Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Principle Clinical Psychologist

The closing date is 22 April 2026

Job summary

Are you a positive and enthusiastic clinical psychologist looking to bring your skills and experience to the specialty of Pain Management? Wouldyou like to join a team of friendly clinical psychologists working across the Acute Trust and Community settings?You will be working into an interdisciplinary team who already have positive experiences of clinical psychology, under the professional guidance ofthe Head of Psychology.If you have vision and a positive 'can-do' attitude, reflecting your ability to work collaboratively, bring people on board and facilitate positivechange at all levels this could be an exciting opportunity for you.

Main duties of the job

You will be working directly with patients, and MDT colleagues, to help inform psychological aspects of the patient journey and provide highlyspecialised psychological assessment, formulation, and interventions. You will contribute to service developments and staff training anddevelopment, including consultancy and individual and group supervision to colleagues.You will work with outpatients. The clinical psychology service has provided an uninterrupted service to patients, throughout the pandemic, byrapidly adopting smarter working practices. We now routinely make regular use of video clinics; you will be equipped and supported to workflexibly and remotely, including working from home, wherever appropriate, bringing the additional advantage of being able to flexibly meet serviceneed and to achieve a good work-life balance. These technological advantages and efficiencies have been positively recognised and supported atthe highest levels within the Trust.

About us

You will be joining a wider clinical psychology team, accountable to Head of Directorate of Psychology, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, includingspecialist provision into Oncology, Haematology, End of Life Care, Cardiac Services, Weight Management, Critical Care, Cystic Fibrosis,Community Learning Disabilities, Primary Intermediate Mental Health, Staff Support and Neuropsychology. The serviceroutinely hosts doctoral trainees in core and specialist placements. Opportunities to participate in research are encouraged and there is a strongemphasis on CPD, both in terms of developing specialist knowledge of persistent pain diagnoses and treatments, as well as professionaldevelopment in terms of therapeutic skills and leadership etc. Following a recent Divisional re-structure, the service is well placed to offerpsychological provision across multiple areas of Trust function, thereby offering a vibrant opportunity to develop your career as a clinicalpsychologist.

Details

Date posted

08 April 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8b

Salary

£66,582 to £77,368 a year pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time, Flexible working, Home or remote working

Reference number

382-CS48-26

Job locations

Whitgate Health Centre

Whitegate Drive

Blackpool

FY3 9ES


Job description

Job responsibilities

To develop, implement and manage specialist assessment and high level and complex programmes of psychological therapies for patients withhighly complex psychological needs within the area of expertise and the MDT. To carry out high level and complex psychological treatment andother interventions within the specialist area that necessitate the interpretation and communication of highly complex and sensitive medical,psychological and social information, the application of empathy and the ability to manage hostility, aggression, potential violence or manipulationfrom the patient or their families. To arrive at a formulation and treatment plan where there is likely to be a range of options available.

Job description

Job responsibilities

To develop, implement and manage specialist assessment and high level and complex programmes of psychological therapies for patients withhighly complex psychological needs within the area of expertise and the MDT. To carry out high level and complex psychological treatment andother interventions within the specialist area that necessitate the interpretation and communication of highly complex and sensitive medical,psychological and social information, the application of empathy and the ability to manage hostility, aggression, potential violence or manipulationfrom the patient or their families. To arrive at a formulation and treatment plan where there is likely to be a range of options available.

Person Specification

Training & Qualifications

Essential

  • Good Honours degree (min 2:1) in Psychology.
  • Registration as a Practitioner Psychologist with the HCPC.
  • Post-graduate doctorate in Clinical Psychology (or equivalent for those trained before 1996) as accredited by the BPS & HCPC.
  • Training for and/or experience of clinical supervision of practicing psychologists and/or doctoral degree trainees.
  • Completion of specialist post-qualification course or demonstrable experience in utilising psychological theories and clinical approaches in physical health, to include specific applicability to the post.

Desirable

  • Other specialist further training in physical health psychology, e.g. pain management
  • Completion of Clinical Supervision training as provided by doctoral training courses to enable post holder to be able to supervise and assess clinical doctorate trainees.
  • Specialist training in a therapy (e.g. CBT, ACT, CFT)
  • Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied clinical psychology.

Experience

Essential

  • Experience of working as a qualified Clinical Psychologist, appropriate to the Leading of psychological provision of a service in the NHS.
  • Experience of working in Clinical Psychology, relevant to physical health settings.
  • Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across a full range of care setting, including remote provision of psychological services, outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings.
  • Experience of working within multidisciplinary teams and taking a lead in patient care.
  • Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups across the life span, with a wide variety of presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity. For example, specialist experience in the psychological assessment, management and treatment of physical health conditions.
  • To have demonstrable experience in delivering and receiving appropriate Clinical Psychological supervision relevant to role.
  • Proficiency in administering, scoring and interpreting clinical psychometrics. Experience of using two or more distinct psychological therapies and knowledge of lifespan developmental psychology.
  • Working with 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

  • Substantial post qualification experience in the area of psychology of Physical Health
  • Experience of management tasks (e.g. supervision of junior psychology staff; recruitment & selection)
  • Direct experience of work in the area of Pain Management and/or physical health
  • Experience of negotiating with NHS managers, professional colleagues & other agencies

Knowledge and skills

Essential

  • Knowledge of National legislation, guidelines, and local policies for the area of specialty, and their implications for clinical practice & professional management in relation to patients.
  • Excellent communication & interpersonal skills.
  • Ability to develop, implement, manage, evaluate & carry out high level & complex psychological treatment & other interventions within the specialist area that necessitate the application of empathy and the ability to interpret & communicate highly complex & sensitive information.
  • The ability to manage hostility, aggression, potential violence or manipulation from the patient.
  • Ability to manage the rejection of unwelcome information where there are significant barriers to acceptance and the ability to overcome cultural, knowledge- based or cognitive barriers to understanding.
  • Ability to carry out or take responsibility for R & D programmes including design & use of databases, spreadsheets & specialist statistical software packages.
  • Awareness of significance of ethnic & cultural issues in delivery of psychological services.
  • Evidence of continuing professional development as required by HCPC and/or professional bodies.
  • Standard keyboard skills.
  • Skills in the administration of psychometric tests where timing and accurate manipulation are essential to patient care
  • Experience of managing junior psychology staff.
  • Substantial experience or training in more than one therapeutic intervention specialty.
  • Training and/or substantial experience of psychological assessment & rehabilitation
  • Ability to design & implement policy for specialist psychological services & to propose service changes that impact beyond that area of activity.
  • Ability to professionally manage staff within the specialty
  • Sound knowledge of software and general IT competence.
  • Capacity to plan and prioritise many competing complex ongoing tasks including patient contacts, research activity, supervision of psychology and non-psychology staff, service development activities and representation of service.
  • Skills in co-ordinating, chairing and arranging multidisciplinary meetings and activity in relation to patient care and other activities.

Desirable

  • Experience of managing junior psychology staff.
  • Substantial experience or training in more than one therapeutic intervention specialty.
  • Training and/or substantial experience of psychological assessment & rehabilitation
  • Ability to design & implement policy for specialist psychological services & to propose service changes that impact beyond that area of activity.
  • Ability to professionally manage staff within the specialty.

Personal

Essential

  • Ability to contain & work with organisational stress.
  • Ability to hold the stress of colleagues & other relevant persons.
  • Ability to manage continual exposure to distressing and highly emotional clinical material.
  • Ability to cope with physical requirements of job (work remotely, or at locations relevant to the role).
  • Ability to sit in one position for lengthy periods during clinics.
  • Ability to operate within irregular working hours.
  • Ability to sustain intense levels of concentration, responding and participating as required.
  • Ability to self reflect and use clinical supervision appropriately.
  • Ability to cope with unpleasant working environments or conditions.

Other

Essential

  • Ability & preparedness to work to professional guidelines
  • Ability to interpret general clinical, professional & organisational policies & to use own independent initiative to establish how they should be applied within the area of specialty
  • Ability to teach, train & supervise 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.
  • Computer literate, familiar with Microsoft Office and SPSS software packages.
  • Ability to drive or access suitable transport in order to work from different bases within the working week.

Desirable

  • Understanding and empathy arising from either personal experience of or working with physical and/or mental health problems.
Person Specification

Training & Qualifications

Essential

  • Good Honours degree (min 2:1) in Psychology.
  • Registration as a Practitioner Psychologist with the HCPC.
  • Post-graduate doctorate in Clinical Psychology (or equivalent for those trained before 1996) as accredited by the BPS & HCPC.
  • Training for and/or experience of clinical supervision of practicing psychologists and/or doctoral degree trainees.
  • Completion of specialist post-qualification course or demonstrable experience in utilising psychological theories and clinical approaches in physical health, to include specific applicability to the post.

Desirable

  • Other specialist further training in physical health psychology, e.g. pain management
  • Completion of Clinical Supervision training as provided by doctoral training courses to enable post holder to be able to supervise and assess clinical doctorate trainees.
  • Specialist training in a therapy (e.g. CBT, ACT, CFT)
  • Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied clinical psychology.

Experience

Essential

  • Experience of working as a qualified Clinical Psychologist, appropriate to the Leading of psychological provision of a service in the NHS.
  • Experience of working in Clinical Psychology, relevant to physical health settings.
  • Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across a full range of care setting, including remote provision of psychological services, outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings.
  • Experience of working within multidisciplinary teams and taking a lead in patient care.
  • Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups across the life span, with a wide variety of presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity. For example, specialist experience in the psychological assessment, management and treatment of physical health conditions.
  • To have demonstrable experience in delivering and receiving appropriate Clinical Psychological supervision relevant to role.
  • Proficiency in administering, scoring and interpreting clinical psychometrics. Experience of using two or more distinct psychological therapies and knowledge of lifespan developmental psychology.
  • Working with 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

  • Substantial post qualification experience in the area of psychology of Physical Health
  • Experience of management tasks (e.g. supervision of junior psychology staff; recruitment & selection)
  • Direct experience of work in the area of Pain Management and/or physical health
  • Experience of negotiating with NHS managers, professional colleagues & other agencies

Knowledge and skills

Essential

  • Knowledge of National legislation, guidelines, and local policies for the area of specialty, and their implications for clinical practice & professional management in relation to patients.
  • Excellent communication & interpersonal skills.
  • Ability to develop, implement, manage, evaluate & carry out high level & complex psychological treatment & other interventions within the specialist area that necessitate the application of empathy and the ability to interpret & communicate highly complex & sensitive information.
  • The ability to manage hostility, aggression, potential violence or manipulation from the patient.
  • Ability to manage the rejection of unwelcome information where there are significant barriers to acceptance and the ability to overcome cultural, knowledge- based or cognitive barriers to understanding.
  • Ability to carry out or take responsibility for R & D programmes including design & use of databases, spreadsheets & specialist statistical software packages.
  • Awareness of significance of ethnic & cultural issues in delivery of psychological services.
  • Evidence of continuing professional development as required by HCPC and/or professional bodies.
  • Standard keyboard skills.
  • Skills in the administration of psychometric tests where timing and accurate manipulation are essential to patient care
  • Experience of managing junior psychology staff.
  • Substantial experience or training in more than one therapeutic intervention specialty.
  • Training and/or substantial experience of psychological assessment & rehabilitation
  • Ability to design & implement policy for specialist psychological services & to propose service changes that impact beyond that area of activity.
  • Ability to professionally manage staff within the specialty
  • Sound knowledge of software and general IT competence.
  • Capacity to plan and prioritise many competing complex ongoing tasks including patient contacts, research activity, supervision of psychology and non-psychology staff, service development activities and representation of service.
  • Skills in co-ordinating, chairing and arranging multidisciplinary meetings and activity in relation to patient care and other activities.

Desirable

  • Experience of managing junior psychology staff.
  • Substantial experience or training in more than one therapeutic intervention specialty.
  • Training and/or substantial experience of psychological assessment & rehabilitation
  • Ability to design & implement policy for specialist psychological services & to propose service changes that impact beyond that area of activity.
  • Ability to professionally manage staff within the specialty.

Personal

Essential

  • Ability to contain & work with organisational stress.
  • Ability to hold the stress of colleagues & other relevant persons.
  • Ability to manage continual exposure to distressing and highly emotional clinical material.
  • Ability to cope with physical requirements of job (work remotely, or at locations relevant to the role).
  • Ability to sit in one position for lengthy periods during clinics.
  • Ability to operate within irregular working hours.
  • Ability to sustain intense levels of concentration, responding and participating as required.
  • Ability to self reflect and use clinical supervision appropriately.
  • Ability to cope with unpleasant working environments or conditions.

Other

Essential

  • Ability & preparedness to work to professional guidelines
  • Ability to interpret general clinical, professional & organisational policies & to use own independent initiative to establish how they should be applied within the area of specialty
  • Ability to teach, train & supervise 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.
  • Computer literate, familiar with Microsoft Office and SPSS software packages.
  • Ability to drive or access suitable transport in order to work from different bases within the working week.

Desirable

  • Understanding and empathy arising from either personal experience of or working with physical and/or mental health problems.

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

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Whitgate Health Centre

Whitegate Drive

Blackpool

FY3 9ES


Employer's website

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

Employer details

Employer name

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Whitgate Health Centre

Whitegate Drive

Blackpool

FY3 9ES


Employer's website

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

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Consultant Clin Psychologist / Head of Psychology

Dr Lyn Sutcliffe

lyn.sutcliffe1@nhs.net

07818533854

Details

Date posted

08 April 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8b

Salary

£66,582 to £77,368 a year pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time, Flexible working, Home or remote working

Reference number

382-CS48-26

Job locations

Whitgate Health Centre

Whitegate Drive

Blackpool

FY3 9ES


Supporting documents

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