CAMHS – Applied Psychologist (Clinical or Counselling)

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust; Gloucester; On-site; GBP 53,000 - 61,000

Job description

CAMHS – Applied Psychologist (Clinical or Counselling)

Band 8a

Main area Psychology Grade Band 8a Contract Permanent Hours Part time - 22.5 hours per week Job ref 327-25-257

Site Acorn House Town Gloucester Salary £53,755 - £60,504 Per Annum Salary period Yearly Closing 01/05/2025 23:59

We love what we do and we think you will, too!

At Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (GHC), we provide joined-up mental health, physical health and learning disability services to people of all ages across Gloucestershire. We run community hospitals and provide care and support in people’s own homes and in a range of other locations across the county.

We are on a mission to enable people to live the best life they can and we have a vision to work together to provide outstanding care. We put people at the heart of our services, focusing on personalised care by asking ‘what matters to you’.

Our application process aims to understand each candidate's knowledge, skills and experience. We have found that candidates that use AI to generate their answers can lack specificity and fail to address key criteria outlined in the job description.

It is really important to personalise your application to convey your individual skills, knowledge, and experiences effectively and for us to understand why you are applying for this role with GHC. We discourage over-reliance on AI-generated applications as it will lessen your chances of success in securing an interview with us.

Job overview

Gloucester Core CAMHS Team is looking for a highly skilled and motivated Clinical Psychologist or Counselling Psychologist. The Gloucestershire Core CAMHS Team provides high quality assessments and interventions to children, young people and families within Gloucestershire. CAMHS is part of a wider Children and Young People’s Directorate where we are developing integrated ways of working with physical health colleagues, including Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists and School Nurses. Our service is embedded in strong values which put children and families at the heart of what we do.

Main duties of the job

You will be part of the Psychological Services Team in Gloucestershire, which includes CBT, Systemic, Creative and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapists as well as Clinical Psychologists. We work in teams across the directorate and there are many opportunities for shared learning and development.

The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification.

Working for our organisation

We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people’s homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.

Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:

• 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
• 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
• 81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust’s priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.

This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

· Provide a range of highly specialist psychological assessment and treatment interventions for children and young people (0-18yrs) and their families/carers who present with emotional and mental health difficulties as well as those children and young people who have learning disabilities. Provision will be in accordance to the relevant Professional Specialist Competencies Framework and Code of Practice.

· To carry a caseload and provide a direct service for psychological issues which demand more than a standard therapeutic approach. (e.g. Basic Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) may have been tried unsuccessfully, methods may need significant adaptation, particular challenges exist in maintaining a therapeutic relationship.)

· To draw appropriately from a range of assessment tools and methodologies. To interpret and integrate complex data and information from a variety of sources to develop psychological formulations and identify the most relevant intervention strategy. To monitor and evaluate progress, refining formulations and interventions as necessary. To assess and manage risk within an appropriate psychological framework.

· To plan and prioritise workload, exercising autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment, and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based care plans.

· To maintain appropriate records in electronic or hard copy in line with Trust policies and Professional guidelines. Includes workload data and using word processing skills to produce client related reports.

· To work primarily within a multi-disciplinary approach/team where a variety of opinion and expertise is brought to bear on a situation.

· To act as care coordinator where the psychological complexity of the case means it makes sense to do so. Ensuring the provision of an appropriate care package for the child and his/her family.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Post Graduate Doctoral level training in Clinical or Counselling Psychology, as accredited by the BPS
• Registered as Practitioner Psychologist with the HCPC / ACP

Length & / Or Nature of Experience

• Experience of maintaining working relationships and a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical aggression
• Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues, both within and outside the NHS.
• Broad range of post-qualification experience, preferably working at a highly specialist level in an increasingly autonomous capacity

Professional/Managerial/Specialist Knowledge

• According to Professional qualification a Highly developed knowledge of lifespan developmental psychology, including how to integrate complex (and potentially contradictory) aspects of development, functioning and presentation into a formulation. Knowledge of research methodology and design (consistent with Chartered Psychologist status where professionally appropriate).
• Advanced knowledge: For Psychologists: HCPC Registration qualifies Psychologists to work in any of a wide range of disciplines.
• Significant hours of post qualification CPD

Personal Skills Abilities and Attributes

• Emotional robustness to frequently work with the intense distress of others.
• Ability to adapt style and/or assessment and intervention strategies to meet the challenges of complex clients/situations.

Other Requirements

• This is a community-based post and therefore a valid UK driving licence plus the use of own transport for business purposes is essential.
• Some CAMHS posts will require working from community sites or other CAMHS satellite bases on a routine basis.

When joining us, as well as becoming part of a team that makes a difference, we also offer:

• Free car parking at many of our sites
• 27 days leave plus bank holidays, increasing up to 33 days with long service
• A broad range of training and development opportunities, including apprenticeships up to Level 7 qualification.
• A multi-professional preceptorship programme for all Newly Qualified Nurses, Nursing Associates, Internationally Educated Practitioners, Allied Health Professionals and Return to Practice Practitioners.
• Generous NHS pension and enhanced pay when if you work unsocial hours
• Flexible, family friendly and agile working opportunities
• Recognition and long service awards
• Fast Track physiotherapy
• Access to discounts and salary sacrifice schemes; including Cycle to Work, Car scheme and discounts on travel, leisure and retailers.

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date. Good luck with your application.

For more information please see the attached 'Additional Information for Applicants' document.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

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.