To ensure the systematic provision of a high-quality specialist psychological service to clients in the In-patient and Day-patient Services of the Eating Disorders Service. To supervise and support psychological assessment and interventions provided by psychological professionals and other clinical members of the team who provide psychologically based care and treatment. To work autonomously within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the service. To utilise skills for audit, policy, service development and research. To propose and implement policy changes within the area served by the service.

Essential criteria

• Satisfactory completion of a British Psychological Society accredited Doctoral Level postgraduate professional training course in clinical psychology (the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996; or Doctorate in Counselling Psychology), the completion of which includes the study of models of psychopathology, psychometric and neuropsychological assessment, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.

Desirable criteria

• Post-qualification training in one or more highly specialist areas of psychological practice / therapy.

Essential criteria

• Assessed experience of working as a qualified clinical or counselling psychologist post-qualification.
• Experience of highly specialist psychological assessment and individual and group-based treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including primary and secondary/ specialist care and inpatient/residential, outpatient and community team settings.
• Relevant post-qualification experience, and training in supervision, enabling the post holder to independently supervise less experienced qualified and unqualified psychologists or other psychological professionals.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working therapeutically with ‘difficult to treat’ clients.

Essential criteria

• Theoretical and practical knowledge of the field of psychological intervention consistent with professional training and further post qualification study, training and supervised experience during the substantial experience as a qualified psychologist.
• Interpersonal and communication skills (written and verbal) including the ability to empathically, sensitively and effectively communicate clinical and condition related information to clients, their families, carers and professional colleagues (within and outside the NHS) that is extremely complicated or technical; extremely sensitive and potentially distressing to the recipient; or that is extremely contentious or challenging.
• Skills in providing consultation and advice from a psychological perspective to members of other professional and non-professional groups.
• Knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
• Awareness and understanding of the differential needs of people from diverse populations in relation to age, gender, race, sexual orientation and identity, etc

Desirable criteria

• Highly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific ’difficult to treat’ groups (e.g. personality disorder, challenging behaviour, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc).

Essential criteria

• Ability to maintain a high degree of professionalism, and to reflect on and manage own emotions and those of others, when faced by highly distressing material, problems and circumstances (e.g. when dealing with family breakdown, sexual abuse) on a frequent basis; and challenging behaviour, including frequent verbal abuse and occasional threatened physical abuse.
• Ability to interact effectively with staff from all disciplines.