Qualified Practitioner Psychologist

Job responsibilities

This role provides an exciting progression opportunity for HCPC Registered Practitioner Psychologists who are seeking to develop their skills within a formal and supported preceptorship, with ongoing opportunities for professional development. Having qualified you will be supported to complete our preceptorship programme over a period of approximately two years. Upon successful completion there will be an opportunity for you to progress within your role, with an ongoing Highly Qualified Practitioner Psychologist opportunity.

We are looking for a qualified Clinical/Counselling/Forensic Psychologist to ensure the delivery of high quality, accessible and inclusive psychological services. Under the supervision of a senior psychologist, you will offer and support the delivery of a range of evidence-based psychological and psychosocial interventions relevant to the people we serve.

You will receive regular clinical supervision from a senior Psychologist. Our national Psychology Team provides connection, peer support, reflective practice and CPD.

You will need an appreciation of Change Grow Lives values, the people who use our services and how everyone within our diverse team can make a difference. If you can bring with you qualities such as emotional intelligence, openness to new ideas and ways of working, flexibility, patience, compassion and the ability to work with individuals and teams this will be of huge benefit.

We want all of our services to be Psychologically Informed. We support people experiencing difficulties associated with a range of challenges, most frequently including drug and alcohol use. We want to define clearly how we will focus our Psychology resources to support equity and assure quality and delivery of evidence-based interventions as outlined in Drug Misuse and Dependence: UK Guidelines on Clinical Management 2017.

Across your area you will work as part of multidisciplinary teams and your focus will be the excellent delivery of recommended specialised interventions. These form the primary Job Plan for all Psychology positions as they are clearly identified as contributing to supporting recovery.

Primary Functions:

Plan, develop and implement localised:

Contingency management initiatives in local services, aligned to evidence-based practice.

Social behaviour network therapy (SBNT) interventions embedded within the available range of psychosocial Interventions.

Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) and motivational enhancement techniques, engaging in direct delivery of these interventions i.e. Assessing and then offering 6 sessions of CBT on cycle to people for whom this is indicated.

Behavioural couples therapy (BCT) and trauma-focused interventions for co-occurring disorders. i.e. Assessing and then offering 6 sessions on cycle to people for whom this is indicated.

Support the implementation of localised approaches using Motivational Interviewing (MI, providing appropriate support and supervision to practitioners and connecting to associated national teams.

Explore and implement localised third-wave CBT approaches, including acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and mindfulness-based relapse prevention.

Support localised trauma-informed care approaches, embedding associated practice within the local team.

Develop and establish mechanisms to measure outcomes, undertake fidelity checks, and evaluate the effectiveness of the above interventions.

Develop and establish mechanisms to support equity of access to the above specialised interventions.

Clinical Supervision:

Offer formal group clinical supervision to service staff on a monthly or bi-monthly basis.

Support broader staff teams in adopting psychologically informed practices.

Support the development of quality benchmarks for continuous professional development strategies.

Collaboration within MDT:

Work closely with multidisciplinary teams to ensure integrated care and holistic support.

Participate in regular communication and case review meetings to adjust treatment approaches.

Support emergent MDT development.

Through consultancy, clinical supervision, training, and clinical case management, you will help to create innovative and effective service that adheres to best practice guidelines and delivery of high-quality care including drug and alcohol use. We want to define clearly how we will focus our Psychology resources to support equity and assure quality and delivery of evidence-based interventions as outlined in Drug Misuse and Dependence: UK Guidelines on Clinical Management 2017.

Across your area you will work as part of multidisciplinary teams and your focus will be the excellent delivery of recommended specialised interventions. These form the primary Job Plan for all Psychology positions as they are clearly identified as contributing to supporting recovery.

Knowledge & Understanding

Essential

• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the cohort of people accessing our services and its implications for both clinical practice and professional management in relation to addiction and recovery.

Desirable

• Additional training in relevant specialist psychological models - e.g. CBT, MBT, DBT, CAT, Systemic.
• Knowledge about addictions and the impact of these on individual and family life.
• Knowledge of the key psychosocial interventions used within the drug and alcohol field.
• Knowledge and skills in the use of psychometric and neuropsychological assessment.

Skills & Abilities

Essential

• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, psychological formulation, intervention, and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
• This requires the use of highly developed analytical and judgement skills.
• Skills in individual and group work and in programme planning.
• Ability to maintain a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, and heightened situations such as verbal abuse, or threat of physical abuse.
• Planning and organising skills for caseload management.
• Skills in self-management, including time-management.
• Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information, including contentious and highly distressing information, to people who access our services, their families, carers and other professional colleagues across sectors.
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance, including regular supervision, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working as a psychologist and/or successful completion of a preceptorship.
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment, formulation, and treatment of people across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in-patient settings.
• Experience of working with a wide variety of people, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity.
• Experience of the application of Clinical or Counselling Psychology in different contexts. Experience of working within a trauma-informed framework.

Desirable

• Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
• Experience of working in a drug and alcohol services and working with people who use drugs and/or alcohol.
• Experience of multi-agency working.
• Experience and skill in using Motivational Interviewing.
• Experience of delivering psychological interventions to people with experiences of complex trauma.

Qualifications

Essential

• For Clinical Psychologists Professional Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (accredited by the BPS); or the BPS Statement of Equivalence in Clinical Psychology or for Counselling Psychology Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology (accredited by the BPS); or the BPS Qualification in Counselling Psychology or for Forensic Psychology Professional Doctorate in Forensic Psychology (accredited by the BPS); or Masters degree in Forensic Psychology (accredited by the BPS) plus stage two of the BPS Qualification in Forensic Psychology; or Stages one and two of the BPS Qualification in Forensic Psychology.
• Entry-level qualification in applied psychological therapy/mental health/social welfare profession and demonstrable practice in this field (professional Doctorate, or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level/ supervised practice/ additional training) that has been accepted for the purposes of professional registration.
• Registered with professional body as appropriate to discipline HCPC/APC/ BPC/UKCP/BACP/BABCP/ADMP-UK.
• Qualified HCPC Registered Practitioner Psychologists

Desirable

• Evidence of relevant Continuing Professional Development Training in clinical supervision
• Newly qualified HCPC registered psychologist

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).