Principal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist/(Arts) Psychotherapist

NHS; Ivybridge; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare provider in mental health is seeking a Principal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist/(Arts) Psychotherapist to lead and deliver high-quality psychological services within the South Devon area. The role demands strong leadership, collaboration with multidisciplinary teams, and a commitment to improving clients' mental health. Candidates should be fully qualified Clinical or Counselling Psychologists with relevant experience in adult mental health. Flexibility for part-time work is available.

Benefits

Flexible working applications considered

Professional development opportunities

Supportive communities in mental health

Qualifications

• Must have significant experience in adult mental health services.
• Experience with complex mental health conditions is crucial.
• Active registration with the British Psychological Society is required.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and supervision to staff, trainees, and volunteers.
• Conduct psychological assessment and treatment for clients.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to enhance mental health services.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Calm and methodical approach

Leadership skills

Ability to handle conflict

Organizational skills

Education

Qualified Clinical or Counselling Psychologist

Registered with HCPC

Tools

Psychological assessment tools

Job description

Principal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist/(Arts) Psychotherapist

Are you an experienced Clinical/Counselling Psychologist or Psychological Therapist (including Arts Therapists) with a passion for psychologically informed approaches in mental health? Devon Partnership NHS Trust is offering an exciting permanent opportunity for a Principal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist / (Arts) Psychotherapist to join our South Devon Adult Core Mental Health Teams (CMHTs).

We are advertising for two full-time equivalent posts that could also facilitate part-time working.

1. One full-time post: working across West Devon, South Hams and Teign CMHTs.

• 0.6 wte (3 days) working across West Devon and South Hams CMHT (postholder will need to work Tuesdays and Wednesdays to attend relevant multidisciplinary team meetings) and 0.4 wte (2 days) working within Teign CMHT (postholder will need to work Mondays to attend relevant multidisciplinary team meetings).

2. One full-time post: working across Torbay CMHTs.

• Covering work in two CMHTs in Torbay. Multidisciplinary team meetings are held on Monday and Tuesday.

We are planning to hold interviews for successful applicants for this post on the 9th and 10th of December 2025.

The principal purpose of the role is to improve the psychological health and wellbeing of individuals within the post-holders specialist field of practice. You will work collaboratively with Adult Core Mental Health Teams and deliver high-quality, person-centred services.

Main duties of the job

This role combines clinical leadership and direct service delivery. You will contribute to service development and help embed psychologically informed practices across the community teams.

The main duties of the job:

1. To ensure the systematic provision of high quality psychological service in specialist field of practice, across identified locality area, as a key component of integrated mental health and wellbeing services across Devon Partnership NHS Trust.

2. Providing clinical leadership and supervision for less experienced staff, trainees and volunteers employed by or attached to the psychology service.

3. Carrying a specialist caseload of clients, and providing advice and consultancy to patients and professionals.

4. To work autonomously within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within professional and Trust guidelines as lead specialist.

5. The post holder will receive regular professional and clinical supervision in accordance to Trust policy and to Professional Practice Guidelines set out by the British Psychological Society or appropriate designated Professional Body.

6. Observe, and abide by all relevant Professional Codes of Conduct and Practice including the British Psychological Society. The post holder will be fully registered with the Health Professions Council as a condition of employment.

About us

We provide mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity services, as well as a range of specialist & secure services for the wider south west region & nationally. We are passionate about promoting good mental health & wellbeing. We strive to use the expertise & resources within our organisation, and through our partnerships, to deliver high quality services that are safe & focused on people's recovery.

We are committed to developing a culture of coproduction, involving patients, families & carers in everything we do.

Our values

We not only recruit based on qualifications & experience - we recruit individuals who possess & demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. These include such attributes as showing a commitment to quality of care, improving lives of others, giving respect, dignity & compassion. We can bring those values to life in our everyday tasks by giving a smile; making time for people; challenging ourselves & others, & being open to new ideas.

We are committed to being an inclusive employer & applications are encouraged & welcomed from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics as governed by the Equality Act 2010. Part time & flexible working applications will be considered & supported, where possible. We particularly encourage applicants with lived experience of mental health conditions, neurodiversity or learning disabilities. We are a Disability Confident Leader.

Job responsibilities

Duties and Responsibilities:

Communication and Working Relationships

• Clients, family and carers: To communicate in a highly skilled and sensitive manner with clients who may have specific difficulties in understand and/or communicating and who may be hostile, antagonistic or highly emotionally disturbed.
• Multidisciplinary team colleagues: To work closely with colleagues in the multi-professional integrated mental health and wellbeing service on a day to day basis.
• Health & social care staff: To communicate with a wide range of health & social care staff in hospital and in community settings in a highly skilled and sensitive manner, complex and sensitive information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under the services care. To provide support & guidance in the application of psychological principles and techniques, and to foster reflective practice.
• Senior managers & professional staff: To maintain and build good working relationships with senior professional staff and managers across the Trust. to foster a positive approach to the integrated mental health and wellbeing service and to enable effective negotiation.

Planning and Organisation

• The psychology service: To plan and organise own work within the service setting and to contribute to the development and improvement of provision of psychological services within the commissioned integrated mental health and wellbeing service to best meet the organisations strategy and priorities.
• The multidisciplinary service: To provide psychology/therapy supervision to the multi-professional planning, development and marketing of mental health and wellbeing services

Responsibility for Judgement and Analysis

• To provide specialist clinical/counselling psychology expertise and advice.
• To provide psychological therapies, developing specialist psychological formulations and assessments of clients, formulating plans for their psychological treatment and implementing specialist psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups. Proficiency in in both individual and group therapy approaches is desirable.
• To support the Professional Head, General Manager, Practice and Strategic Development Leads and Professional Leads by undertaking service development and redesign projects and coordinating the resulting work within the team.
• To provide complex assessment of specialist conditions

Responsibility for Patient/Client Care, Treatment and Therapy

• Assessment & intervention: To provide expert psychological therapies, developing specialist psychological formulations and assessments of clients, formulating plans for their psychological treatment and implementing specialist psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, and to demonstrate awareness of diversity issues.
• Consultation & guidance: To provide advice, guidance and consultation on psychological aspects of patient care to colleagues, other service providers, patients, supporters and families.

Policy, Service, Research, Innovation and Improvement

• The post holder is accountable for their own professional actions, acting within Trust policies and procedures and Professional Practice Guidelines.
• Policy & service: To implement policies and procedures for the provision of psychology and therapy services within own service and other services within the Trust.
• R & D: To support the R&D activities of the psychology and psychological therapy service.

Responsibility for Finance, Equipment and Other Resources

• To be responsible for the safe keeping of equipment under own use.

Responsibility for Supervision, Leadership and Management

• Leadership & supervision: To lead and professionally supervise less experienced psychology/therapy staff, trainees and volunteers.
• To provide placement responsibilities for trainee staff.
• To contribute to the provision of therapy supervision for non psychology/therapy staff providing psychological therapies within other Trust teams.
• To support placements for trainee staff in line with professional guidelines

Information Resources and Administrative Duties

• To maintain accurate records, compliant with Trust Practice Standards.

To be responsible for using an email account to generate, monitor, and respond to the e-mail traffic by which the Trust conducts much of its internal communication.

Responsibility for Research and Development

• To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual work within the PPT and local mental health services.
• To conduct project work including specific areas of audit, research or service evaluation
• As a clinician to be responsible for collecting clinical practice and outcome data that contributes to building practice based evidence and service evaluation. To participate in service audits and relevant research projects.

Freedom to Act

• The post holder is accountable for their own professional actions, acting within Trust policies and procedures and Professional Practice Guidelines
• To work autonomously within clinical professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the governance of psychological practice within the locality/specialty. Interpretation of professional and Trust guidelines, and implementing policies in conjunction with peers, Head of Profession and General Manager.
• To provide expert and specialist clinical psychology expertise and advice guidance and consultation on psychological aspects of patient care to colleagues, other service providers, patients, supporters and families.

Any Other Specific Tasks Required

• To ensure all clinical care and treatment provided by psychologists/psychotherapists / therapists carried out under appropriate supervision and leadership.
• To ensure that all relevant staff groups continuously update the skills and techniques relevant to their clinical work.

Review of this Job Description

This job description is intended as an outline indicator of general areas of activity and will be amended in the light of changing service needs. This job description is to be reviewed in conjunction with the post holder on an annual basis.

Person Specification

Physical Skills

• - Calm, methodical approach, friendly but concise.
• - Good communication skills when presenting / facilitating to varying groups of people.

Other

• - Highly skilled in specialist interventions with the client group.
• - Advanced psychological assessment and formulation skills including risk assessment.

Knowledge

• - Broad knowledge of specialist services and of the services in the NHS where psychology is commonly applied.
• - Extensive knowledge of the skills, practice and knowledge base of Clinical/Counselling Psychology.
• - Knowledge of the policy context of specialist psychological services within the organisation and of clinical leadership arrangements in this setting.

Skills and Abilities

• - Excellent verbal, nonverbal and written communication skills.
• - Strong leadership qualities, resilience and ability to handle ambiguity and uncertainty.
• - Skills in managing conflict, negotiation and achieving consensus in complex situations in the pursuit of agreed strategic aims.
• - Ability to integrate complex data; make highly skilled evaluations and decisions; and take a long term perspective.
• - Proven organisational, planning and time management skills.
• - Ability to work under pressure and cope with deadlines.

Experience

• - Experience of work in adult mental health services or agencies and work with people with severe and complex mental health difficulties.
• - Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
• - Experience in undertaking leadership roles within clinical psychology services in the NHS and in contributing to the development, implementation and evaluation of strategies and clinical policies in multi disciplinary, multi agency contexts.
• - Experience, and/or training in diversity awareness and social inequality.
• - Proficiency in in both individual and group therapy approaches is desirable.

Qualifications

• - Qualified Clinical or Counselling Psychologist (D.Clin.Psychol, MA Arts Psychotherapy or equivalent) and eligible for Chartered Clinical or Counselling Psychologist Status in the British Psychological Society.
• - Registered with HCPC. Further training or experience in clinical specialism.
• - Further training in related area.
• - Further training in at least one (other) psychological therapy, e.g. family or systemic therapy.
• - IT Skills.

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.