North Tees & Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust

Clinical Psychologist / Counselling Psychologist (Community Pain)

The closing date is 09 April 2026

Job summary

*Please note this post will be closed early once a sufficient amount of applications have been received*

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Band 7 Clinical/Counselling Psychologist or Psychological Therapist to work within the Community Pain Management Service within the Medical Psychology Department at Group Hospitals of Tees. The post is to support patients who are living with persistent pain, encouraging self-management and the utilisation of psychological coping strategies, whilst also reducing the reliance on pharmacological intervention. You will be working within a team of psychologists, psychological therapists, applied psychologists, assistant psychologists and physiotherapists, to provide a high quality and responsive care to patients who live with persistent pain.

This is an exciting opportunity to join our dynamic and innovative Psychology Team. The post-holder will be based within a diverse Medical Psychology Department at the Group with their main base at the University Hospital of Hartlepool, working alongside motivated and compassionate psychology colleagues. This post provides excellent additional opportunities, including strong peer support, quality supervision and an emphasis on CPD.

Main duties of the job

The successful post-holder will:

Offer specialist assessment and evidence-based, psychologically-informed support to patients accessing the Community Pain Management service within the Medical Psychology Department.

Work to provide a high-quality, compassionate and trauma-informed service to all individuals.

Implement a range of specialist psychological approaches, adjusting and refining psychological formulations as required.

Undertake psychological risk assessment and risk management, as well as providing specialist advice to colleagues across the MDT.

Provide psychological consultation to the wider MDT, alongside training and psycho-education as required.

Engage collaboratively with colleagues in service evaluation, audit and research.

Support opportunities aimed at improving services.

Receive clinical supervision and adhere to CPD/professional registration requirements.

About us

At Group Hospitals of Tees, our main priority is to provide safe and high quality care to our patients every day; the kind of care we would want for ourselves and our loved ones. We want our organisation to be the best place to work with the right staff, in the right roles, at the right time, to ensure we deliver exceptional patient care and experience.

We will support staff through providing an inclusive and supportive workplace with health and well-being initiatives, staff benefits and opportunities for personal and professional development. Staff recognition is very important to us; as well as performance reviews and appraisals, we recognise staff achievements and dedication through the Star and Team of the month, Managers Awards, Shining Stars and Service Awards.

Details

Date posted

12 March 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£47,810 to £54,710 a year NA

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

345-CSU9-7851863

Job locations

University Hospital of Hartlepool

Holdforth Road

Hartlepool

TS24 9AH


Job description

Job responsibilities

The Job Description and Person Specification has been provided in the document link, which provides full detail of the role and requirements

Job description

Job responsibilities

The Job Description and Person Specification has been provided in the document link, which provides full detail of the role and requirements

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • A recorded/registered doctoral level qualification in Clinical or Counselling Psychology or equivalent, i.e. High Intensity IAPT Course/Post Grad CBT, a recorded/registered qualification as a psychological therapy practitioner, demonstrating the competences as required
  • Accreditation with BABCP
  • Full driving license and ability to use a car in accordance with the needs of the post.

Desirable

  • A post-graduate qualification and evidence of supervised practice in an evidence-based psychological therapy model (e.g. IPT, CBT, EMDR, ACT, CFT)
  • Experience of working in a health setting for one year or more.
  • Accreditation for other NICE-compliant psychological therapies such as IPT, Behavioural Couple Therapy for Depression, EMDR.

Experience

Essential

  • Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of patients.
  • Experience of working with people experiencing anxiety, depression and the lasting impact of stigma and trauma.
  • Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life span, presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity.
  • Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence based psychological therapies and how it relates to this post
  • Demonstrable experience with routine outcome monitoring.

Desirable

  • Experience of working in Acute Care Services.
  • Experience of multidisciplinary team working
  • Experience of supervision of healthcare staff
  • Completed clinical audits within a service

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

  • Knowledge of specialist psychological assessment, formulation and treatment with patients with complex needs
  • Psychological assessment, formulation and intervention skills.
  • Knowledge of psychological theory and practice relevant to clinical settings including developmental and lifespan approaches.
  • The ability to analyse complex data and make expert judgements based on information from a variety of sources.
  • The ability to understand the role and contribution of colleagues and collaborate effectively with colleagues from all disciplines and across agencies.

Desirable

  • Knowledge of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
  • Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies with specific difficult to treat groups
  • Knowledge of the wider community in which the services are located, and consideration of the impact this may have on clinical presentations and social/emotional concerns

Personal Attributes

Essential

  • Knowledge and understanding of anxiety, depression and trauma and how it may present in physical healthcare settings.
  • Ability to communicate complex and highly sensitive information effectively, to a wide range of people
  • Knowledge of safeguarding and child protection issues and other relevant legislation

Desirable

  • Takes initiative in service improvement projects or clinical developments
  • Contributes to shaping care pathways or integrating psychological support into wider services
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • A recorded/registered doctoral level qualification in Clinical or Counselling Psychology or equivalent, i.e. High Intensity IAPT Course/Post Grad CBT, a recorded/registered qualification as a psychological therapy practitioner, demonstrating the competences as required
  • Accreditation with BABCP
  • Full driving license and ability to use a car in accordance with the needs of the post.

Desirable

  • A post-graduate qualification and evidence of supervised practice in an evidence-based psychological therapy model (e.g. IPT, CBT, EMDR, ACT, CFT)
  • Experience of working in a health setting for one year or more.
  • Accreditation for other NICE-compliant psychological therapies such as IPT, Behavioural Couple Therapy for Depression, EMDR.

Experience

Essential

  • Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of patients.
  • Experience of working with people experiencing anxiety, depression and the lasting impact of stigma and trauma.
  • Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life span, presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity.
  • Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence based psychological therapies and how it relates to this post
  • Demonstrable experience with routine outcome monitoring.

Desirable

  • Experience of working in Acute Care Services.
  • Experience of multidisciplinary team working
  • Experience of supervision of healthcare staff
  • Completed clinical audits within a service

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

  • Knowledge of specialist psychological assessment, formulation and treatment with patients with complex needs
  • Psychological assessment, formulation and intervention skills.
  • Knowledge of psychological theory and practice relevant to clinical settings including developmental and lifespan approaches.
  • The ability to analyse complex data and make expert judgements based on information from a variety of sources.
  • The ability to understand the role and contribution of colleagues and collaborate effectively with colleagues from all disciplines and across agencies.

Desirable

  • Knowledge of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
  • Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies with specific difficult to treat groups
  • Knowledge of the wider community in which the services are located, and consideration of the impact this may have on clinical presentations and social/emotional concerns

Personal Attributes

Essential

  • Knowledge and understanding of anxiety, depression and trauma and how it may present in physical healthcare settings.
  • Ability to communicate complex and highly sensitive information effectively, to a wide range of people
  • Knowledge of safeguarding and child protection issues and other relevant legislation

Desirable

  • Takes initiative in service improvement projects or clinical developments
  • Contributes to shaping care pathways or integrating psychological support into wider services

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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).

Employer details

Employer name

North Tees & Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust

Address

University Hospital of Hartlepool

Holdforth Road

Hartlepool

TS24 9AH


Employer's website

https://www.nth.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer details

Employer name

North Tees & Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust

Address

University Hospital of Hartlepool

Holdforth Road

Hartlepool

TS24 9AH


Employer's website

https://www.nth.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Senior Psychological Therapist

Reshmee Diro Ejara

reshmee.diroejara@nhs.net

01429522049

Details

Date posted

12 March 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£47,810 to £54,710 a year NA

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

345-CSU9-7851863

Job locations

University Hospital of Hartlepool

Holdforth Road

Hartlepool

TS24 9AH


Supporting documents

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