Psychotherapist, Practitioner Psychologist & Psychological Therapist

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust; Greater London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS trust in London seeks a Clinical Lead to spearhead the Crisis Plus model for Complex Emotional Needs clients. The role involves leadership responsibility for a small team, alongside providing clinical expertise across Adult Mental Health Services. The ideal candidate is an experienced psychologist or psychotherapist, adept in managing complex cases. Competitive benefits include generous pay and professional development opportunities.

Benefits

Generous pay, pensions, and leave package

Flexible working options

Career development programs

Car lease benefits

Keyworker housing

NHS discounts

Counseling services

Long service awards

Cycle to work scheme

Season ticket loan

Childcare vouchers

Staff restaurants

Qualifications

• Candidates must possess specialist skills in handling personality disorders.
• Experience in managing self-harm and substance misuse is required.
• Must have prior experience collaborating with multidisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead the implementation of the Crisis Plus model for CEN clients.
• Develop and supervise a team of Assistant Psychologists.
• Prepare and report on KPIs to senior management.

Skills

Clinical leadership

Assessment and formulation

Working with Personality Disorder

Risk assessment and management

Team collaboration

Education

Qualified psychologist or psychotherapist

Job description

A Vacancy at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.

We are pleased to announce a Clinical Lead post, as part of an expansion of the Crisis Plus model. This is a fixed term 3-year contract. The successful candidate will lead the implementation of Crisis Plus model across Croydon directorate, specifically targeting those with Complex Emotional Needs (CEN). The successful candidate will use their range of clinical experience to lead and develop a small team working with service users who predominately have Complex Emotional Needs who are at risk of repeated use of crisis and acute services & private inpatient services. The post requires offering clinical expertise across the range of Adult Mental Health Services to deliver excellent highly integrated clinical care. It’s a role that would be suited to a senior and experienced psychologist or psychotherapist who is looking to develop their leadership skills across adult MH services. Applicants would benefit from having experience specialist skills in working with Personality Disorder, managing self-harm, substance misuse, good MDT and multi‑agency working.

To lead the CEN Crisis Plus model within Croydon Adult Mental Health Services, the candidate will lead a team of 2 Assistant Psychologists. In addition to the clinical work, the candidate would support and build upon other HIU initiatives in the directorate/trust alongside supporting Croydon Acute, Crisis and Complex Care pathway. The role would also involve preparing and reporting on KPIs to senior managers and clinicians, so previous experience of working with commissioners and presenting outcomes would be valued. There would also be support to collaborate with others on service evaluation, audit and research.

The candidate will work across secondary mental health care services in the Croydon directorate.

Benefits

• Generous pay, pensions and leave, we offer a comprehensive pay, pensions and leave package which is dependent on the role and length of service.
• Work‑life balance, flexible working and support a range of flexible options, such as part‑time working and job sharing.
• Career development, we support your development through a number of programmes such as mentoring, coaching, positive people management, collective leadership and other talent programmes.
• Car lease, our staff benefits from competitive deals to lease cars.
• Accommodation, our staff benefits from keyworker housing available on selected sites.
• NHS discounts, with discounts up to 10% from a variety of well‑known retail brands through the Health Service Discounts website.
• Counselling services.
• Long service awards.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Season ticket loan.
• Childcare vouchers.
• Staff restaurants.

Responsibilities

• Lead the implementation of the Crisis Plus model for CEN clients within Croydon Adult Mental Health Services.
• Lead and develop a small team of 2 Assistant Psychologists.
• Provide clinical expertise across Adult Mental Health Services and deliver highly integrated clinical care.
• Prepare and report on KPIs to senior managers and clinicians, and present outcomes to commissioners.
• Collaborate on service evaluation, audit and research.
• Support and build upon other HIU initiatives in the directorate/trust, including Croydon Acute, Crisis and Complex Care pathway.
• Provide specialist assessment and clinical formulation to clients with significant difficulties with emotional and behavioural dysregulation.
• Use evidence‑based psychological principles to support teams working with clients at risk of relapse.
• Ensure delivery of high quality psychologically informed crisis and care planning for challenging clients.
• Conduct risk assessment and risk management for individual service users and advise other professionals.
• Provide training in psychologically informed care and crisis planning to staff.
• Develop integration of services alongside Crisis Line, Crisis Café and future third‑sector/ partnership developments.
• Directly manage trainee psychologists/psychotherapists and Band 5 Assistant Psychologists, including recruitment and appraisal within the service and wider operational directorate.
• Operate autonomously within HCPC or relevant professional body guidance, including treatment and discharge decisions under supervision.
• Give and receive constructive feedback, liaise with other professionals to develop and review crisis and care plans.
• Communicate sensitively, taking account of sensory and cultural barriers to communication.
• Produce clinical reports, including formulation, opinion and interventions.
• Respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations.
• Receive regular clinical and professional supervision; provide supervision to multidisciplinary staff and other therapists.
• Identify service improvements and contribute to development projects.
• Participate in consultation and engagement of clients in service planning.
• Participate in clinical governance initiatives.
• Maintain Continuing Professional Development and keep up to date with current developments and legislation.
• Maintain highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, including electronic data entry.
• Comply with HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics; and Standards for Continuing Professional Development and Standards of Proficiency.
• Ensure services are acceptable and accessible to diverse communities.

Qualifications

• Senior and experienced psychologist or psychotherapist.
• Specialist skills in working with Personality Disorder, managing self‑harm and substance misuse.
• Experience in MDT and multi‑agency working.
• Previous experience of working with commissioners and presenting outcomes.

This advert closes on Monday 8 Dec 2025.