Practitioner Psychologist

NHS; Lichfield; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare foundation trust in the United Kingdom is seeking a qualified Practitioner Psychologist to join their innovative service within a prison environment. You will deliver psychological interventions, supervise staff, and work within a multi-disciplinary team to enhance care for young offenders. The role requires forensic experience and experience in OPD services. This position offers opportunities for professional development and impactful work in a supportive environment.

Qualifications

• Experience in delivering relevant psychological interventions.
• Forensic experience in criminal settings.
• Experience working with OPD services.
• Capable of working in a multi-disciplinary team.

Responsibilities

• Deliver individual and group psychotherapeutic interventions.
• Provide supervision and facilitate reflective practice.
• Consult for the wider prison system.
• Manage cases and facilitate transitions for service users.

Skills

Delivering individual and group psychotherapeutic interventions

Providing supervision and reflective practice

Consultation and advice for wider prison

Delivering training to the treatment service team

Education

Registered Psychologist

Trained in delivering relevant psychological interventions/therapies

Job description

Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust

Practitioner Psychologist

The closing date is 29 December 2025

The Inspires service is part of the national Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) Pathway and comprises of 4 services within HMP Swinfen Hall: a Psychologically Informed Planned Environment (PIPE), a residential treatment (Delta Enabling Environment), a non-residential treatment service (NRTS) and an Enhanced Support Service (ESS) working with service users housed across the prison. Our service users, who are aged between 18 and 28, have histories of trauma and complex presentations.

We are looking for an HCPC registered Psychologist, to work within our treatment service. Which provides psychological interventions for 30 service users on a residential wing and 20 non residential service users. This is an exciting opportunity for a Psychologist to join an innovative service working with young adults in prison. The successful candidate will join a large, multi-disciplinary team providing outstanding opportunities for professional development. You will also benefit from being part of NHFT's Specialist and Secured Services Psychology network.

Main duties of the job

• Delivering individual and group psychotherapeutic interventions.
• Delivering person centred interventions to young adults presenting with challenging behaviour
• Providing supervision and reflective practice for prison officers, assistant psychologists and trainee psychologists
• Consultation and advice for wider prison
• Delivering training to the treatment service team and wider prison
• Service evaluation and research

About us

NHFT is an integrated primary care and mental health Trust, providing physical, mental health and specialty services in both hospital settings and out in the community. Because we put the person at the centre of all we do, we focus on delivering care that is as easy to access as possible. This means many of our services can be provided at home, work or in schools. We also provide health services to various prisons and detention centres in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

NHFT promotes a culture of learning to improve the care and safety of our patients and staff, which focuses on people who enable our Trust to be 'outstanding' by supporting opportunity, innovation, development and growth.

Job responsibilities

The service utilises a relational approach and a flexible, person-centred model to meet the needs of individual service users. Psychological therapies offered within the service include EMDR, Compassion Focussed Therapy (CFT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Mentalisation Based Treatment.

You will hold a case load of service users, carry out psychological assessments, complete formulations and treatment planning. You will facilitate groups and work with service users on an individual basis. You will provide supervision to prison officers who work within the team and facilitate reflective practice.

You will provide consultation to the wider prison, assess referrals into the service and complete discharge reports. You will also be involved in supporting transitions for service users who complete the service and move on to other prisons or are released into the community.

You will work within a multi-disciplinary team alongside occupational therapists, creative therapists, prison officers and psychotherapists.

For further information on the advertised role, please refer to the job description located under the Supporting Documents heading. The full person specification can be accessed under the About You Section of the document.

Person Specification

Qualification

• Registered Psychologist
• Trained in delivering relevant psychological interventions/ therapies

Experience

• Experience in delivering relevant psychological interventions
• Forensic experience
• Experience of working in prison settings
• Experience of OPD services

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust