Practitioner Psychologist

NHS Jobs; Atherton (CA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 86,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave 33 days + birthday day

CPD opportunities

Pension scheme

Blue Light Card discounts

Job summary

The Spinney, Atherton-based in Manchester, is seeking an experienced Practitioner Psychologist to deliver specialist assessments, formulate interventions, and conduct risk assessments for male patients with complex mental health needs in a forensic setting.

You will provide evidence-based therapies, MDT collaboration, staff supervision, and reflective practice to support a high-quality service. The role emphasizes HCPC compliance, professional development, and cross-disciplinary teamwork.

Qualifications

• Postgraduate/Doctorate level qualification required or anticipated.
• Current registration with the HCPC as a Practitioner Psychologist.
• Knowledge of specialist, highly complex assessment and treatment of mental health difficulties.
• Experience supervising psychology and other healthcare colleagues.
• Experience of facilitating reflective practice for teams.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist psychological assessments, formulations and interventions for people with complex mental health issues.
• Contribute to risk management and care planning within a MDT framework.
• Communicate complex information to colleagues, service users and carers to support wellbeing and safeguarding.
• Manage a complex caseload and supervise/train assistant psychologists or trainees.
• Provide high-quality clinical supervision and lead reflective practice sessions.

Skills

Clinical psychology

Risk assessment

Multidisciplinary teamwork

Education

Postgraduate/Doctorate level qualification

HCPC registration

Job description

Are you an experienced Practitioner Psychologist looking to take the next step in your career? If so, join The Spinney in Atherton in Manchester, a service for care and support for men aged 18 years and over who experience mental health difficulties, and have been detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. Working 35 hours a week, this is an opportunity to change lives for the better and help some of the most vulnerable people in society. As part of your role, you will be reporting to the Lead Psychologist and will be responsible for the delivery of evidence-based individual and group interventions, cognitive assessments, MDT working and risk assessments for an allocated ward. You will also facilitate staff reflective practice sessions which are often a much-needed space for our staff to slow down, reflect and develop. The Spinney have adopted the heads and hearts model to facilitate the space. The department consists of Forensic Psychologist in Training, Practitioner Psychologists, Senior Practitioner Psychologists and a Lead Psychologist. In the team, people are trained in a variety of therapies including EMDR, DBT, CBT, CFT, ACT, PIT. We also enjoy bringing some light-heartedness and fun to, what can sometimes be, a challenging role. We provide a monthly CPD slot within the psychology department to share knowledge, and there are also quarterly CPD days with the wider regional Psychology teams, and we have bi-monthly reflective practice for our own team facilitated externally. Your ideas on how to contribute to this or grow it further would be warmly received. Working within the Psychology department at the Spinney you will be able to offer your expertise and experience of working with people in a forensic mental health setting. Most importantly, you will be a very valued staff member, and we think your career with us will be enjoyable and rewarding as you develop specialists’ skills throughout your time with us.

As a Psychologist you will be:

• Providing specialist psychological assessments, formulations and individualised evidence-based psychological interventions for people with complex mental health difficulties.
• Providing evidence-based and formulation-driven psychological perspectives to multidisciplinary risk management, care planning and decision-making to promote psychological wellbeing.
• Communicating complex and sensitive information to colleagues, service users, carers/relatives and other professionals to support psychological wellbeing, safeguarding, and risk assessments.
• Supporting and promoting open cultures within teams and services.
• Managing a complex caseload as a ward Psychologist working within a multidisciplinary team, in addition to facilitating group psychological interventions.
• Monitoring clinical progress through regular reviews of psychological treatment.
• Providing high-quality clinical supervision to assistant psychologists and/or trainees in the psychology team.
• Supporting staff development through the provision of training, consultation, formulation meetings and reflective practice sessions.
• Contributing to service developments within the psychology team and wider service.
• Receiving regular line management supervision from the Lead Psychologist and clinical supervision from the Lead or other Psychologist from the team.
• Being professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of clinical work and care.
• Maintaining high standards of care in all areas of practice and in accordance the HCPC Code of Conduct, professional guidelines and Company Policies and Procedures.

To be successful in this role, you'll need:

• Postgraduate/Doctorate level qualification (or evidence that you will qualify), allowing you to work as a Clinical, Forensic or Counselling psychologist.
• Current registration with the HCPC as a Practitioner Psychologist.
• We will also consider applicants from newly qualified Clinical/Counselling/Forensic Psychologists, or from those who are about to qualify (please clearly state in the application when you will receive HCPC registration).
• Knowledge and experience of specialist, highly complex assessment, formulation and treatment of people with mental health difficulties.
• Knowledge of risk assessment and risk management.
• Post qualification training in the specialist application of therapeutic models relevant for working with people with mental health difficulties in forensic services (or for newly qualified psychologists an interest in undertaking further specialist training).
• Experience of supervising psychology and other healthcare colleagues.
• Experience of facilitating reflective practice (or for newly qualified psychologists an interest in doing so with appropriate training and support).
• Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts.

Where you will be working:

Location: Everest Road, Atherton, Manchester, M46 9NT You will be working at The Spinney, a service which offer a range of care settings for male patients with personality disorder and/or mental illness. The purpose-built medium, low secure and rehabilitation wards, as well as a psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) are all set within an 11 acre site with extensive woodland and landscaped areas.

What You’ll Get At Elysium Healthcare

• Annual base salary of £58,630 FTE
• The equivalent of 33 days annual leave (including bank holidays) – plus your birthday off and the option to buy additional annual leave, in our annual selection window.
• Career development and training to help you achieve your professional goals
• Access to our Rewards & Benefits platform Ely-Vate; Your one-stop destination for everyday savings, exclusive benefits, and wellbeing hub!
• Wellbeing support and activities to help you maintain a healthy work-life balance
• Access to Blue Light Card, which provides a range of exclusive offers and discounts
• Life Assurance, for added peace of mind
• Stream – instant access to earned wages when you need it, plus access to save, directly from your wages, alongside financial wellbeing support.
• 24/7 GP service and second medical opinion, to ensure you are the best you can be
• Enhanced Maternity Package, so you can truly enjoy this special time
• Pension contribution, to help secure your future
• Free/subsidised meals and onsite/local free parking

About your next employer:

Elysium Healthcare has over 8,000 employees and a unique approach to the delivery of care. With a network of over 80 services across England and Wales covering Mental Health, Neurological, Learning Disabilities & Autism, Children & Education, there is opportunity for you to grow and move. Elysium Healthcare is part of Ramsay Health Care with a global network that extends across 10 countries and employs over 86,000 people globally. Elysium Healthcare follows safer recruitment of staff for all appointments and is a Disability Confident employer, committed to inclusive and accessible recruitment. It is a requirement that all staff understand it is each person’s individual responsibility to promote and safeguard the welfare of service users. All candidates will be subject to a DBS disclosure