Job summary
- Main area
- CAMHS Anxiety Disorder Treatment Team
- Grade
- Band 8b
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 30 hours per week
- Job ref
- 371-CFS707-A
- Employer
- Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Erlegh House, University of Reading, Earley Gate, Whiteknights Campus
- Town
- Reading
- Salary
- £66,653 - £77,094 per annum, pro-rata (inc. of HCAS)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 20/04/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Principal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist
Band 8b
Job overview
We are seeking a highly specialist psychological practitioner to lead, coordinate and deliver a high-quality psychological therapy service for young people and their parents/carers within the Access, Advice and Getting Help services in Berkshire CAMHS. The role combines direct clinical work with the provision of consultation, supervision, and specialist guidance to colleagues and clinical leads across the service.
Initially, the post holder will work within the CAMHS Anxiety Disorders Treatment Team (ADTT), offering expert psychological input for children and young people with complex anxiety presentations, intensive risk management, and multiagency involvement. The role will then transition into a Berkshire wide Getting Help model, supporting services that deliver prevention and early interventions.
You will join a dynamic, skilled and supportive CAMHS team committed to delivering high-quality care to children, young people and their families. The role provides the opportunity to influence service development, lead on specialist areas of clinical practice, and support the growth of the Getting Help model across Berkshire.
Main duties of the job
Clinical Responsibilities
- Provide highly specialist psychological assessment, formulation and intervention for children and young people with complex emotional and mental health needs.
- Hold and manage a clinical caseload within the Getting Help pathway, ensuring timely and effective care coordination.
- Offer consultation, clinical advice and supervision to colleagues and associated professionals.
- Contribute to high-quality clinical decision making, particularly in relation to complex presentations, risk management and multiagency working.
Leadership & Service Development
- Work collaboratively with the CAMHS leadership team to lead, shape and contribute to ongoing service development and transformation initiatives.
- Support the delivery of evidence-based interventions in line with national and local guidelines, service priorities and available resources.
- Provide strong and effective clinical leadership, supporting a culture of continuous improvement and ensuring safe, efficient and effective service delivery.
Professional & Operational Responsibilities
- Support the development and maintenance of wider service functions, including the advice and consultation offer, digital support services and online resources.
- Ensure practice is in line with relevant legislation, professional standards, safeguarding procedures and Trust policies.
Travel
- Travel to sites across Berkshire will be required to meet the clinical needs of the population and support service delivery.
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:
1. Post graduate doctoral qualification in clinical psychology (or equivalent).
2. Registered and accredited with Health Care Professional Council (HCPC) or UKCP/BPC
3. Evidence of post-doctoral specialist training to accreditable level in at least 2 areas of psychological practice directly related to the clinical requirements of this post.
4. Leadership experience and a successful track record in leading service delivery and contributing to service transformation
For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.
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 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 welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please don’t hesitate to contact Dr Jo Cocksey, Consultant Clinical Psychologist (Tel: 07866787757; Email: [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 doctorate in clinical or counselling psychology (or equivalent for those who trained prior to 1996 or for those who completed their training overseas)
- Accreditation with the Health and Care Professional Council (HCPC) as a Practitioner Psychologist (Clinical/Counselling)
- (Eligibility for) Chartered Membership of British Psychological Society (BPS)
- Clinical supervision training for doctorate psychology trainees (BPS Registered course) and other qualified clinicians
- Post qualification specialist training to accreditable level in at least two areas of psychological practice directly related to the clinical requirements of this post
- Accreditations to reflect post qualification training (e.g., BABCP, UKCP, ACAT, SRCN).
- Proven ability in teaching and formal training in professional/clinical supervision.
Continuous Professional Development
Essential criteria
- Evidence of substantial post-qualification training and expert knowledge in psychological models and therapeutic approaches with an evidence base within the area of specialism.
- Commitment to continuing professional development as recommended by the relevant accrediting body.
Previous Experience
Essential criteria
- Significant experience working as a qualified specialist practitioner in the profession, including demonstrable post qualification experience at a highly specialist level in the area of specialism.
- Significant experience of working in evidence-based ways with services users (and their carers/families) presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the range of 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 teaching and providing professional and clinical supervision, as well as experience of developing, delivering and leading training programmes.
- Experience of 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 and equality, including experience of working with diversity, multiculturalism and equality of access to services
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
Essential criteria
- Able to manage a demanding and complex caseload and support colleagues to do so
- Well-developed skills and ability to communicate effectively, both 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.
- Detailed and advanced knowledge of a range of evidence-based assessments and therapeutic interventions within designated clinical area, and the ability to lead the provision of these.
- 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.
- Advanced IT skills and the ability to navigate various systems and software packages (such as RiO, Outlook, databases, MS office/Teams, and the internet).
Additional Requirements
Essential criteria
- Demonstrates a consistent ability to sensitively respond to people’s needs, particularly with reference to all aspects of diversity.
- Able to work flexibly around working patterns as required
- Able to travel independently between locations to fulfil the requirements and duties of the position
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.
Application numbers
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Jo Cocksey
- Job title
- Consultant Clinical Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07866787757
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