Principal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist - Adult Mental Health

NHS; Newtown; On-site; GBP 63,000 - 74,000; Part time

Job description

Principal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist - Adult Mental Health

The Adult Psychology and Psychological Therapy Service in Powys is seeking to recruit a motivated, dynamic and experienced Principal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist to join the Adult Psychology Leadership Team.

The successful candidate will have opportunities to contribute to, and to lead on, a number of service improvement initiatives and workstreams in line with local and national psychological therapy priorities.

The Psychology and Psychological Therapies Service comprises a dedicated team of clinicians including: Clinical and Counselling Psychologists, CBT Practitioners, Trauma Therapy Practitioners, CAAPS, and Assistant Psychologists.

The Service works closely with a number of other mental health teams and services in Powys including: the Complex Emotional Needs Service; LPMHSS; CMHTs; and Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Teams (CRHTTs). The service actively engages with Clinical Psychology Training Programmes based in north and south Wales and supports Clinical Psychology Trainees on placement. Clinicians are very fortunate to be supported by an administrative team comprising a Business Support Manager and Senior Administrators.

Main duties of the job

The Principal Psychologist for north Powys will join the Adult Psychology and Psychological Therapy Leadership Team whilst also playing a key role in the day to day management and leadership of Adult Psychology and Psychological Therapy Services, including:

1. Supporting the Consultant Psychologist with managing and overseeing the day-to-day provision of psychological services to adults of working age.
2. Providing leadership on psychological knowledge and approaches for the CMHTs, Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team (CRHTT) and Local Primary Mental Health Support Service (LPMHSS) in North Powys.
3. Providing line management supervision and/or clinical supervision to qualified psychologists, CAAPs, Assistant psychologists, and trainee clinical psychologists on placement. The role may also include supervision and consultation for staff in the wider mental health service, including LPMHSS, the CMHT, and the CRHTT in north Powys.
4. Working closely with the Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Team in north Powys.
5. Carrying a specialist clinical psychology caseload of clients of working age referred to the service.
6. The role will also include opportunities for service development, including contributing to the development of clinical pathways, research and service evaluation projects, and service improvement initiatives.

About us

Being the smallest Heath Board in Wales means that you won't get lost in the crowd. Everybody at Powys Teaching Health Board is valued for the contribution they make to our varied and diverse portfolio of community-based services. Together, we can continue to make a real difference to our patients and build on our unrivalled reputation.

As a supportive and progressive employer, we actively encourage you to carve out a career with us, through a range of development pathways. We're also lucky enough to be situated in one of the most beautiful rural counties in Britain, let alone Wales! Achieving a healthy 'life work' balance is essential, and something we recognise by prioritising your well-being.

To start your journey with us, and to learn more about what we can offer you please visit: https://pthb.nhs.wales/working-for-us/. There you will find information about our benefits and values, read staff experiences and more about what our beautiful county has to offer.

Job responsibilities

The ability to speak Welsh is desirable for this post; English and/or Welsh speakers are equally welcome to apply.

Full details of the job description and main responsibilities for this post are contained within Job Description and Person Specification document.

The service is committed to supporting staff to make use of existing clinical interests and expertise whilst also enabling staff to continue to develop clinical, research, leadership and management competencies (for instance, with access to training and supervision in evidence-based psychological therapies including EMDR, CBT, DBT, CFT, and Systemic Psychotherapy.)

We are looking to recruit on a part-time basis for three days a week. The post will be based at Y Parc, Newtown with some scope for agile working.

Person Specification

Qualifications and Knowledge

• Post-graduate Doctorate degree in Clinical or Counselling Psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS.
• HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist.
• Training in clinical supervision (or equivalent experience).
• Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS and HCPC.
• Awareness of a wide range of therapeutic psychological models and an advanced understanding of at least two.
• Familiarity with key strategy documents, policies, and procedures, together with knowledge of legislation in relation to mental health services in Wales.
• Specialist training, in for example EMDR, DBT, CBT, systemic family therapy, CAT, research design & methodology.

Experience

• Significant experience of working as a qualified Clinical or Counselling Psychologist in a mental health setting with a wide variety of client groups, presenting with problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity.
• Advanced levels of clinical expertise in at least one area of clinical practice within the adult mental health field.
• Substantial experience of providing individual and group supervision and consultation to other professional staff groups.
• Broad experience of delivering teaching and training.
• Experience of undertaking doctoral level research, service evaluations and ongoing audit activity in addition to advising and supervising others' research and audit activities.
• Experience of Line Management and NHS Wales recruitment and selection processes.

Aptitude and abilities

• Ability to use a high level of interpersonal and communication skills to convey and receive highly complex/sensitive information effectively, requiring empathy and reassurance in highly emotive, sometimes hostile atmospheres.
• Ability to undertake comprehensive psychological assessments, interpret highly complex material, construct psychological formulations, develop specialised individualised intervention plans, and monitor and evaluate the intervention appropriately.
• Ability to work collaboratively in multidisciplinary settings.
• Ability to create and maintain effective working relationships.
• Ability to make clinical and service-related judgements involving complex facts requiring analysis, interpretation and comparison of several options.
• Ability to critically evaluate, disseminate and apply research evidence relating to clinical effectiveness and service development.
• Ability to formulate solutions and plan and organise a range of clinical or service-related activities and programmes which impact across services / agencies.
• Able to take action based on own interpretation of clinical/ professional / organisational / occupational policies which impact the Adult Psychology and other services, seeking advice as necessary.
• Able to take on responsibility for the development of specific service initiatives within Adult Psychological Services in the Powys.
• Computer literate with the ability to use standard and specialist software.
• Ability to adhere to BPS and HCPC professional guidelines and be accountable for own professional actions.
• Ability to speak Welsh.

Values and other

• Demonstrate PTHB Values.
• Willingness to travel between workplaces.

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.

Lead Consultant Psychologist, Adult Mental Health

£63,150 to £73,379 a year per annum pro rata