Job summary
The successful candidate will play a key role in developing and delivering a high-quality psychology service for individuals accessing Cardiff and Vale Addictions Services. You will work closely with a supportive, multi-disciplinary team that values psychological perspectives and encourages creative, collaborative approaches.
This role offers diverse and rewarding experiences across settings, supporting your professional growth. Core responsibilities include:
- Direct psychological assessments and interventions
- Cognitive and neuropsychological assessments
- Staff and MDT consultation and supervision
- Service innovation and systems improvement
- Staff skills training, research, audit, and team formulations
Professional DevelopmentWe actively support Continued Professional Development and provide excellent opportunities for supervision, consultation, and research. There are strong links with the South Wales Doctoral Programme in Clinical Psychology, and full clinical and managerial supervision will be available within the specialty.
Main duties of the job
The successful candidate will provide psychological input to the CAU team through both direct and indirect clinical work:
Direct Clinical Work
- Deliver psychological and cognitive assessments, formulation, and interventions as appropriate
- Work jointly with colleagues within the CAU MDT
Indirect Clinical Work
- Lead complex case discussions and team formulations
- Collaborate with team leads to provide teaching and training to CAU staff and wider services
- Offer consultation on complex presentations
- Contribute to service development and improvement projects
Professional DevelopmentThe specialty is part of a large, progressive Health Board-wide Directorate of Psychology and Psychological Therapies. We strongly encourage and support Continued Professional Development, offering excellent opportunities for supervision, training, and career growth.
The ability to speak Welsh is desirable for this post; Welsh and/or English speakers are equally welcome to apply.
About us
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board is one of the largest Integrated Health Boards in the UK, employing over 15,000 staff, providing over 100 specialist services. Working across 6 hospital sites, we have a diverse range of career opportunities to offer. Serving around 500,000 people living in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, we are focussed on the health and care needs of our local population whilst working with our partners to develop regional services.
Our mission is "Caring for People, Keeping People Well",and our vision is that every person's chance of leading a healthy life should be equal. As an organisation we are unashamedly ambitious for our population's health, rising to the challenges of today and tomorrow through our 10-year strategy, Shaping our Future Wellbeing. We are contributing to a healthier Wales with great emphasis placed on innovation and improvement, learning from around the world and leading the way in clinical research. Partnership working is strong at Cardiff and Vale, and we work closely with our staff and our community.
Cardiff, the thriving Welsh capital, is a fantastic city to live and work in with an abundance of sports, arts and cultural attractions. Situated to the west of Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan offers a combination of beautiful Welsh countryside and a dramatic natural coastline. Whether city life or rural living, Cardiff and the Vale offers the best of both worlds.
Job description
Job responsibilities
You will be able to find a full Job description and Person Specification attached within the supporting documents or please click Apply now to view in Trac.
Job description
Job responsibilities
You will be able to find a full Job description and Person Specification attached within the supporting documents or please click Apply now to view in Trac.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Good Honours degree in Psychology with eligibility for Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) with the BPS.
- Post-graduate Doctorate in Clinical/Counselling Psychology accredited by the HCPC (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996 as accredited by the BPS).
- HCPC registration as a practitioner psychologist
Desirable
- Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialist areas of psychological practice.
- Evidence of peer reviewed publications, presentations at conferences, or similar contributions
Experience
Essential
- Substantial and demonstrable post-qualification experience of working as a HCPC Registered Practitioner Psychologist with experience working with people with addictions
- Experience of working with a wide variety of patient groups presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, primary care, in-patient and residential care settings and maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems.
- Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified healthcare professional and also within the context of a multi-disciplinary care plan.
- Experience of teaching, training and professional and clinical supervision.
- Demonstrable evidence of significant specialist clinical supervision within a scientist-practitioner framework, including supervision, group supervision and case presentations
Desirable
- Experience of working with service users as co-producers
Skills
Essential
- Skills in the use of highly complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management, frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
- Ability to use highest level of interpersonal and communication skills to convey and receive highly complex / sensitive information effectively, requiring empathy and reassurance, in a highly emotive atmosphere and the ability to overcome psychological resistance to potentially threatening information, whilst maintaining high degree of professionalism at all times.
- Ability to make clinical and servicerelated judgments involving complex facts requiring analysis, interpretation and comparison of several options
- Ability to plan and organise a range of clinical or service-related activities and programmes
- Ability to implement agreed policies and strategic long-term service developments.
Desirable
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult-to-treat groups
- High level knowledge of theory and practice of at least two specialist psychological therapies
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to client group and mental health.
- Ability to speak Welsh and a willingness to use this in the context of work where relevant.
Special Knowledge
Essential
- Formal Training and supervision of other psychologists
- Evidence of significant post-qualification continuing professional development as recommended by the HCPC and BPS
- Specialist knowledge of psychometric test construction, development, validation, administration and clinical interpretation of the results.
- Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology. Prior evidence of its usage in previous roles.
- Well-developed specialist knowledge of clinical/counselling psychology theory and practice, assessment, and the application of specialised psychological therapies related to the needs of people accessing addictions services
Desirable
- Awareness of ethnic diversity issues
Personal Qualities
Essential
- Willingness to supervise trainee clinical psychologists and other qualified clinical/counselling psychologists working in similar settings
- Willingness to work as part of a team and also independently
- Commitment to working collaboratively with people living with addictions and their carers to develop and improve services
- Ability to make effective use of clinical consultation and appraisal.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Good Honours degree in Psychology with eligibility for Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) with the BPS.
- Post-graduate Doctorate in Clinical/Counselling Psychology accredited by the HCPC (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996 as accredited by the BPS).
- HCPC registration as a practitioner psychologist
Desirable
- Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialist areas of psychological practice.
- Evidence of peer reviewed publications, presentations at conferences, or similar contributions
Experience
Essential
- Substantial and demonstrable post-qualification experience of working as a HCPC Registered Practitioner Psychologist with experience working with people with addictions
- Experience of working with a wide variety of patient groups presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, primary care, in-patient and residential care settings and maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems.
- Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified healthcare professional and also within the context of a multi-disciplinary care plan.
- Experience of teaching, training and professional and clinical supervision.
- Demonstrable evidence of significant specialist clinical supervision within a scientist-practitioner framework, including supervision, group supervision and case presentations
Desirable
- Experience of working with service users as co-producers
Skills
Essential
- Skills in the use of highly complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management, frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
- Ability to use highest level of interpersonal and communication skills to convey and receive highly complex / sensitive information effectively, requiring empathy and reassurance, in a highly emotive atmosphere and the ability to overcome psychological resistance to potentially threatening information, whilst maintaining high degree of professionalism at all times.
- Ability to make clinical and servicerelated judgments involving complex facts requiring analysis, interpretation and comparison of several options
- Ability to plan and organise a range of clinical or service-related activities and programmes
- Ability to implement agreed policies and strategic long-term service developments.
Desirable
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult-to-treat groups
- High level knowledge of theory and practice of at least two specialist psychological therapies
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to client group and mental health.
- Ability to speak Welsh and a willingness to use this in the context of work where relevant.
Special Knowledge
Essential
- Formal Training and supervision of other psychologists
- Evidence of significant post-qualification continuing professional development as recommended by the HCPC and BPS
- Specialist knowledge of psychometric test construction, development, validation, administration and clinical interpretation of the results.
- Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology. Prior evidence of its usage in previous roles.
- Well-developed specialist knowledge of clinical/counselling psychology theory and practice, assessment, and the application of specialised psychological therapies related to the needs of people accessing addictions services
Desirable
- Awareness of ethnic diversity issues
Personal Qualities
Essential
- Willingness to supervise trainee clinical psychologists and other qualified clinical/counselling psychologists working in similar settings
- Willingness to work as part of a team and also independently
- Commitment to working collaboratively with people living with addictions and their carers to develop and improve services
- Ability to make effective use of clinical consultation and appraisal.
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).
