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Job summary

Main area
Psychology- CAMHS
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 8a
Contract
Fixed term: 12 months (January 2026 - January 2027)
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Mon-Fri)
Job ref
346-DDC-051-25-B
Employer
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Full Circle
Town
Annfield Plain
Salary
£47,810 - £62,682 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
26/11/2025 23:59

Employer heading

Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust logo

Applied Psychologist/Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist

NHS AfC: Band 8a

We are the Mental Health & Learning Disability NHS Trust for County Durham and Darlington, Teesside, North Yorkshire, York and Selby.

From education and prevention, to crisis and specialist care —our talented and compassionate teams work in partnership with our patients, communities and partners to help the people of our region feel safe, understood, believed in and cared for.

We nurture the recovery journey of anyone in need of our help. In Our Trust, everyone has a say in how they are supported and treated because we listen to every person in our care until they feel understood. Our patients, their families and carers work together with us towards better mental health.

We’re committed to new thinking that improves the wellbeing of our region. We connect with our communities and partners to get mental health care right, in areas that really need it.

We won’t rest until everyone in our region has the mental health care they need, to lead their best possible life.

Job overview

This vacancy is for a 12 month post covering maternity leave. 

A fantastic opportunity has arisen for a dynamic and motivated individual to join Durham Children and Young Peoples Service in-house therapeutic team - The Full Circle, based in Annfield Plain, County Durham.

The Full Circle’s focus is to support children and young people who have experienced developmental trauma due to experiences of neglect and abuse. The team works in close partnership with children looked after, children in need, residential, fostering and adoption services and has close links with partnership agencies including Education and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services within Durham. The post holder will have the opportunity to develop both their clinical and leadership skills and be an integral member of a strong leadership team. The Full Circle team is committed to providing a trauma informed approach and supporting wider children and young people services to understand and respond to children’s trauma in the most helpful way.

Main duties of the job

The post involves offering clinical support and guidance to the team which consists of therapeutic social workers, a clinical nurse specialist and an existing consultant clinical psychologist. It also includes consultation and training to social workers and other professionals working across CYPS along with support to foster carers, parents and residential services. The post involves working with children complex needs requiring collaboration and partnership working with a range of systems.  Part of this role will be to support Durham County Council's growing residential services and working in innovative and creative ways to support the most complex young people in Durham’s care.

Working for our organisation

The Full Circle are proud of their Investing in Children Membership Award™ status, which recognises and celebrates examples of imaginative and inclusive practice with children and young people.

Ofsted have also recognised how valuable Full Circle Support is "The therapeutic service provided by Full Circle is invaluable. Using evidence based research, the service is making a real difference to children who have been traumatised by adverse childhood experiences, as well as supporting their carers." (September 2019). At their more recent inspection, Ofsted said of children, young people and families, "They receive tailored and highly effective support with their emotional needs from the specialist therapeutic Full Circle team. Foster carers and adopters are well supported by social workers and Full Circle in the transition and continuing care of children placed with them." (May 2022)

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

We welcome applications from staff who are currently coming to the end of their training in Clinical or counselling psychology that on successful completion will achieve the required qualification and registration with HCPC as Practitioner Psychologist. Trainee counselling psychologists are eligible to apply for and to be shortlisted for interview and to be offered qualified posts when they are in their 3rd year of the doctoral training and have the following confirmed as completed by the university. This information may be requested prior to interview: a. All clinical competencies. b. 80% of the 450 supervised clinical practice hours (360 hours)

Trainee clinical psychologists are eligible to apply for and to be shortlisted for interview and to be offered qualified posts when they are in their third year of training,  as they will have completed their core clinical competencies by this stage of the course.

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for further detailed information to ensure that you meet the role criteria before applying.

For more information on the role please contact in the first instance, Dr Alison Foster, Consultant Clinical Psychologist - [email protected]

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Post-graduate training (doctoral level equivalent) in clinical / counselling / forensic psychology (or its equivalent prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS.
  • HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist
  • Trained in clinical supervision (within agreed timescale)
  • Trained in care co-ordination (within agreed timescale)
  • Evidence of continuing professional development
Desirable criteria
  • Post-graduate qualification showing evidence of supervised practice in an evidence-based psychological therapeutic model
  • Registration with BPS

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Must have experience/interest in: Working with mental health/learning disability clients (depending on designated service area)
  • Multi-disciplinary team working
Desirable criteria
  • Experience of CBT, DBT, Psychodynamics, systematic therapy
  • Experience of research and audit

Knowledge

Essential criteria
  • Doctoral level knowledge of: Evidence- based practice relevant to the role
  • Risk assessment and risk management
  • Clinical governance
  • Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.
  • Audit and research methodology
  • Social Inclusion agenda
  • Awareness of: The Trust’s Quality Improvement System

Employer certification / accreditation badges

We are a Living Wage EmployerVeteran AwareApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyPositive about disabled peopleAge positiveImproving working livesArmed Forces Covenant (Silver Award)Mindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerStep into healthArmed Forces CovenantBetter Health at Work Gold Award

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

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Dr Alison Foster
Job title
Consultant Clinical Psychologist
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
03000 264735
Additional information

 

 

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