Job summary
- Main area
- Mental Health
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8a
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 354-AC-21087-A
- Employer
- Sussex Partnership NHS FoundationTrust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Swandean
- Town
- Worthing
- Salary
- £53,755 - £60,504 pa
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 13/07/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Senior Practitioner Psychologist
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
We are seeking an enthusiastic and dynamic Senior Practitioner Psychologist (Clinical, Forensic, or Counselling) to join our Acute & Urgent Care pathway in Worthing, West Sussex, just 20 minutes from Brighton.
The post holder will be based at Meadowfield Hospital, which includes:
- Two adult wards
- An older adult ward
- A Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team (CRHT), soon relocating to the Worthing Integrated Care Centre
Key Responsibilities:
- Supervision: Provide supervision to psychological practitioners within the CRHT.
- Clinical Input: Offer assessment, formulation, and treatment for adults on acute wards with a range of mental health difficulties.
- Psychologically Informed Care: Collaborate with hospital teams to deliver and enable psychologically informed care and facilitate liaison across the urgent care pathway.
- Service Development: Work closely with the CRHT Service Manager and Acute Ward Matrons to develop psychological interventions, improve care pathways, and ensure smooth transitions to neighbourhood teams for a positive patient experience.
What We’re Looking For:
We are seeking a candidate with:
- Strong leadership skills
- Enthusiasm and passion for acute work
- Experience in psychological assessment and intervention
- A commitment to service improvement and patient care
This role provides a unique opportunity to make a significant impact in acute and urgent care while being part of a team that values innovation, collaboration, and professional development.
Main duties of the job
This role involves direct, face-to-face work with service users experiencing acute mental health crises. The successful applicant will:
- Work as part of a multidisciplinary team, supporting individuals with complex needs and significant levels of risk.
- Provide evidence-based psychological interventions for clients in crisis, as well as their families and carers.
- Contribute to staff training, wellbeing initiatives, service development, reflective practice, and case formulation with teams.
- Have opportunities to engage in supervision and CPD, with access to specialist supervision in areas such as EMDR and high-risk case management.
What We’re Looking For:
Applicants should have:
- Doctoral-level training in Clinical or Counselling Psychology, with registration through the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
- Experience of working in an evidence-based way with individuals presenting with severe mental health difficulties, people in crisis, and their families/carers.
- Experience of working within a multidisciplinary acute and/or urgent care context.
- Knowledge and experience in cognitive assessments (desirable).
Psychological Therapies are highly valued within Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SPFT), and psychological therapists occupy a range of senior positions across the Trust. The Trust is committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion, with leadership programs and mentoring opportunities available for Psychological Therapies staff from underrepresented groups.
Working for our organisation
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health and learning disability care across Sussex and for children and young people in Hampshire. As a teaching Trust, we are recognized as one of the country’s leading teaching mental health organizations.
We actively encourage flexible working arrangements to promote a positive work-life balance. Options such as part-time hours, home working, and flexible start/finish times are available wherever possible. If it works for you and the role, we’ll do our best to make it happen.
Living and Working in West Sussex:
- Enjoy easy access to both the coast and countryside, with a blend of picturesque villages and vibrant seaside towns.
- West Sussex is the sunniest county in the UK, making outdoor activities even more enjoyable.
- Brighton is nearby, and London is accessible in under 90 minutes.
- Excellent local schools, nurseries, and playgroups (visit Good Schools Guide for more information).
We are proud to have been rated ‘Good’ overall and ‘Outstanding’ for caring by the CQC. In our recent staff survey, 82% of staff agreed that patient care is our top priority.
What We Offer:
- Opportunities to shape psychosis pathways and increase access to psychological therapies
- Strong links to research and development, as well as local universities
- Support through supervision, CPD, and excellent local and regional networks
- A focus on staff wellbeing and collaboration with Surrey University’s Clinical Psychology training program
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
This post is ideal for someone with a strong interest in multidisciplinary working with service users experiencing mental health crises. The role involves:
- Supporting individuals with complexity and significant risk who require acute care.
- Contributing to service development initiatives, including staff wellbeing and reflective practice.
- Participating in staff training and providing case formulations for teams.
- Engaging in valuable supervision and CPD opportunities to support professional development.
Why Join Us?
This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to service developments at Meadowfield Hospital, a unit leading innovation in Sussex and nationally. Current initiatives include:
- Complex Emotional Needs Pathway: Meadowfield has introduced and is measuring a new care pathway for individuals with complex emotional needs, with potential for wider implementation across Sussex.
- Psychologically Informed Crisis Teams: In collaboration with the Psychological Professional Lead for Acute Services, Meadowfield is advancing more psychologically informed crisis teams locally, aligning with the QNCRHT review.
The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in these initiatives while working alongside a supportive, forward-thinking Acute and Urgent Care leadership team dedicated to best practices.
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
- For forensic psychologists working in forensic settings: Masters degree (with the award of the British Psychological Society qualification in forensic psychology or equivalent
- 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 postqualification 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.
- Evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HCPC.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Dr Bree Macdonald
- Job title
- Consultant Clinical Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07810 506729
- Additional information
We are happy to talk to prospective candidates about the service and about their ideas for the role. We would therefore strongly encourage you to make contact for an informal discussion.
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