Skip to main content

This site is independent of the NHS and the Department of Health.

Please wait, loading

Job summary

Main area
Practitioner Clinical or Counselling Psychologist or CBT therapist
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 8a
Contract
Permanent: Part time
Hours
  • Part time
  • Flexible working
22.5 hours per week
Job ref
354-AE-21175
Employer
Sussex Partnership NHS FoundationTrust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Cavendish House
Town
Hastings
Salary
£55,690 - £62,682 pro rata
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
24/08/2025 23:59

Employer heading

Sussex Partnership NHS FoundationTrust logo

Specialist Clinical/Counselling Psychologist or CBT therapist

NHS AfC: Band 8a

Come and join us

We're looking for people who share our values (compassion, accountability and optimism) to help us provide high quality care to the patients, carers, families and local communities we serve. We specialise in providing NHS mental health and learning disability services.

So what can we offer you in return?

We're an organisation which puts people first. We'll do everything possible to help you feel respected, valued and included. We'll help you learn, acquire new skills and gain further experience to support your career development. And we'll provide the opportunity for you to bring your fresh ideas to work about how we can do things differently and continue improving.

You will also be joining a health and care system committed to working together to do the best we can for the communities we serve. Above all, at Sussex Partnership you'll have the chance to make a difference to the lives of the patients, carers and families across our communities.

As a Trust we are committed in making a difference. Your development is important to us, so don't forget to ask us during interview what opportunities we can offer. We can offer fully funded lifelong learning opportunities such as an apprenticeship from GCSE to Masters level.

If you like the sound of that, then come and join our team.

Job overview

Highly Specialist psychology professions practitioner - Clinical/ Counselling Psychologist or CBT therapist (BABCP accredited) (Band 8a) 0.6 wte Adult Mental Health, Hastings Assessment & Treatment Service (ATS)

We are delighted to be advertising for a Highly Specialist psychology professions practitioner - Clinical/ Counselling Psychologist or CBT therapist Band 8a. The ATS is a friendly, well regarded multidisciplinary team that delivers specialist support and clinical interventions to adults with severe and complex mental health difficulties. This post provides an exciting opportunity for someone with sound clinical experience, looking to develop and broaden their specialist therapy skills and progress their multidisciplinary team working, supervision, training and leadership roles.  The post will offer the opportunity for developing skills in partnership working as we move towards developing our Neighbourhood Mental Health Teams and increase access to psychologically informed interventions as part of community transformation and PT-SMHP developments.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will provide a high quality, specialist applied psychology service to clients, their families or carers, where there are complex and comorbid presentations. They will have assessment, intervention and formulation skills in a range of psychological models, including CBT and attachment-based models. The post holder will be expected to take a clinical leadership role and to have supervisory experience. They will be responsible for the supervision of Assistant Psychologists, Clinical Trainees and Psychology Graduate Volunteers and will support psychological practice within the wider team through consultation, supervision, formulation and training. They will utilise research skills for audit and research within the area and contribute to service improvement and development.

There will be opportunities to lead on pathway developments as part of the transformation developing the psychological offer and supporting the MDT in psychological thinking. As such we would welcome applicants from anyone with specific interest in psychosis, trauma, emotional intensity or particular therapy approach such as CBT, Family work, CAT or EMDR.

Working for our organisation

Psychologists are valued members of the ATS and are encouraged to play a key role in multidisciplinary team working. You would be joining a supportive and cohesive network of Psychologists, clinical trainees and psychology volunteers. You will work closely with Psychology colleagues and the Psychology leads. You will receive high standards of supervision and will be supported by the Principal Clinical Psychologist.   We have a valued programme of CPD, peer supervision and reflective practice for Psychology staff. 

Applications are welcome from enthusiastic and experienced psychologists with specialist knowledge and skills of working with severe and enduring mental health difficulties such as complex trauma, psychosis and personality difficulties. Equally important is experience in  MDT teamworking, teaching and supervision. We are looking for someone who has the ability to work autonomously within the context of a busy multi-disciplinary team.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

·       To provide a qualified, high-quality specialist psychology service to individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across teams, in line with best, evidence-based practice and trust care pathways.

 

·       To be responsible for holding and managing a clinical caseload and to exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the planning and prioritising of own workload and the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients, within the bounds of the service operational policy.

 

·       To use analytical and judgment skills and be responsible for taking clinical management decisions in complex clinical issues.

·       To clinically supervise assistant psychologists, trainee psychologists and junior psychologists, psychological therapists or counsellors and other staff as appropriate.

 

·       To professionally supervise and, when appropriate, manage, assistant psychologists and trainee psychologists

 

·       To provide consultation, mentorship, supervision and advice about psychological issues to other members of the team/service and other professionals working with service users, across a range of agencies/ settings as appropriate.

 

·       To work autonomously within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the service/team.

 

·       To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the team’s operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit, and to advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.

 

·       To utilise research skills to undertake service evaluation, audit and research as appropriate and disseminate the results in the service and nationally.

 

·       To propose and implement policy changes within the area served by the service.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Post-graduate doctoral level training in applied psychology [or its} equivalent for those trained before 1996 or outside the UK*] as approved by the HCPC, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
  • Professionally registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health Professions Council (HCPC).

Knowledge/Experience

Essential criteria
  • Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings.
  • Demonstrate specialist experience gained post-qualification of working as an applied psychologist with evidence of having received a substantial amount of clinical supervision (normally in the region of approximately 50 hours).
  • Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology
  • 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 including 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, training and/or supervision.
  • Experience of the application of applied psychology in different cultural contexts and experience of working within a multicultural framework
  • Experience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
  • Experience or demonstrable knowledge of working with the particular client group served by the team/service.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Apprenticeships logoNo smoking policyDisability confident leaderDefence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) - BronzeCare quality commission - GoodArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardStep into healthPride In Veterans

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.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Claire Tredgett
Job title
Consultant Counselling Psychologist
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
03003040244
Apply online nowAlert me to similar vacancies