Practitioner Psychologist

NHS; Wakefield; On-site; GBP 46,000 - 61,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS Trust is seeking a Band 7/8a Practitioner Psychologist to join their Inpatient Forensic Psychology Team. The role involves providing specialist psychological services, supervision, and support within a multidisciplinary team, focusing on complex mental health needs and learning disabilities.

Qualifications

• Experience working with complex mental health needs.
• Ability to develop and communicate complex formulations.

Responsibilities

• Provide assessment and therapeutic interventions for inpatient group.
• Supervise and support Psychology Assistants and Trainees.
• Utilise research skills for audit and service development.

Skills

Communication

Empathy

Psychometric Assessment

Education

Doctorate in Clinical Psychology

Hons. Degree in Psychology

Job description

Go back South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Trust

Practitioner Psychologist

The closing date is 28 May 2025

We are looking for a talented Band 7/8a Practitioner Psychologist to joinour Inpatient Forensic Psychology Team at Fieldhead Hospital. The Inpatientpsychology team works across three sites; Newton Lodge a 90 bedded MediumSecure Service for men and women; The Bretton Centre a 38 bedded male LowSecure service; and Newhaven a 15 bedded Low secure service for men withlearning disabilities.

The service offers a unique opportunity to work with complex serviceusers, who have mental health difficulties, attachment difficulties,experiences of trauma and learning disabilities through various stages of theirrecovery.

The psychology department is undergoing positive change and development.We are currently implementing a Trauma Informed Care approach and a clinicalpathway that provides direct psychology input and indirect MDT activity, toservice users and teams across the service. There is a lot of scope forinvolvement in shaping service delivery and research.

All employees of the Trust are strongly encouraged to befully vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect patients.

For full job description, please see attached supportingdocuments.

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will provide assessment and therapeuticinterventions for the inpatient group, and service level, consultation,supervision, reflective practice and training. The post will have a particular focus on our learning disabilitiespathway, and the post-holder will receive regular clinical supervision from practitionerpsychologists based within the Forensic Service. Further training in traumafocused therapies will be available.

Experience of working with complex mental health needs and of working insecure settings would be desirable but enthusiasm for working with people withlearning disabilities is essential as well as the ability to develop andcommunicate complex formulations.

The post is suitable for a psychologist already working at 8a who wishesto develop their skills further in a forensic setting, or a newly qualifiedpsychologist undertaking their first qualified role.

At the time of advertising, this role does meet theminimum requirements set by UK Visas and Immigration to sponsor candidates towork in the UK. We look forward to receiving your application.

About us

Weare a specialist NHS Foundation Trust that provides community, mental healthand learning disability services for the people of Barnsley, Calderdale,Kirklees and Wakefield. We also provide low and medium secure services and arethe lead for the west Yorkshire secure provider collaborative.

Our mission isto help people reach their potential and live well in their communities, we do thisby providing high-quality care in the right place at the right time. We employstaff in both clinical and non-clinical services who work hard to make adifference to the lives of service users, families and carers.

We encourageand welcome applications from all protected characteristic groups, we valuediversity and want our workforce to be reflective of our communities.

Beinga foundation Trust means were accountable to ourmembers, who can have a say in how were run. Around 14,300 local people(including staff) are members of our Trust.

Joinus and you will be one of over 4,500 staff committed to supporting and improvingthe mental, physical and social needs of the thousands of people we meet andhelp each year.

Weare committedto safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people andvulnerable adults and expects all colleagues and volunteers to share thiscommitment.

We do reserve to right to close vacancy before the advertised closing date if necessary, so please apply as soon as possible.

Job responsibilities

Band 8a

The post holder will provide a high quality specialist clinical psychology service to clients as part of the multidisciplinary team within the service.

Provide highly specialist psychological assessment and intervention.

Provide advice and consultation on psychological care to non-psychologist colleagues, and other, non-professional carers, working autonomously within professional guidelines, and the overall framework of the team and trusts policies and procedures.

Supervise and support Psychology Assistants, Trainees and Band 7 HCPC Registered Clinical Psychologists.

To utilise research skills for audit, policy, service development and research within the areas served by the team/service.

To offer consultation and supervision when required by other agencies involved in the psychological, emotional and behavioural well-being of service users.

To provide supervision of Band 7 Clinical Psychologists, doctoral level clinical psychology trainees, assistant psychologists and trainees from other disciplines as appropriate.

To provide highly specialist psychological assessment and treatment for service users experiencing moderate, severe and complex mental health/psychological problems 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 observation and semi-structured interviews with service users, their family and/or carers.

To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological intervention and/or management of mental health/psychological and/or behavioural difficulties based upon an appropriate conceptual framework and exercising expert clinical judgement based on the highest standards of evidence based practice across a full range of care settings.

Band 7

The post holder will provide specialist clinical psychology skills within a multidisciplinary team. The post holder will provide a high quality clinical service to the users of the service.

They will provide highly specialist psychological assessment and intervention while working collaboratively with non-psychologist colleagues, professionals from other agencies and carers. They will be clinically responsible to a senior clinical psychologist. Clinical oversight of all work will be held by the clinical lead in the service.

The job plan will be delivered in the services the post is based.

The post holder will work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the team while observing Trust and National policies and procedures.

The post holder will provide support to Assistant Psychologists and Doctoral trainees. They will utilise research skills in audit, service development and research relevant to the post.

To offer consultation, supervision and training when required by other agencies involved in the psychological, emotional and behavioural well-being of people referred to the service

To provide consultation, assessment and intervention in the service.

To work collaboratively in a multidisciplinary context.

To provide assessment and treatment options for people experiencing moderate, severe and complex mental health problems.

To exercise expert clinical judgement based on the highest standards of evidence based practise.

To continually seek to expand and consolidate clinical skills using training, experience, and supervision.

To be proficient in the use of Psychometric testing appropriate to the age range.

We are aware that an increasing number of applicants are using AI technology to generate responses on NHS Job application forms.Over reliance on AI-generated content in application forms is strongly discouraged and we will conduct a thorough screening process before selecting candidates to progress to the next stage. If you are using AI to enhance your application, please disclose this in your NHS Jobs application form.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Band 8a
• Doctorate in Clinical Psychology.
• Significant Post qualification experience in a Setting relevant to the post
• HCPC Registration as a Clinical Psychologist.
• Band 7
• Hons. Degree in Psychology.
• Appropriate safeguarding training.
• Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council as a Clinical Psychologist.
• Band 7
• 2:1 min.
• Eligible for chartered status.

Special Knowledge & Skills

• Band 8a
• Good Psychometric Assessment skills.
• Experience of assisting in training of Post Graduate Clinical Psychology Trainees.
• Exceptional communication skills in verbal, non verbal and written modes.
• Ability to empathise and develop good therapeutic alliance.
• Ability to Formulate Complex processes.
• Capacity to conduct Psychometric Assessment.
• Ability to travel around the Trust as appropriate to the role.
• Manual Dexterity for conducting tests.
• Band 7
• A Current driving licence and access to a car during the working day is essential (reasonable adjustments will be considered for any applicants who are unable to drive due to a disability).
• IT Literate.
• Band 8a.
• Working with people in Crisis.
• Working on an in-patient Psychiatric ward.
• Band 7
• Knowledge of adult & child protection legislation.
• Awareness of legislation relevant to the clinical area of practice.

Experience

• Band 8a
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, primary care and inpatient settings.
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
• Frequent, protracted sustained and intense concentration.
• Show respect and treat people with dignity.
• Be able to give bad news sensitively.
• Be able to sustain empathy in difficult situations.
• Be aware of all interviewees in any situation.
• Band 7
• Completion of supervised clinical practice in the NHS.
• Ability to work within two models of psychological assessment, formulation and intervention.
• Band 8a
• Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
• Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
• Experience of groupwork.
• Band 7
• Experience in working with service users in the clinical area of the post
• Different theoretical approaches.
• Work with other disciplines.
• Work with people who have disabilities.

Physical Attributes

• Ability to undertake the duties and demands of the post. A satisfactory sickness record over the previous 2 years (subject to the need to act with fairness and equality of opportunity, particularly where the sickness is related to a disability and/or pregnancy).

Training

• Band 8a
• Completion of formal training to meet eligibility as clinical supervisor of Doctoral Trainee Clinical Psychologists.

Personal Attributes

• Band 8a
• A Current driving licence and access to a car during the working day is essential (reasonable adjustments will be considered for any applicants who are unable to drive due to a disability).
• To transport Psychometric testing equipment.
• Band 7
• Caring.
• Team Player.
• Commitment to supervision and support.
• Band 7
• Flexible.
• Committed to client group.

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.

South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Trust

£46,148 to £60,504 a yearBand 7 - 8a dependant on experience