Principal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

Cambscommunityservices; Peterborough; On-site; GBP 62,000 - 73,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Principal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist to lead a team in Older People’s Mental Health services. This role involves advanced clinical work, team leadership, and opportunities for professional development within a supportive environment. The successful candidate will contribute to the delivery of high-quality psychological services and be part of a dedicated clinical leadership team.

Benefits

Professional development opportunities

Regular clinical supervision

Participation in CPD events

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in mental health settings, particularly with older adults.
• Experience of leading service development projects.
• Registered with the Health and Care Professions Council.

Responsibilities

• Lead a small team in Older People’s Mental Health services.
• Undertake clinical activity and provide supervision.
• Deliver training and develop interventions for long-term conditions.

Skills

Clinical supervision

Psychological assessment

Therapeutic interventions

Communication

Leadership

Education

Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology

Registration with Health Professions Council

Chartered Clinical Psychologist

Post-doctoral training in specialized areas

Job description

Main area Psychology Grade Band 8b Contract Permanent: Secondment would be considered Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Monday to Friday) Job ref 310-MOPAC-7084741

Employer Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site City Care Centre Town Peterborough Salary £62,215 - £72,293 per annum pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 02/06/2025 23:59

Principal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

Band 8b

Job overview

Would you like to combine some advanced case work from a stimulating caseload with leading a small Psychology and Occupational Therapy team in Older People’s Mental Health community services?

This is an exciting opportunity for a Band 8B Principal Psychologist to lead in the ongoing development and delivery of the Stepped Care Therapies Services for older people and be part of the clinical leadership team for the service and directorate.

There are opportunities for professional development, innovate and research in the psychology provision for Older People’s Mental Health.

We would also consider adjusted hours or secondment. Clinical contacts in person are required.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust are committed to providing high quality, effective services, working in partnership with service users towards recovery. The Trust actively supports continuing professional development and has a robust annual appraisal process. The post holder will be supported through regular clinical and managerial supervision, peer support and supervision structures. There is Trust wide psychology CPD events, and active participation with the regional FPOP group. We have strong links with the University of East Anglia for supporting the training and development of Clinical Psychologists.

Services at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust have been rated as ‘good’ following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission.

Main duties of the job

Please note for this role you will be required to travel independently around the county meeting strict time deadlines. You will need to hold a full UK driving licence* and have use of a vehicle. You cannot use public transport for this role as this is not a reliable form of transport and will not allow you to meet service needs. Please confirm in your application that you meet the specified criteria.

This team is one of 4 in the county that sit alongside Social Workers, Psychiatrists, Mental Health Nurses and a Memory Assessment Service.

You will be undertaking clinical activity approximately 3 out of 5 days and involvement in case reviews, formulation, direct specialist supervision, delivering training, providing supervision to the wider team and developing combined interventions/approaches for people with long term conditions.

*DVLA have a number ofreciprocalarrangements with overseas countries, for further information please visit the DVLA website

Working for our organisation

Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health & social care organisation dedicated to providing high quality care with compassion to improve the health & wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting & empowering them to lead a fulfilling life.

Our clinical teams deliver many NHS services not only via inpatient and primary care setting but also with the community. These services include Children, Adult & Older Peoples mental & physical health, Forensic & Specialist mental health, Learning Disabilities, Primary Care & Liaison psychiatry, Substance misuse, Social care, Research & Development.

To achieve our goal, we look to recruit high calibre candidates that share our vision & values. As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all sectors of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including disabled people & members of our ethnic minorities & LGBTQ+ communities.

Please be advised we reserve the right to close adverts earlier than the closing date should we receive sufficient applications.

Regrettably, we cannot offer sponsorship for all our job roles. If you apply for a role that we cannot offer sponsorship for, unfortunately, your application form will be rejected from the process.

For further information on CPFT, please visit our website at www.cpft.nhs.uk

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities

• Clinically there is the opportunity to work with: anxiety of all different aetiologies, depression, psychosis, eating disorders, trauma survivors, emotional dysregulation, amongst other functional conditions, as well as people living with dementia.
• The variety of clinical work is delivered individually, with family and other care ‘systems’, in consultation with our Trust colleagues and we deliver therapeutic groups to meet patient needs. The service also provides some remote appointments.
• The service has a good history of providing further development opportunities for clinicians to evolve their skill sets through formal training and supporting individual clinician's special interests.
• The qualified Clinical Psychologist (registered with the Health and Care Professions Council) will have extensive experience of working in a variety of mental health settings. In particular, they will have experience of working with older people with mental health problems, within community multi-disciplinary team.
• They will provide clinical supervision and have delegated management responsibilities in the service. Interventions provided by the post holder will be on an individual or a group basis, utilising enhanced clinical skills.

Person specification

Education/Qualification

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology, or a Statement of Equivalence
• Registration with Health Professions Council as a clinical psychologist.
• Undertaken training in the supervision of trainee clinical psychologists.
• Chartered Clinical Psychologist
• Undertaken post-doctoral training in one or more relevant additional specialised areas of psychological practice.
• Other relevant academic qualifications to Master’s or doctoral level

Experience

• Experience of working as a qualified Specialist Clinical Psychologist within mental health setting(s).
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings
• • Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients’ psychological care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified CPA care coordinator and also within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan.
• Experience of the application of psychology in different contexts.
• Experience of teaching, training and professional and clinical supervision including at least three trainee clinical psychologists.
• Experience of leading a service development / improvement project within mental health services.
• Experience of working as a qualified psychologist with older people with mental health problems.
• Experience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
• Experience of assessing and treating clients across the full range of care settings.
• Experience of working within a multicultural framework.
• Experience of leadership in a clinical context
• Experience in the use of remote platforms (such as Attend Anywhere) for assessment and intervention

Skills & Abilities

• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, psychological formulation, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration. This requires the use of highly developed analytical and judgement skills.
• Skills in individual and group work and in programme planning.
• Planning and organising skills for caseload management.
• Skills in self-management, including time-management.
• Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, highly technical, and clinically sensitive information, including contentious and highly distressing information, to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and its implications for both clinical practice and professional management in relation to the client group.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
• Advanced keyboard skills.
• Able to contain and work with high levels of distress from clients. Interpersonally calm and able to defuse difficult, volatile situations.
• Able to contain and work with organisational stress. Able to tolerate ambiguity and to take decisions in situations of incomplete information.
• Ability to identify, provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and severely challenging behaviours
• Ability to exercise appropriate levels of self-care and to monitor own state, recognising when it is necessary to take active steps to maintain fitness to practice.
• Good understanding of other professionals’ theoretical perspectives of this client group.
• Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of clinical psychology
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health
• Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS and HCPC.
• Ability to identify, and employ, as appropriate, clinical governance mechanisms, including regular supervision, for the support and maintenance of clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
• Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc).
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of highly specialised psychological therapies and assessment methodologies

Physical requirements

• Ability to sit for prolonged periods for client contacts

Other

• Ability to travel independently in the community
• Motivated towards personal and professional development with a strong CPD record

Here at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) we are dedicated to providing high quality care with compassion. We deliver many of the NHS services that are provided outside of hospital and in the community such as physical, mental health and specialist services.

We are a health and social care organisation, offering a wide range of services, including:

• Integrated physical and mental health services for adults and older people;
• Specialist mental health and learning disability services;
• Children’s community services in Peterborough;
• Ground-breaking research

We strongly encourage applications from all sections of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including disabled people and members of our ethnic minorities and LGBTQ+ communities. For further information about our positive equality, diversity and Inclusion work, please visit https://www.cpft.nhs.uk/equalityanddiversity .

CPFT is looking to build upon its pool of temporary workers with Temporary Staffing Services (TSS). You will be asked at interview if you would be willing to register with TSS. This is an excellent opportunity for those looking to take on additional hours that are flexible around your personal circumstances.

Please be advised that in line with the WHO Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List, 2020 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust currently are unable to accept applications from overseas candidates whose country of residence is classed as a ‘Red List’ country.

Applicants who require entry into the UK will be required to provide a valid police certificate from the relevant authority from each country (except the UK) where the applicant has been present for 12 months or more, 10 years before the date of visa application, while aged 18 or over.

If you are successful at interview you will be subject to pre-employment checks, including a DBS (if appropriate), references and Occupational Health. To ensure a smooth process please bring all identity documents to your interview. A list of required identity documents will be attached to your interview invitation.

All communications will be sent to you via TRAC Systems. By applying for this post you are agreeing to CPFT transferring the information contained in this application to TRAC. If you are made an offer, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.