Specialist Clinical Psychologist

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

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist to join the Southport Community mental health team at Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust. This role offers a chance to engage with service users, provide psychological assessments, and contribute to a multidisciplinary team, with support for newly qualified applicants.

Qualifications

• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment across various care settings.
• Ability to communicate complex clinical information effectively.
• Experience in teaching, training, and supervision.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist psychological assessments and interventions to clients.
• Formulate and implement treatment plans based on psychological frameworks.
• Offer guidance and consultation to other professionals.

Skills

Communication

Psychological assessment

Therapeutic intervention

Team collaboration

Education

Doctoral level training in clinical psychology

Job description

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist to work within Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust within the Southport Community mental health team. This post is suitable for both newly qualified and current band 8a's.The service will offer relevant training and support to ensure newly qualified applicants are eligible forpreceptorship to an 8a clinical psychology post.

The service offers group and individual interventions utilising a range of models including CBT, EMDR, MBT, Psychodynamic, ISTDP, CFT and Psycho-education. Stepped care model is used to provide service users with a range of psychological interventions, appropriate to the level of need. You would be joining a service that includes a Principal Clinical Psychologist, a Consultant Psychotherapist, a Specialist Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Psychologist.

It is a varied role, suited to those who enjoy the challenge of engaging service users in a secondary care setting and who enjoy working in a Multi-disciplinary team. As well as opportunities to do 1:1 and group clinical work, there are also opportunities for consultation, training and reflective practice. Recruits will also be encouraged and supported to supervise Trainee Clinical Psychologists on placement.

Applicants must have a recognised qualification (or in the process of completing). Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology accredited by the BPS, or its approved equivalent.

Main duties of the job

You'll work within a team to support people with a range of psychological issues by providing specialist psychological assessment, therapy and interventions to service users and carers, making use of a range of models, where appropriate. You'll also offer specialist advice, leadership and consultation to non-psychologist colleagues and support the development of psychological skills across the whole workforce through specialist training, supervision, mentorship and reflective practice.

Psychological input is highly valued by staff within services, so you'll need experience of working with other services, championing psychological interventions and developing working partnerships.

About us

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

Details Date posted

12 May 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£46,148 to £60,504 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

350-MHC7167403

Job locations

Hartley hospital

1b Curzon Rd

Southport

PR8 6PL

Job description Job responsibilities

To provide specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the team 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 structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the clients care.

To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a clients psychological problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy.

To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across teams employed individually and in synthesis, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses where appropriate.

To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.

To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.

To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment and treatment of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based enhanced care plans.

To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.

To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group.

To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.

To act as care coordinator, where appropriate, taking responsibility for initiating planning and reviewing of care plans under enhanced CPA including clients, their carers, referring agents and others involved in the network of care.

To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.

Job description Job responsibilities

To provide specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the team 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 structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the clients care.

To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a clients psychological problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy.

To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across teams employed individually and in synthesis, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses where appropriate.

To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.

To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.

To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment and treatment of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based enhanced care plans.

To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.

To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group.

To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.

To act as care coordinator, where appropriate, taking responsibility for initiating planning and reviewing of care plans under enhanced CPA including clients, their carers, referring agents and others involved in the network of care.

To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.

Person Specification KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE Essential

• Experience of specialist psychological assessment, formulation and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient 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
• Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision
• Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts

VALUES Essential

• Continuous Improvement
• Accountability
• Respectfulness
• Enthusiasm
• Responsive to service users
• Engaging leadership style
• Strong customer service belief
• Transparency and honesty
• Discreet

Skills Essential

• Expertise in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, formulation, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
• Well developed and effective communication skills, oral and written, to communicate complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and nonprofessional groups.
• Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health
• Knowledge of IT systems including word processing, email and local electronic patient information systems
• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multimedia materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
• Reasonable adjustments will be made for those with sensory impairment
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of service governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
• Ability to self-reflect, use clinical supervision appropriately and consider complex organisational and team dynamics

Desirable

• 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 at least one specialised psychological therapy

Qualifications Essential

• Doctoral level training in clinical psychology, or its approved equivalent accredited by the BPS

Desirable

• Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology.

Person Specification KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE Essential

• Experience of specialist psychological assessment, formulation and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient 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
• Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision
• Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts

VALUES Essential

• Continuous Improvement
• Accountability
• Respectfulness
• Enthusiasm
• Responsive to service users
• Engaging leadership style
• Strong customer service belief
• Transparency and honesty
• Discreet

Skills Essential

• Expertise in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, formulation, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
• Well developed and effective communication skills, oral and written, to communicate complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and nonprofessional groups.
• Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health
• Knowledge of IT systems including word processing, email and local electronic patient information systems
• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multimedia materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
• Reasonable adjustments will be made for those with sensory impairment
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of service governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
• Ability to self-reflect, use clinical supervision appropriately and consider complex organisational and team dynamics

Desirable

• 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 at least one specialised psychological therapy

Qualifications Essential

• Doctoral level training in clinical psychology, or its approved equivalent accredited by the BPS

Desirable

• Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology.

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Additional information 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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details Employer name

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Hartley hospital

1b Curzon Rd

Southport

PR8 6PL

Employer's website

https://www.merseycare.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details Employer name

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Hartley hospital

1b Curzon Rd

Southport

PR8 6PL

Employer's website

https://www.merseycare.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)