Job summary
- Main area
- Psychology Trauma
- Grade
- Band 8B
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 26.25 hours per week
- Job ref
- 371-MHS716
- Employer
- Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Erlegh House
- Town
- Reading
- Salary
- £64,337 - £74,415 per annum (inc. of HCAS)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 21/04/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Principal Clinical / Counselling Psychologist
Band 8B
Job overview
We're excited to offer a part-time role for a passionate and motivated Principal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist to join the senior management team at the Berkshire Traumatic Stress Service. You'll be joining a warm, dynamic team of psychologists and psychological therapists who are deeply committed to providing the best possible care for individuals affected by trauma.
You'll play a key part in shaping, managing, and delivering our specialist Trauma Service, supporting individuals with PTSD and C-PTSD. You'll take the lead in overseeing our service waiting lists, staff clinical capacity, and contribute to the development of specialist pathways within the service.
Our service offers generous time for CPD, giving you the chance to expand your expertise in Trauma-Focused CBT, EMDR, and Compassion-Focused Therapy. We highly value clinician self-care, providing strong support systems including peer supervision, regular one-on-one supervision, and specialist supervision in Compassion-Focused Therapy and EMDR.
You'll be based at Erlegh House, located on the vibrant University of Reading campus, complete with plenty of parking, nearby green spaces, and local shops.
We also offer a flexible, hybrid working model that includes both face-to-face sessions and online working, either from our well-equipped clinic space or from home when suitable.
If you’re looking for an opportunity to lead, inspire, and make a difference in a welcoming and supportive team, we’d love to hear from you!
Main duties of the job
-
You will provide clinical leadership and contribute to the delivery of evidence-based treatment within the Service by offering specialist assessment, formulation, and treatment for individuals experiencing PTSD or C-PTSD following traumatic events.
-
You will play a key role in the clinical management of the service, overseeing waiting lists, staff capacity, and the management and development of specific treatment pathways.
-
You will contribute to the clinical supervision and line management of qualified psychologists and psychological therapists
-
You will offer consultation on complexity and risk management to junior team members.
-
You will also help develop and provide training on working with PTSD and C-PTSD to other NHS services and mental health professionals.
-
You will work autonomously within professional guidelines and participate in relevant research activities for audit and service evaluation.
Working for our organisation
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated ‘outstanding’ by the CQC, we’re committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we’re committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.
Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are:
- Caring for and about you is our top priority
- Committed to providing good quality, safe services
- Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions
Your wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:
- Flexible working options to support work-life balance
- 27 days’ annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
- Generous NHS pension scheme
- Excellent learning and career development opportunities
- ‘Cycle to Work’ and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
- Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
- Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
- Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality
- Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave
- Free parking across Trust sites
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The “must haves” for this role:
- An HCPC-regulated Clinical/Counselling Psychology qualification
- Experience treating PTSD and C-PTSD using NICE-recommended therapy modalities
- Experience supervising and managing qualified psychologists
- Evidence of Management and leadership experience
For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.
We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted.
We’re committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed.
We have identified that this is a role where we have underrepresentation of ethnically diverse colleagues. As part of our commitment to inclusion and Unity Against Racism we offer guaranteed interviews to candidates who meet the essential criteria and identify as: Asian or Asian British, Black or Black British, Mixed and ‘Other’ Ethnic Groups.
We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please don’t hesitate to call: Dawne West, Business and Operational Manager, [email protected], who’ll be delighted to help.
Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible.
Person specification
Education/Qualifications/Training
Essential criteria
- Post graduate doctoral qualification in clinical or counselling psychology (or equivalent for those who trained prior to 1996 or for those who completed their training overseas) which provides eligibility for Chartered Membership of the BPS (British Psychological Society).
- Registered and accredited with Health Care Professional Council (HCPC) as a Practitioner Psychologist
- Additional accreditations (or working towards these) to reflect post qualification specialist training (e.g., BABCP, UKCP, BPS).
- Proven ability in teaching and formal training in professional/clinical supervision.
Continuous Professional Development
Essential criteria
- Evidence of substantial post-doctoral training, experience and expert knowledge in psychological models and therapeutic approaches in the assessment and treatment of PTSD/C-PTSD.
- Evidence of post qualification or specialist training to accreditable level in at least two areas of psychological practice directly related to the clinical requirements of this post and clinical supervision.
- Clinical supervision training for psychological therapy trainees and qualified staff.
Previous Experience
Essential criteria
- Significant experience working as a qualified clinical/counselling psychologist, including demonstrable post qualification experience at a highly specialist level in the treatment of PTSD/C-PTSD.
- Significant experience of working in evidence-based ways with traumatised people including those with PTSD/C-PTSD.
- Significant experience of working with service users (and their carers/ families) presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the range of care settings, 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 dealing with highly distressing or emotional circumstances, such as serious mental illness, child and sexual abuse, exploitation, and complex family dynamics.
- Experience of providing professional/clinical supervision and line-management to qualified members of staff.
- Experience of teaching and experience of developing and leading the delivery of training programmes.
- Experience of leading service evaluation and implementing change from a national and local health or social care change agenda that impacts across services and professions.
- Experience of working with, and addressing issues of diversity, including experience of working with diversity, multiculturalism and equality of access to services
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
Essential criteria
- Detailed and advanced knowledge of assessment and a range of evidence-based therapeutic interventions for PTSD/C-PTSD.
- Experience of other models of trauma-focussed therapy including EMDR, NET and/or compassion-focussed therapy.
- Able to manage a demanding and complex caseload while supporting junior colleagues.
- Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to service users, their families, carers, and other professional colleagues, both within and outside the NHS.
- Exceptional interpersonal and highly effective communication skills with the ability to support, engage and lead patients, clinicians and other stakeholder groups in change, development, and improvement.
- Ability to confidently cope well under pressure, resolve issues and competing demands, with excellent time management skills and an ability to respond constructively to challenge or resistance.
Additional Requirements
Essential criteria
- Demonstrates the ability to respond to people’s needs sensitively, particularly with reference to all aspects of diversity.
- Able to work flexibly as required, to work in-person from base and to travel independently between locations to fulfil the requirements and duties of the position.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Dawne West
- Job title
- Business and Operational Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01189047111
List jobs with Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in Allied Health Professions or all sectors