Job summary
- Main area
- Wokingham Psychology Provision
- Grade
- Band 8b
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 22.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 371-MHS1107-A
- Employer
- Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Resource House , 20 Denmark Street
- Town
- Wokingham
- Salary
- £68,852 - £79,638 per annum (Incl. of HCAS)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 19/08/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Principal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist
Band 8b
Job overview
We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Principal Psychologist to join our team of passionate and skilled psychological therapists, working collaboratively with Wokingham Community Mental Health Services (CMHS) to deliver the highest quality care for adults with significant mental health needs. This is an exciting opportunity to use and further develop your clinical expertise and leadership skills within a well-established service that is committed to providing evidence-based, trauma-informed interventions and achieving excellent outcomes for those we support.
As part of the Community Mental Health Psychological Therapies (CMHPT) Service, you will provide psychological therapies to adults living in Wokingham and contribute to the delivery of specialist psychological care across Berkshire through our centralised service. The role offers a varied clinical caseload, alongside opportunities to contribute to service development, innovation and the continued growth of psychological therapies within community mental health settings.
The post is based at Resource House, Wokingham, with an expectation that you will work from base at least 2 days per week. We support flexible and agile working, with opportunities to work from home where service needs allow. Occasional travel across Berkshire will be required for meetings, training and collaborative working.
Main duties of the job
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Ensure the systematic provision of high-quality psychological services within the CMHS.
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Offer expert clinical supervision, consultation, and advice to psychological professionals and trainees, as well as other members of the clinical team and beyond, to support psychologically- and trauma-informed care and provision.
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Provide expert clinical assessments, case and psychological formulation, and evidence-based intervention for a designated number of service users presenting to the service.
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Deliver training and teaching to support the learning needs of trainees and the continued professional development of psychological and multidisciplinary colleagues, the wider clinical team, other agencies, and non-professional carers.
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Work autonomously within professional and local guidelines and policies and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the service.
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Utilise research and audit skills to inform service and policy development and act as a highly specialist resource to the wider professional team.
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Propose and implement policy changes and service development initiatives within the service and across the Trust, working closely with colleagues as required to progress improvement. This will include a role in effective recruitment, professional appraisal and management, and the identification of training needs.
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
FOR SECONDMENT ROLES ONLY - If the secondment role becomes permanent, the successful candidate may be offered the permanent position.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The “must haves” for this role:
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A post graduate doctoral qualification in clinical or counselling psychology and registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
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Clinical supervision training for doctorate psychology trainees (BPS Registered course) and other qualified clinicians.
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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).
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Experience of working with adults with severe mental illness (SMI).
This is a fantastic opportunity to join a supportive, forward-thinking team that values innovation, professional growth and compassionate care, while helping to shape and develop psychological services for adults across Berkshire.
For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.
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 Gareth Mitchell (Consultant Clinical Psychologist) by emailing [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.
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.
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)
- Registered as a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) (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.
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.
- 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 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 work flexibly around working patterns as required
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
- Gareth Mitchell
- Job title
- Consultant Clinical Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01189043913
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