will require a disclosure check.

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Bethlem Adolescent Unit, Bethlem Royal Hospital

Salary

£61,631 to £68,623 per annum, including outer HCAs

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

334-CLI-7419205

Job locations

Bethlem Adolescent Unit, Bethlem Royal Hospital