Job summary
Are you an enthusiastic Clinical Psychologist interested in working with young people and the systems around them, helping to develop a psychologically informed environment?
We are currently recruiting for a Clinical Psychologist to join Bluebird House, a 14-bedded National Secure Forensic Mental Health Service for young people aged 12-18. The unit sits alongside well-established Low Secure, Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit, and General Adolescent Units.
You will be part of the Psychological Therapies Team which includes an onsite 8b Clinical Psychologist, Systemic Practitioner, Assistant Psychologist and Creative Therapist.
The role will involve the use and development of psychological skills to contribute to the understanding and treatment of psychological distress and risk. There will be opportunities for direct clinical work with young people and their families/carers. You will contribute to a psychologically informed environment via formulation, consultation, teaching, supervision, and reflective practice. The post offers close multi-disciplinary and multi-agency working, opportunities to use research skills and continued professional development. Supervision is provided from the team 8b Clinical Psychologist.
Newly qualified applicants are welcome and would be recruited as a band 7 and supported as part of an established preceptorship process to develop into the 8a role.
Main duties of the job
The post holder is a member of the multi-professional team. They will be required to work as an autonomous, independent practitioner responsible for their own work and interventions and for the interpretation of agreed guidelines and policies in providing a highly specialist psychological service to young people at Bluebird House.
They will undertake complex assessments, offer consultancy and provide expert advice to colleagues, and the wider clinical multi-professional team, other agencies and non-professional carers on formulation, psychological intervention and risk.
They will provide specialist intervention for complex cases and plan and prioritise their own clinical workload. They will promote the Psychological Model of Care, enhancing psychologically informed nurse-led approaches. They will be expected to propose change to policy or service development within the divisional psychological service and team as necessary.
They will provide supervision for members of their own team and psychological guidance and supervision for multi-professional clinical colleagues. They will engage in research and development, cultivate and encourage a research ethos within the wider clinical team. The postholder will utilise research skills for research, audit, policy and service development.
They will place an emphasis on co-production and demonstrate an attitude which respects and values young people and their carers and the core values of the trust: patients and people first; partnership; and respect.
About us
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a newly established organisation, bringing together expertise from across mental health, learning disabilities, community, and physical health services. We are dedicated to delivering compassionate, high-quality, and accessible care to the diverse communities of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
With over 13,000 dedicated staff working across more than 300 sites, we place patients and staff at the centre of everything we do. Our goal is to create an integrated healthcare system that improves accessibility and ensures more consistent care for patients. By working together, we aim to improve patient outcomes, drive innovation, and meet the unique needs of the populations we serve.
Our Trust unites services from Southern Health, Solent NHS Trust, Isle of Wight NHS Trusts community and mental health teams, as well as Hampshire CAMHS, originally part of Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. This transformation enables us to deliver more seamless care across the region, ensuring that patients receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time.
Join us as we embark on this exciting journey to shape the future of healthcare across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. We are deeply committed to our CARE values of compassion, accountability, respect, and excellence, and offer outstanding opportunities for career development, training, and collaborative working.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Further information about the Trust and this role can be found on the Job Description and Person Specification document attached. It is important to us that we ensure our recruitment processes are accessible and inclusive to everyone - if as a potential candidate you are concerned a person specification may prevent or restrict your application for employment as a result of unintentional barriers on the grounds of your sex, race, age, sexual orientation, religion/belief or disability please initially contact the Trust's Recruitment team - detailed in the advert. The Trust will seek to resolve this issue wherever possible.
We are happy to talk Flexible Working - all requests for flexible working options can be discussed as part of the interview process.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Further information about the Trust and this role can be found on the Job Description and Person Specification document attached. It is important to us that we ensure our recruitment processes are accessible and inclusive to everyone - if as a potential candidate you are concerned a person specification may prevent or restrict your application for employment as a result of unintentional barriers on the grounds of your sex, race, age, sexual orientation, religion/belief or disability please initially contact the Trust's Recruitment team - detailed in the advert. The Trust will seek to resolve this issue wherever possible.
We are happy to talk Flexible Working - all requests for flexible working options can be discussed as part of the interview process.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
- Training in Clinical Supervision
- HCPC Registration
Desirable
- Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of practice.
Experience
Essential
- In depth experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of people across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and inpatient settings.
- In depth 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.
Desirable
- Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
- Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
- Experience of working in a specialised adolescent or forensic setting.
Additional Criteria
Essential
- Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
- Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
- Demonstrate an understanding of, and a commitment to the principles of recovery, choice and personalisation.
- Full driving licence and access to vehicle for work purposes
- Experience of working within a multicultural framework.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
- Training in Clinical Supervision
- HCPC Registration
Desirable
- Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of practice.
Experience
Essential
- In depth experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of people across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and inpatient settings.
- In depth 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.
Desirable
- Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
- Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
- Experience of working in a specialised adolescent or forensic setting.
Additional Criteria
Essential
- Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
- Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
- Demonstrate an understanding of, and a commitment to the principles of recovery, choice and personalisation.
- Full driving licence and access to vehicle for work purposes
- Experience of working within a multicultural framework.
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.
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.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
