Job summary
- Main area
- Op Courage
- Grade
- Band 8a
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 22.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 371-MHS1094-A
- Employer
- Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Lake Road Health Centre, Nutfield Place
- Town
- Portsmouth
- Salary
- £57,528 - £64,750 per annum, pro-rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 19/07/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Specialist Clinical/Counselling Psychologist
Band 8a
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join OpCourage Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service. We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated Highly Specialist Clinical/Counselling Psychologist to join our specialist flagship service.
This role is part of multi-disciplinary team offering mental health treatment and wellbeing support within a stepped care model to veterans.
Your role will combine both clinical and service development responsibilities. You will provide specialist assessments, formulations and evidence-based treatment for PTSD and C-PTSD, in both individual and group settings. You will have the opportunity to develop your knowledge/skills in Trauma focused CBT, EMDR, NET and Compassion Focused Therapy.
You will also contribute to the supervision and line-management of qualified psychologists, trainee and assistant psychologists and CBT therapists as appropriate. There will be opportunities to contribute to service development, development of our treatment pathways, research and service evaluation.
We are a dynamic and friendly team committed to providing the best care for veterans. This is a busy service and clinicians’ self-care is important to us. We offer a blended model of delivery including face to face and online and there are opportunities for home working to ensure a good work / life balance. This role will require you to work from the base in Portsmouth at least 2 days a week including Friday.
Main duties of the job
• To support the Clinical Service Manager and Operational Service Manager in managing and providing an exemplary and comprehensive specialist assessment and treatment for all eligible veterans referred with PTSD and other mental health problems.
• Support the multi-disciplinary team to develop and embed psychological support across the stepped care model as appropriate
• Provide expert assessment and management advice of clinical difficulties utilising the most up-to-date knowledge, validated assessment / diagnostic tools and interventions.
• Provide clinical supervision for therapists in the assessment, management and rehabilitation of veterans with mental health needs through the use of the most up-to-date clinical protocols for therapeutic interventions and management.
• To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of OpCourage through the deployment of professional skills in service management, research, service evaluation and audit.
Working for our organisation
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated ‘outstanding’ by the CQC, we’re committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we’re committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.
Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are:
- Caring for and about you is our top priority
- Committed to providing good quality, safe services
- Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions
Your wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:
- Flexible working options to support work-life balance
- 27 days’ annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
- Generous NHS pension scheme
- Excellent learning and career development opportunities
- ‘Cycle to Work’ and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
- Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
- Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
- Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality
- Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave
- Free parking across Trust sites
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The “must haves” for this role:
1.Holder of an HCPC regulated Clinical/Counselling Psychology qualification
2. Evidence of experience of working with traumatised people including those with PTSD and C-PTSD.
3. Evidence of experience of working with military veterans presenting with complex mental health difficulties
4. A minimum of 18 -24 months working in a relevant role.
For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.
We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted.
We’re committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed.
We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please don’t hesitate to contact Mark Bruce via email: [email protected] who’ll be delighted to help.
Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible.
Person specification
Education/Qualifications/Training
Essential criteria
- Post graduate doctorate in clinical or counselling psychology (or equivalent for those who trained prior to 1996 or for those who completed their training overseas)
- Registered as a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council
- (Eligibility for) Chartered Membership of British Psychological Society (BPS)
- Additional training and accreditations (or working towards these) in relevant therapeutic approaches or psychological models to reflect post qualification interests/ specialism (e.g., specific therapy models, Health Psychology, Neuropsychology etc.)
- Clinical supervision training for doctorate psychology trainees (BPS Registered course) and other qualified clinicians
Continuous Professional Development
Essential criteria
- Evidence of post-qualification training and expert knowledge in multiple psychological models and therapeutic approaches relevant to the post and service area.
- Comprehensive and up to date knowledge of the current evidence-base and developments within the area of specialism
Previous Experience
Essential criteria
- Demonstrable post qualification experience working as a qualified specialist practitioner in the area of specialism
- Experience of working in evidence-based ways with services users (and their carers/families) presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the range of settings, maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse
- Experience of dealing with highly distressing or emotional circumstances, such as serious mental illness, child and sexual abuse, exploitation, and complex family dynamics
- Experience of delivering interventions across different modalities (e.g. individual, group and systemic-based approaches)
- Experience of working effectively in multi-disciplinary team and multi-agency environments
- Experience of providing specialist advice and consultation to multi-disciplinary and multi-agency colleagues to support the psychological care of service users
- Experience of providing effective clinical supervision, mentoring and leadership to junior staff
- Experience of developing and delivering teaching to a range of staff groups
- Experience of carrying out clinical audit, evaluative research and applying the findings
- Experience of service evaluation, quality improvement work and of implementing change from this and from a national and local health or social care change agenda that impacts across services and professions
- Experience of working with and addressing issues of diversity, including experience of working with diversity, multiculturalism, and equality of access to service
Desirable criteria
- Experience of line managing staff (including junior psychological roles)
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
Essential criteria
- Demonstrable knowledge, skills and abilities in the practice of highly specialised assessment, formulation and intervention, relevant to the specialist modality and service area
- Up to date knowledge of evidence, theory, research, policy and legislation in relation to the service area
- 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
- Well-developed verbal and written communication skills enabling the sensitive communication of complex, technical and/or sensitive information to multiple stakeholders both within and outside the NHS
- Well-developed interpersonal skills with the ability to support, influence and engage with clinicians, stakeholders and service users to create change and improvement.
- The ability and skills to act as an advocate for the service, to engage and foster positive relationships with all health professionals in promoting the good integration of the service within the wider health care system
- Advanced IT skills and the ability to navigate various systems and software packages (such as RiO, Outlook, databases, MS Office/Teams, One Consultation and the Internet)
Additional Requirements
Essential criteria
- Able to work flexibly around working patterns as required
- Ability to travel independently between locations in Hampshire and our South Central region to fulfil the requirements and duties of the position
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
- Mark Bruce
- Job title
- Principal Clinical /Counselling Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
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