Specialist Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

NHS; London; On-site; GBP 54,000 - 61,000; Full time

Job description

Specialist Clinical or Counselling Psychologist - Band 7 - Central London Adult Autism Service

We provide autism diagnostic assessments, post-diagnosis support, and consultation for adults (without a learning disability) in Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, and Hammersmith & Fulham. We work closely with local services, including mental health teams and adult social care, providing compassionate, person-centred, and evidence-based care. We have secured funding for developing new pathways.

Main duties of the job

• We are seeking a Band 7 qualified psychologist interested in working with autistic adults. The post is funded until the end of March 2026 and is likely to be extended. The successful candidate will:
• Be a good team player with strong work ethics, capable of working efficiently in a fast-paced environment.
• Have knowledge and/or experience of the context of services for autistic individuals.
• Work well with health and social care colleagues.
• Work directly with autistic adults or those seeking a diagnosis, their carers, and other professionals.

About us

Just as we care about our patients' wellbeing, we care about yours!

We can offer you:

• A comprehensive induction into the community service followed by a local induction to introduce you to the role.
• Car lease scheme *T&C's apply.
• Flexible working options.
• Annual travel card loan.
• Training, support, and development in your career.

Date posted: 08 April 2025

Pay scheme: Agenda for change

Band: Band 7

Salary: £54,320 to £60,981 a year per annum, inclusive of HCAS

Contract: Fixed term

Duration: 7 months

Working pattern: Full-time, Flexible working

Reference number: 824-INNER-7109937-A

Job responsibilities

Please refer to Job Description and Person Specification for outline of skills, knowledge, and experience required.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Doctoral level training in clinical/counselling psychology, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies, and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by the BPS and registered with HCPC.

Desirable

• Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training, and/or other fields of applied psychology.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across a range of care settings, e.g. outpatient, community, primary care, and in-patient settings.
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity.
• Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.

Desirable

• Experience of working in autism services and conducting autism assessments.
• Trained in formal autism assessment tools (e.g., ADOS-2, ADI-R).
• Experience of teaching training and/or supervision.

Skills

Essential

• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention, and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
• 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.
• Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design, and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
• Ability to identify, provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and severely challenging behaviours.
• Ability to identify, and employ, as appropriate, clinical governance mechanisms for the support and maintenance of clinical practice.

Desirable

• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.
• Knowledge of neuroaffirmative approaches for neurodivergent service-users.

Key Attributes

Essential

• Strong work ethics, good team-player, positive attitude in face of challenges, creative problem-solving skills.
• Sensitive and thoughtful about cultural diversities.
• Ability to advocate for, support and empower disadvantaged service-users.

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.

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

Employer details

Employer name: Central London Community Health Trust

Address: 215 Lisson Grove, London, NW8 8LW

Employer's website: https://clch.nhs.uk/