Principle Clinical/ Counselling Psychologist / Psychotherapist

NHS; London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 81,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS Trust is seeking a Principle Clinical/Counselling Psychologist to lead a specialist service for homeless individuals. The role involves supervising staff, delivering trauma-informed care, and developing best practices in a psychologically informed environment. This position offers a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package, promoting a healthy work-life balance and career development opportunities.

Benefits

Generous pay, pensions and leave packages

Work life balance and flexible working

Career development opportunities

Keyworker housing

NHS discounts

Counselling services

Long service awards

Cycle to work scheme

Season ticket loan

Staff restaurants

Qualifications

• Extensive practice in applied psychological therapy.
• Registered with professional body (HCPC/APC/BPC/UKCP/BACP).

Responsibilities

• Lead the PIE CSTM partnership and supervise Band 7 Psychologists.
• Deliver evidence-based individual and group clinical work.
• Contribute to clinical governance and service development.

Skills

Communication

Clinical Governance

Risk Management

Education

Doctorate in Clinical or Counselling Psychology

PG Diploma in Psychological Practice

Job description

Go back South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Principle Clinical/ Counselling Psychologist / Psychotherapist

The closing date is 20 May 2025

The SLaM Psychology in Hostels (PIH) Service is an innovative multi award-winning specialist homeless psychology service. For 12 years PIH has led in the development of 'Psychologically Informed Environments' (PIEs) delivering 'Trauma Informed Approaches' and developing best practice for working with excluded and multiply disadvantaged populations across Lambeth and Westminster.

The client population experience complex trauma, substance misuse, neurological issues, risk-taking behaviour and contact with the criminal justice system. This complex combination of needs leads to multiple social exclusion and barriers accessing mainstream services.

We are recruiting to a Band 8b Principle Psychologist / Psychotherapy role to lead the development and delivery one of our flagship partnerships, delivering PIE services across Connection at St Martins - a charity working with people experiencing rough sleeping, primarily in Westminster.

A PIE is any service that integrates a psychologically and trauma-informed approaches into its model. At CSTM we have developed a bespoke model drawing extensively on Trauma Informed and Community Psychology principles, Narrative and Solution Focused ways of working, and a systems approach. Our aim is promote wellbeing for staff and people accessing CSTM services by taking a whole system approach, and fostering genuinely trauma informed ways of working across the entire organisation.

Main duties of the job

This role will lead the PIE CSTM partnership, supervising our two Band 7 Psychologists embedded within the organisation. The role will work with these staff and our Art Therapist RP Facilitator to support PIE development within CSTMs Day Centre, Street Outreach and Accommodation services, with strategic support from the PiH Clinical Lead.

The post holder will -

• Work closely with the CSTM Executive and Leadership, and the PiH Clinical Lead to develop this critical partnership; and lead the development of Trauma Informed ways of working across the entire charity.
• Deliver and supervise Team Formulations, Reflective Practice and Psychological Consultation to service teams across the organisation.
• Deliver and supervise evidence based individual and group clinical work to people accessing CSTM services; support assessment and onwards referral to mainstream services.
• Audit, evaluate and report on our activities in the Partnership, and work with the leadership to fund and develop the service
• To support the development of clinical governance processes and ensure the smooth running of the service and the delivery of agreed outcomes and outputs.
• To have senior responsibilities in the wider SLaM Psychology in Hostels team including the provision of professional and clinical supervision, line management and the support of PIH staff wellbeing

About us

This post will be based across CSTM sites within the boroughs of Westminster and Wandsworth and has a team admin base in Brixton close to Brixton Underground Station.

Our Trust headquarters is located at Denmark Hill less than 5 minutes from the train station (zone 2). We also provide services and operate across other locations, such as London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark; and substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Lambeth, Greenwich and Wandsworth.

We are committed to ensuring our staff get the most out of their benefits package, feel valued and understand the importance of a healthy work life balance.

Some of our benefits include:

• Generous pay, pensions and leavepackages dependent on the role and length of service.
• Work life balance,flexible working and supporting a range of flexible options, such as: part-time working and job sharing.
• Career developmentwith plenty CPD opportunities such as mentoring, coaching, collective leadership and other talent programmes.
• Accommodation,our staff benefit fromkeyworker housing at selected sites.
• NHS discountsvia theHealth Service Discounts website.

Other benefits include:

• Counselling services
• Long service awards
• Cycle to work scheme
• Season ticket loan
• Staff restaurants

Job responsibilities

Key Responsibilities: CLINICAL

To provide expertise in a highly specialist clinical area, supporting the psychological needs of rough sleepers and homeless people, those with histories of complex trauma and addiction.

To select and deliver evidence based psychological interventions, monitoring outcome and modifying and adapting as required, drawing on a range of theoretical models (ideally including Community and Systemic approaches, especially Narrative and Solution Focused practice)

To confidently advise other members of the charity on specialist psychological care of clients, and on psychological support to staff.

To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations such as abusive and aggressive behaviour and self-harming behaviours within accommodation and outreach environments, and to support others involved in such situations.

To contribute to the effective working of the charity and to a psychologically informed framework for the service.

To confidently assess, monitor and record risk, and draw up appropriate risk management plans, including relating to aggressive and challenging behaviour amongst the client group, and follow Trust policies relating to its management.

TEACHING, TRAINING, AND SUPERVISION

To provide professional managerial, and clinical supervision to other psychologists, psychotherapists and other professionals for all aspects of their work. This must include live supervision of therapists work.

To contribute to the development of the knowledge and skills base within the Psychology in Hostels Project service and the Lambeth Directorate by maintaining an active awareness of current developments in psychology and the homeless sector and by implementing knowledge gained in practice.

To provide highly specialist psychological consultation and professional and clinical supervision to colleagues and others and to contribute to a psychologically informed framework within the service.

To organise and provide specialist training to other professions as appropriate.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

To lead in the recruitment, induction, management and appraisal of staff including qualified and pre-qualified psychologists.

To foster a supportive and performance focussed team ethos through your interaction and communication with the team, your own behaviour, team meetings, supervision and partnership work.

To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and developing services.

To participate in clinical governance initiatives as agreed by the wider team and directorate clinical governance committee.

To develop and updating policies and procedures for the delivery of high-quality arm of the PIH services at CSTM.

SERVICE LEADERSHIP

To lead the development of this new service within the parameters established by the contract and agreements with CSTM and under the leadership of the PiH Clinical Lead.

To identify aspects of the service which could be improved and initiate and implement service development projects, both within psychology and the broader service.

To advise and contribute to the monitoring and evaluation of the CSTM contract by reporting to the CSTM senior management team, board of trustees, SLAM directorate and others as required.

To be proactive in challenging discrimination and to support the development of culturally competent services.

Contribute to the development of a culture and values within the team of addressing health inequalities and multiple disadvantage and the value of cross-sector partnership working as ways of improving clinical practice andservice delivery.

RESEARCH AND SERVICE EVALUATION

To actively participate in the development of services through initiating, undertaking and supervising complex service evaluation and audit.

Assist in the development and maintenance of a strong research culture that values the use of outcome measures as a way of improving clinical practice.

Encourage the critical evaluation of practice, and undertake research

To develop data processes and an evaluation framework that interfaces and compliments CSTM existing evaluation and monitoring processes and also contribute to the wider PIH data and outcome capture.

To produce contract monitoring and board reports.

To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.

PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

To ensure own Continuing Professional Development in line with HCPC requirements, HCPC Standards for Continuing Professional Development and Standards of Proficiency or other relevant professional / registry body and Trust Personal Development Plan requirements.

To comply with the HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics, or for other registry or professional bodys code of ethics as appropriate.

To contribute to the strategic development and implementation of new initiatives e.g. national guidelines including NICE.

A Full Job Description is attached to this advertisement.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Entry-level qualification in applied psychological therapy/mental health/social welfare profession and extensive demonstrable practice in this field (e.g. professional Doctorate in Clinical or Counselling Psychology or other relevant professional doctorate or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level/ supervised practice/ additional training) that has been accepted for the purposes of professional registration.
• Registered with professional body as appropriate to discipline HCPC/APC/ BPC/UKCP/BACP/ BABCP/ADMP-UK.
• Additional training beyond entry-level qualification in a specialised area of psychological practice through formal post-qualification training (PG Diploma or equivalent) OR a combination of specialist short courses and/an evidenced portfolio of supervised practice-based learning in a specialist area of clinical practice, assessed by a registered body and/or an experienced clinical supervisor to be of equal level to a Postgraduate Diploma or higher.
• Additional training in relevant specialist psychological models (Psychodynamic, MBT, DBT, CAT, Systemic, Narrative).

Experience

• Experience of post qualification highly specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in relevant speciality and/or client group e.g. Addictions/homelessness/complex trauma/psychosis/personality disorder/ mood disorder.
• Experience of consulting to, and supervising with other staff (incl. psychologists, MDT professionals and third/housing sector workers).
• Experience of specialist work with trauma and complex trauma
• Experience of leadership, partnership working, and service development
• Experience of working with homeless people
• Experience of working with Psychosis or people experiencing unusual experiences
• Experience of work with substance misuse

Skills & Abilities

• Specialist practitioner skills at level 3 in at least one or more models of relevant psychological therapy (Community, Narrative, SFBT MBT, CBT/DBT, psychodynamic).
• Highly developed verbal and written communication skills including communicating complex, highly technical and sensitive
• Skills in managing risk and ensuring good clinical governance

Knowledge

• Doctoral level knowledge of psychological research methodology and complex statistical analysis.
• Evidence of post-qualification continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS and/or HPCP.
• Specialist knowledge relevant to work in outreach, supported housing and homelessness
• Knowledge of 'Psychologically Informed Environments' and 'Trauma informed Care'

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 London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

£70,387 to £80,465 a yearper annum inclusive of Inner HCAS