Job summary
The recruitment team at the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHS) are delighted to be able to offer a fantastic opportunity for a patient focused, friendly and enthusiastic individual, providing substantive, part time Clinical Psychology input to Bursledon House, Gastroenterology and the Children's Sleep Disorder Service within Southampton Children's Hospital. We are looking for candidates who ideally have experience of working with children and families in a paediatric setting and an enthusiasm for collaborative working.
The Child Clinical Psychology department consists of 25 plus Clinical Psychologists and two Admin staff as well as Trainees and Assistants. We are an extremely friendly and supportive team with good arrangements for supervision and further learning. The Child Psychology team provides a strong and supportive base from which we can give our best to the children and families we meet, as well as to our multidisciplinary colleagues. The role reports to our lead clinical psychologist and involves team work alongside experienced child psychology colleagues within each multidisciplinary area. As a team we place a strong emphasis on self-care and on supporting one another. This means that there are clear job plans and people are encouraged to maintain a good work-life balance. The positive working atmosphere and the opportunities for development mean we have a long track record of retaining staff with the team.
Main duties of the job
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity to work with us.
Please see below for detailed job description of the role.
About us
University Hospital Southampton is one of England's largest acute teaching Trusts, offering a wide range of learning and development opportunities to support your career aspirations.
Located on the south coast with an international airport and direct rail links to London, Southampton offers an ideal setting to live and work, with the New Forest, South Downs and Jurassic Coast.
We believe that using technology wisely shows strong time management and commitment to innovation. However, personalizing your recruitment application to highlight your unique skills and experiences is crucial. Relying too heavily on generic, AI-generated content instead of drawing from your own strengths and accomplishments may lead to your application being rejected if multiple candidates present identical or similar information.
At UHS we're committed to providing a flexible working environment where possible. Whether you are balancing family, study, or your wellbeing with your career, we want to support you so you can help our patients.
At UHS, we proudly champion individuality, recognizing that outstanding care is only possible with a diverse, inclusive team. We're committed to creating an anti-racist, anti-discriminatory environment where everyone feels valued, safe, and empowered to make a meaningful impact in our communities. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences to join us in building a healthcare community where everyone can belong, thrive, and contribute.
Job description
Job responsibilities
This is a 0.7 wte job at band 7 as a clinical psychologist in our team. The main duties will involve therapeutic clinical work with children, young people and their families living with complex and often chronic health conditions, including gastroenterological conditions and sleep problems.
You will be required to provide specialist psychological assessments of children and young people (inpatients) referred from paediatric specialities such as gastroenterology, diabetes, neurology and general paediatrics, based on the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex psychological data from a variety of sources, including psychological tests, neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with children, family members and others involved in the childs care.
The role will involve using advanced theoretical and practical knowledge to provide Clinical Psychology input as appropriate. This will require skills such as undertaking neuropsychological assessment of children of all ages, providing psychological support to the staff who work with children and young people, providing evidence-based therapies to children, therapeutic input to the family and wider system around the child, and devising psychological strategies to assist children in adapting to diagnoses and in adhering to medical treatment regimes.
You will work closely with other clinical psychologists in providing specialist psychological support to the families of children diagnosed with a chronic illness, providing psychological support to the staff who support these children and young people, providing Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and other evidence-based therapies to children, and devising psychological strategies to assist children in adhering to medical treatment regimes.
You will need to liaise with members of the paediatric teams supporting these families to establish ways in which clinical psychology can be of most use to their services. This is likely to include having therapeutic input with children who show unexplained or inconsistent symptoms, supporting children and families in managing treatment plans, working with families adjusting to new diagnoses in their children and assisting families with the psychological implications of diagnoses.
You will need experience of assessing and working with children and young people with a whole range of emotional and behavioural difficulties and their families/carers, presenting with the full range of clinical severity across a range of settings including outpatient, community, educational and residential. You will need experience of working in an acute paediatric setting and/or experience of working with children and families experiencing issues related to loss, bereavement, long term medical needs, severe illness or injury. Many children and young people we support find it difficult to comply with medical procedures or regimens and you will be instrumental in helping navigate and overcome these obstacles. You will also need experience of carrying out neuropsychological assessments with children and young people. And the role requires of you a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems. You will need to be able to represent clinical psychology in the context of multidisciplinary care and in a continually changing environment.
Job description
Job responsibilities
This is a 0.7 wte job at band 7 as a clinical psychologist in our team. The main duties will involve therapeutic clinical work with children, young people and their families living with complex and often chronic health conditions, including gastroenterological conditions and sleep problems.
You will be required to provide specialist psychological assessments of children and young people (inpatients) referred from paediatric specialities such as gastroenterology, diabetes, neurology and general paediatrics, based on the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex psychological data from a variety of sources, including psychological tests, neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with children, family members and others involved in the childs care.
The role will involve using advanced theoretical and practical knowledge to provide Clinical Psychology input as appropriate. This will require skills such as undertaking neuropsychological assessment of children of all ages, providing psychological support to the staff who work with children and young people, providing evidence-based therapies to children, therapeutic input to the family and wider system around the child, and devising psychological strategies to assist children in adapting to diagnoses and in adhering to medical treatment regimes.
You will work closely with other clinical psychologists in providing specialist psychological support to the families of children diagnosed with a chronic illness, providing psychological support to the staff who support these children and young people, providing Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and other evidence-based therapies to children, and devising psychological strategies to assist children in adhering to medical treatment regimes.
You will need to liaise with members of the paediatric teams supporting these families to establish ways in which clinical psychology can be of most use to their services. This is likely to include having therapeutic input with children who show unexplained or inconsistent symptoms, supporting children and families in managing treatment plans, working with families adjusting to new diagnoses in their children and assisting families with the psychological implications of diagnoses.
You will need experience of assessing and working with children and young people with a whole range of emotional and behavioural difficulties and their families/carers, presenting with the full range of clinical severity across a range of settings including outpatient, community, educational and residential. You will need experience of working in an acute paediatric setting and/or experience of working with children and families experiencing issues related to loss, bereavement, long term medical needs, severe illness or injury. Many children and young people we support find it difficult to comply with medical procedures or regimens and you will be instrumental in helping navigate and overcome these obstacles. You will also need experience of carrying out neuropsychological assessments with children and young people. And the role requires of you a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems. You will need to be able to represent clinical psychology in the context of multidisciplinary care and in a continually changing environment.
Person Specification
Qualifications, knowledge and experience
Essential
- Doctorate qualification in clinical psychology
- Registered with the Health Professions Council (HPC) as a Practitioner Psychologist
- Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
- Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across a range of care settings, such as outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings
- Experience of working with a variety of clients, representing 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
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management
Desirable
- Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. people with additional disabilities etc)
- High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health, mental capacity and disability
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
Person Specification
Qualifications, knowledge and experience
Essential
- Doctorate qualification in clinical psychology
- Registered with the Health Professions Council (HPC) as a Practitioner Psychologist
- Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
- Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across a range of care settings, such as outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings
- Experience of working with a variety of clients, representing 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
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management
Desirable
- Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. people with additional disabilities etc)
- High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health, mental capacity and disability
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
