Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

Job summary
Join a dynamic, forward-thinking team where your expertise can change lives.

Are you a passionate Clinical or Counselling Psychologist looking to make a meaningful impact with children and young people (CYP)? We are seeking a motivated and compassionate professional to join our supportive and innovative service.

This is an exciting time to join an established team as we evolve and develop our service model, offering real opportunities to contribute to its future direction.

You will deliver specialist psychological care to CYP with a wide range of complex needs, including those experiencing distress related to health conditions and neurodivergence. The role includes undertaking comprehensive psychological assessments and delivering creative, evidence-based interventions to individuals, families, and groups.

Alongside clinical work, there are opportunities to contribute to service development, provide supervision, support research activity, and work closely with multi-agency partners including education, social care, and CAMHS.

***Preference will be given to internal Trust staff, as well as 'Priority' and 'At Risk' status including NHS At Risk staff throughout Devon who are able to display recent relevant experience as dictated by the Person Specification.***

Main duties of the job
You will provide specialist clinical/counselling psychology services to CYP with complex needs, including those experiencing psychological distress related to health difficulties/neurodivergence. Your role involves conducting comprehensive assessments using a variety of tools and techniques, formulating and delivering highly specialised interventions to individuals, families, and groups, and evaluating treatment plans based on theoretical models and individual developmental history.

This position offers an excellent opportunity to develop and refine skills in short-term interventions and caseload management. You will work in a fast-paced clinical setting, managing around 15 clinical contacts per week. This role is ideal for someone seeking rich, diverse clinical experience within a structured and supportive framework.

You will also play a key role in supporting the multidisciplinary team through consultation, supervision, and joint working, liaising with professionals across health, education, and social care. Your responsibilities will include contributing to service development, engaging in teaching, supervision, research activities, and participating in statutory processes such as EHAT and EHCP.

A strong focus is placed on multi-agency collaboration, clinical leadership, and maintaining high professional standards grounded in evidence-based practice. You will participate in clinical supervision, keep accurate records, and pursue CPD.

About us
We are a people business - where every member of staff matters and can make a difference. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Joining University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust means becoming part of a team of dedicated staff, who are committed to leading the way through innovation, clinical excellence and great customer care. The Trust has great opportunities for career development in a highly progressive working environment. We offer all of this in a vibrant, modern city with a historic reputation for adventure. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COMMUNICATION WILL BE ELECTRONIC, PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT REGULARLY. If you have any issues with applying online and need additional support including reasonable adjustments with the application process please contact the recruitment manager for this post who will put you in touch with the recruitment team. We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants around less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles. Please contact the recruiting manager to discuss this prior to your application submission. We commit to giving this full consideration in each case. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for our roles, as diversity strengthens our teams. It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date. If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.

Job responsibilities

• To provide a specialist clinical/counselling psychology assessments of individuals, families or groups with complex needs; gathering information from a range of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews
• To formulate, develop, provide and manage psychological interventions to individuals, families, carers or groups with complex presentations through highly specialised programmes of care. Intervention may be through individual therapy and/or family work using various models (e.g. cognitive, behavioural, systemic, developmental).
• To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.
• Utilise a range of specialist assessment techniques including, psychometric testing and developmental assessment.
• To provide support to the wider service including psychological consultation with the MDT and psychosocial assessment and intervention for children and young people as required.
• To provide support to children and young people within the service as required. The service supports those with health difficulties and those children with neurodivergence. Be flexible to respond to service needs as appropriate which may mean working within other areas of the service.
• To contribute to the design and development of the service.
• Provide consultation, specialist advice and/or supervision to colleagues and those in other agencies, in the development and management of programmes of care.
• Communicate highly complex information with empathy and sensitivity to clients and families, possibly within a highly emotive atmosphere.
• Participate within the EHAT and/or EHCP processes and other statutory processes as required; ensuring information is shared appropriately with other professionals. Convene and chair multi-disciplinary meetings as appropriate.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• Doctoral level training in clinical psychology, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology, as accredited by the BPS
• HCPC Registered (includes awaiting registration)

Knowledge and Experience
Essential

• Demonstrable experience of complex, specialist psychological assessment and treatment of children and young people across different care settings e.g. outpatient, community and inpatient.
• Demonstrable experience of multi-disciplinary team working
• Awareness: up to date with the NHS Agenda for children and young people, national directives and all Governance aspects

Desirable

• Proven ability to use test equipment to carry out psychometric assessment (e.g. WISC,WPPSI, developmental assessment, Schedule of Growing Skills II)
• Demonstrable clinical experience in range of children's mental health work in a community setting
• Demonstrable clinical experience in a Paediatric setting either acute or community paediatrics.
• Computer literate e.g. proven knowledge of excel and use of video in therapy
• Demonstrable experience of providing teaching/ training and/or providing supervision

Aptitude and Abilities
Essential

• Excellent time management and organisational skills
• Proven ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Competence in research and audit/evaluation
• Proven ability to represent psychology within amulti-disciplinary team

Disposition and Attitude
Essential

• Proven ability to successfully manage in a stressful environment
• Able to work both as part of a team and independently
• Skills to interact and communicate with a wide range of people
• Capacity to reflect and contain intense feelings evoked by exposure to distressing situations

Desirable

• Keen to be involved with service development

Other
Essential

• Proven ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for a variety of audiences
• Proven ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance to support and maintain clinical practice
• Proven ability to travel between sites

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).

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community.