Clinical/Counselling Psychologist/Psychological Therapist

We are on a continuous journey of improvement and transformation, however our main priority is, and always will be, providing safe and high quality care to our patients every day; the kind of care we would want for ourselves and our loved ones. If you share our passion then apply for this opportunity and help us make our patients' experience the best it can possibly be.

With a budget of around £365m, three hospitals and 5,500 staff, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust provides hospital-based services to the population of Hartlepool, Stockton on Tees and parts of East Durham and Sedgefield as well as community, therapeutic and screening to a wider population across Durham and Teesside.

Job overview

Please note this post will be closed early once a sufficient amount of applications have been received.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Band 7 Clinical/Counselling Psychologist or Psychological Therapist to work within the Community Pain Management Service within the Medical Psychology Department at North Tees and Hartlepool. The post is to support patients who are living with persistent pain, encouraging self-management and the utilisation of psychological coping strategies, whilst also reducing the reliance on pharmacological intervention. You will be working within a team of psychologists, psychological therapists, applied psychologists, assistant psychologists and physiotherapists, to provide a high quality and responsive care to patients who live with persistent pain.

This is an exciting opportunity to join our dynamic and innovative Psychology Team. The post-holder will be based within a diverse Medical Psychology Department at the University Hospital of Hartlepool, working alongside motivated and compassionate psychology colleagues. This post provides excellent additional opportunities, including strong peer support, quality supervision and an emphasis on CPD.

Main duties of the job

The successful post-holder will:

1. Offer specialist assessment and evidence-based, psychologically-informed support to patients accessing the Community Pain Management service within the Medical Psychology Department.
2. Work to provide a high-quality, compassionate and trauma-informed service to all individuals.
3. Implement a range of specialist psychological approaches, adjusting and refining psychological formulations as required.
4. Undertake psychological risk assessment and risk management, as well as providing specialist advice to colleagues across the MDT.
5. Provide psychological consultation to the wider MDT, alongside training and psycho-education as required.
6. Engage collaboratively with colleagues in service evaluation, audit and research.
7. Support opportunities aimed at improving services.
8. Receive clinical supervision and adhere to CPD/professional registration requirements.

Working for our organisation

At North Tees & Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, our main priority is to provide safe and high quality care to our patients every day; the kind of care we would want for ourselves and our loved ones. We want our organisation to be the best place to work with the right staff, in the right roles, at the right time, to ensure we deliver exceptional patient care and experience.

We will support staff through providing an inclusive and supportive workplace with health and well-being initiatives, staff benefits and opportunities for personal and professional development. Staff recognition is very important to us; as well as performance reviews and appraisals, we recognise staff achievements and dedication through the Star and Team of the month, Managers Awards, Shining Stars and Service Awards.

We recruit for values and 'Together we are North Tees & Hartlepool.'

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Job Description and Person Specification has been provided in the document link.

All enquiries should be directed to our psychology administration team in the first instance who will facilitate any enquiries. They can be reached on 01429 522049 or via email nt-htr.psychology.admin@nhs.net. We would also warmly welcome any requests for an informal visit of the Medical Psychology Department.

Please note: if invited to interview, a ten-minute PowerPoint presentation is to be prepared and forwarded to the psychology administration team prior to interview (the presentation topic will be forwarded to shortlisted candidates).

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Doctorate level training in Clinical or Counselling Psychology or Post-graduate training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with BABCP registration as a CBT Therapist (or equivalent).
• Basis for HCPC registration as an Applied Psychologist or BABCP registered as a CBT therapist.

Desirable criteria

• Experience in clinical health psychology.
• Post-graduate qualification and evidence of supervised practice in an evidence-based psychological therapy model (e.g. IPT, CBT, EMDR, ACT, CFT).

Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients.
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of staff training / teaching.
• Experience of supervision of healthcare staff.

Skills

Essential criteria

• Ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information.
• Competence in at least one psychological approach.

Desirable criteria

• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies with specific difficult to treat groups.

Please note - Once sufficient applications have been received this vacancy may close early.

Please check your email address on a regular basis as applicants invited to attend an interview will be notified via this method.

As part of our recruitment process, you will be required to undertake pre-employment screening:

Disclosure and Barring Scheme

Where a post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 it may be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Scheme to check for any previous criminal convictions. Should you require a copy of the Trust's Disclosure and Barring Service Policy, please contact a member of the recruitment team on 01642 624023.

It is the policy of North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who are new to the Trust who require DBS clearance for the post they have been offered, are required to pay the cost for their DBS certificate. The method of payment for this is via salary deduction from your first month's pay on commencement with the Trust.

Please note the essential qualifications required for the post outlined within the Person Specification. You are required to hold and provide evidence of the necessary qualifications for the post at interview should you be shortlisted.

For any new employees commencing employment with North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, you will be subject to satisfactory completion of a 6 month probationary period. Please note that internal applications and individuals that are appointed to fixed term appointments of less than 6 months duration are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or a bank member of staff).

As part of our pre-employment screening process, all applicants are required to provide references covering their last three years employment history. Applicants are requested to ensure e-mail addresses for all referees are included on their application form. Personal references are not acceptable.

If the hours advertised for the post are up to full time (37.5 hours per week), applications are still welcomed from individuals who may be seeking to work less than full-time hours and all requests will be considered in line with the post being appointed to for the successful applicant.

North Tees & Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust operates a No Smoking Policy.

If you experience any technical difficulties applying for this post please contact a member of our recruitment team on 01642 624023 quoting the vacancy reference.

Equal Opportunities

The details in the Monitoring Information section of your application will be used for monitoring our recruitment process and will not be seen by the interview panel. The information you give will be treated in the strictest confidence. To meet its commitment to promoting equality of opportunity, the Trust's policy is that individuals will be recruited, trained and promoted according to ability and job requirements only. As such we welcome your application irrespective of your gender, race, disability, colour, ethnic or national origin, and nationality, and marital status, responsibility for dependants, religion, trade union activity and age.

Disability

The Trust gives full and fair consideration to applications for employment received from disabled people. We are a "Positive about Disabled People" employer, and we hold the 'two ticks' Disability Symbol, which is a recognition given by Jobcentre Plus to employers who have agreed to meet five commitments regarding the recruitment, employment, retention and career development of disabled people. If you have a disability, which makes it difficult for you to complete our application form, please do not hesitate to contact the recruitment team on 01642 624023.

Armed Forces Covenant

As a supporter of the Armed Forces and an employer of Reservists, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust are proud to be a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant, which is a promise by the nation to ensure that those who serve or who have served in the UK Armed Forces (and their families) are treated fairly.

We recognise that reservists and veterans bring a variety of transferable skills and qualities to our workplace, developed through their military careers. Our commitment to supporting the Armed Forces Community has been recognised through the Armed Forces Covenant as a Silver Employer.

What does this mean?

We proactively demonstrate our forces-friendly credentials within our recruitment and selection processes, by having a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for those indicated as part of the Armed Forces Community. We engage with our local and regional Career Transition Partnership representatives and are a member of Step Into Health. We employ veterans and reservists from differing branches of the Armed Forces and actively promote our positive policies for the Armed Forces Community, including our Special Leave policy. We advocate support for defence people issues, including facilitating easier access to Healthcare Services for our patients within the AF Community. We have supported employees through Reservist training, through additional leave for their training and ongoing support under our Special Leave policy.

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

• Job Description and Person Specification (PDF, 527.7KB)
• Staff Networks - UHNT (PDF, 428.4KB)
• Customer Service Overview (PDF, 155.8KB)
• Employment Applicant Guidance (PDF, 594.1KB)
• Privacy Notice (PDF, 717.8KB)