Job summary
- Main area
- WLFS Womens Services
- Grade
- Band 8a
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 30 hours per week
- Job ref
- 222-SF-702
- Employer
- West London NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- St Bernard’s Hospital
- Town
- Southall
- Salary
- £61,631 - £68,623 per annum pro rata inclusive of 15% HCAS
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 18/12/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Band 8A Highly Specialist Psychologist
Band 8a
West London NHS Trust provides a full range of mental health, community and physical healthcare services for children, adults and older people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow.
We also provide some specialist services that are commissioned regionally, such as our medium secure services; and nationally, such as the Cassel Hospital for people with complex and severe personality disorder and our high secure services at Broadmoor Hospital.
Job overview
West London NHS Trust has been commissioned to provide the first female, Level 2 specialist mental health rehabilitation inpatient service (higher support needs), based at The Orchard in Ealing. The service will provide care and intensive support to women with complex mental health needs. The service will offer trauma-informed, gender-sensitive care, with staff trained in the specific needs of women, as well as facilitate family involvement and social inclusion, supporting transitions to community settings.
We are seeking an experienced Psychologist (0.8 wte) to join us and be involved in the development of this innovative and exciting service. DBT / MBT experience would be beneficial. We actively promote CPD with opportunities to develop specialist skills, engage in research and encourage working within our large group of psychological professionals. Opportunities for training and supervision as well as working alongside the Cassel Hospital in reach service make this a unique role
Main duties of the job
You will be responsible for providing a high quality psychology service to a female rehabilitation ward (10 beds). As such you’ll be able to utilise varied skills in assessment, formulation and group and individual evidence-based intervention tailored to meet the challenging needs of the inpatient client group. As a key member of the MDT, you will be responsible for developing and implementing psychologically informed treatment for a diverse group of female service users with complex emotional needs.
You will be providing a range of specialist interventions, including Dialectical Behaviour Therapy as well as directly contributing to the development and design of this innovative service.
As well as direct clinical work the role will involve service development and audit, staff training / supervision and frequent collaborative working within the psychological therapies department and with MDT colleagues.
We require a genuine commitment to MDT working and an enthusiasm to collaborate with other services that provide support for individuals with Complex Emotional Needs, including active engagement with the Cassel Inreach team.
This role will include working with people from varied cultural backgrounds and ages, using interpreters when necessary; a passion for creating and enabling equality of access to services for all is vital.
You will be based in The Orchard Unit, St Bernards Hospital.
Please see the attached Job Pack for full details about this role
Working for our organisation
West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.
Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ over 5,000 staff, of whom 59% are BME. Our turnover for 2024-25 is over £500m.
The Trust is rated as ‘Good’ overall by the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as ‘Outstanding’.
The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached
The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Post-graduate doctorate in clinical / forensic / counselling psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996 or those in lateral transfer) as accredited by the BPS.
- Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council
Desirable criteria
- Other related academic qualifications
- Training in clinical supervision for Doctoral, and equivalent, trainees
- Evidence of post-doctoral training in psychological therapy techniques relevant to severe and enduring mental health difficulties (for example DBT/CBT-P/MBT/EMDR)
Experience
Essential criteria
- Post qualification experience of working in mental health settings delivering specialist psychological assessment, formulation and interventions across a range of settings including community, primary care, inpatient, crisis services.
- Experience of working with a wide range of client groups across the whole life course presenting with a range of psychological difficulties.
Desirable criteria
- Post qualification experience and/or training in working with adults affected by psychological trauma.
- Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
- Experience of having facilitated/co-facilitated psychological therapy groups
- Experience of working clinically with female service users in secure settings
- Experience of facilitating reflective practice to teams.
- Experience of administration, scoring and written interpretation of formal personality tools and/or neuropsychological assessments
- Experience of service development/change leadership.
- Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Advanced specialist knowledge, both theoretical and practical, of psychology applied to clinical practice
- Knowledge of racial and other diversity issues and factors impacting access to mental health care and the use of restrictive practices.
- Knowledge of relevant legislation including mental health act and mental capacity act.
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific psychological problems (e.g. personality difficulties and dual diagnosis).
Desirable criteria
- Specialist knowledge of the assessment and treatment of trauma.
- Specialist theoretical and practical knowledge of the assessment and treatment of personality disorder and mental illness
Skills
Essential criteria
- Able to provide and receive highly complex, highly sensitive or highly contentious information, where there are significant barriers to acceptance which need to be overcome using the highest level of interpersonal and communication skills such as would be required when communicating in a hostile, antagonistic or highly emotive atmosphere
- Able to make judgements involving highly complex facts or situations, which require the evaluation of a range of options (e.g. the assessment of specialist clinical conditions and the determination of treatment options), Where expert opinions may differ
- Able to plan, prioritise and organise own service user caseload, treatment programmes (individual or group) involving other staff, and other aspects of the work such as research activity
- Post-graduate level knowledge of research design and methodology
- Able to maintain intense concentration frequently and for prolonged periods with distressed / unpredictable service users
- Able to function in potentially traumatic circumstances and in highly emotionally distressing circumstances on a frequent basis (e.g. in dealing with patients with serious mental illness, self-harm, histories of sexual abuse)
- Able to provide services in environments with service users who are distressed and unpredictable and where the awareness of risk must always be maintained
- Able to “hold” the stress of service users compulsorily detained in an inpatient setting
- Able to respond adaptably to rapidly changing service demands
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge of SPSS
Other Requirements
Essential criteria
- Knowledge of and commitment to the professional code of conduct of the BPS / BABCP / UKCP / BACP.
- Capable of being guided by policies, procedures and codes of conduct
- Able to reflect on and learn from own professional practice.
- Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance to support and maintain clinical practice.
- Evidence of continuing professional development
- Psychomotor skills necessary to administer complex psychological tests and video equipment
- Able to use database, word processing and test administration/scoring software
- Able to complete satisfactorily breakaway training
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Emma Foster
- Job title
- Consultant Clinical Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
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