Job overview

We are recruiting for a 0.8WTE  18 month fixed term Band 8a Clinical Psychologist to work across our Northumberland and North Tyneside Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) teams to backfill seconded time. You will be joining a passionate, supportive and skilled network of psychosis therapists across the Trust.

You will work closely with well established multidisciplinary teams across a range of tasks, such as providing specialist assessments and psychological therapy to people presenting with first episode psychosis, and contributing to team training and supervision as required.  You will be well supported by the MDT and psychology colleagues within the team and the wider psychology network. There are strong links with national research programmes.

We fully support our psychologists to achieve the post graduate qualification in Family Interventions and Post Graduate Certificate for CBT in Psychosis and Bipolar,  to work towards British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) accreditation.

The post holder will be clinically supervised by a senior psychologist / psychological therapist and professionally supervised by the consultant clinical psychologist. You will  join a wider supportive and skilled network of psychological professionals across the psychosis pathway in the North Community CBU. 

Main duties of the job

The post holder will provide one to one assessments,  individual and family therapy, and group interventions. Psychology is an integral part of the EIP team;  facilitating formulation; contributing to assessment; providing supervision and consultation to Community Practitioners as needed; and contributing to regular training and development events.  You will receive regular supervision and will be supported to maintain ongoing continuing professional development.

Therapy is based around highly individualised formulation. We work collaboratively with individuals and families/systems around them in a trauma-informed and neuro-affirming way.  Typical therapy work includes helping people make sense of their psychosis and working with paranoia, voice-hearing, traumatic events, childhood adversity, anxiety and bereavement.

The team contribute to delivering Northumberland Mood on Track (an online CBT group for those with a diagnosis of bi-polar disorder) in partnership with psychology staff from the Northumberland Community Treatment Teams. There is the opportunity for the post holder to contribute to this provision, and the wider development of our group work offer.

The post holder will also support the ongoing implementation of team training and CPD as well as providing group supervision to Community Practitioners.

Working for our organisation

We aim to attract and retain a diverse, talented and committed workforce, who are caring and compassionate, and therefore able to meet the demands of the modern NHS now and in the future. In return we can offer a dynamic working environment in which to build a career.

The Northumberland and North Tyneside teams are made up of Psychology, Psychiatry, Community Practitioners, Support Workers, Employment Support and Peer Support. We pride ourselves on working as a team promoting recovery and a holistic approach.

The teams are based at Greenacres in Ashington and Benton View in Forest Hall and work across the wider Northumberland and North Tyneside footprint. We work closely with the adult Community Treatment Teams (CTT) in Northumberland and North Tyneside, with the At Risk Mental State (ARMS) team, and EIP and psychosis colleagues across CNTW.

This role is open to  Clinical Psychologists, Counselling Psychologists and Psychological Therapists.

We welcome informal discussions about the post.