Job summary
- Main area
- IMPACTT
- Grade
- Band 7
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 371-MHS809
- Employer
- Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- University of Reading - Earley Gate
- Town
- Reading
- Salary
- £50,008 - £56,908 per annum (inc. of HCAS)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 17/08/2025 23:59
- Interview date
- 28/08/2025
Employer heading
Clinical/Counselling Psychologist/Psychotherapy (Development Role)
Band 7
Job overview
Are you a dedicated and passionate Clinical or Counselling Psychologist or Psychotherapist, or just about to embark on this career? If so, come and join us at Berkshire Healthcare, our CQC rated ‘Outstanding’ Trust. We have an incredible opportunity to make a genuine difference in the lives of adults in Berkshire who are struggling with the challenges of Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD). As part of our Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) team, within our wider IMPACTT service, you will be welcomed by our friendly team.
This development role from a band 7 to an 8a offers the perfect avenue to polish and cultivate your expertise and expand your horizons.
You'll be at the forefront of providing evidence-based psychological therapy, with a focus on delivering DBT. This is an amazing team to work for and has achieved DBT Team/ programme accreditation status (signifying the comprehensive structure and practices of the programme delivered). You will be joining a DBT team that trains, supports and nurtures therapists to work in a way that is adherent to the therapy model and let your skills and expertise shine. As part of the development post, you will be enrolled on a postgraduate diploma in DBT, which leads to DBT Therapist accreditation.
Main duties of the job
You will be based at the Athena Centre in Slough and Erlegh House, University of Reading, and will need to travel to other locations across the Trust as per service demands. The role will be carried out face-to-face and remotely using Microsoft Teams.
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You will deliver all components of standard Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT): individual therapy sessions, skills group, providing telephone coaching, and actively participating in weekly Consult.
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You will be completing the diploma in DBT.
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You will facilitate specialised psychological assessments, employing your expertise to facilitate these assessments effectively.
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Assessment and continuous monitoring of risks will be a crucial part of your role. Collaborating closely with colleagues, you'll implement strategies to manage risks effectively and ensure the safety and appropriateness of interventions.
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Engaging in regular supervision sessions will be integral to your professional growth, as well as providing supervision for others.
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Your active participation in IMPACTT meetings will contribute significantly to the collective efforts and collaborative approach within the team.
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Building strong connections and collaborating closely with key professionals will be pivotal in ensuring seamless and effective support for individuals under our care.
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:
- Doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology OR UKCP recognised individual psychotherapy training or group analytic training, with extensive NHS experience.
- Registered and accredited with Health Care Professional Council (HCPC) or UKCP.
- You must have a passion for working with people with a diagnosis of EUPD and delivering standard DBT.
- You must have an interest in being trained in DBT with British Isles DBT and completing further education to complete a postgraduate diploma in DBT
- You must have an interest in developing and providing supervision and consultation.
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 call: Joanne Storr (for DBT) on 0300 365 8000/ 07757458090 or email: [email protected] or Harry Stileman [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)
- Accreditation with Health Care Professional Council (HCPC) as a Practitioner Psychologist (Clinical/Counselling)
- (Eligibility for) Chartered Membership of British Psychological Society (BPS)
Desirable criteria
- Additional training and accreditations (or working towards these) in relevant models to reflect post qualification interests/ specialism (e.g., particular therapy models and accreditations, Health Psychology, Neuropsychology).
Continuous Professional Development
Essential criteria
- Evidence of training and/or interest and knowledge in psychological models and therapeutic approaches relevant to the post.
- Commitment to continuing professional development as recommended by the relevant accrediting body.
Experience
Essential criteria
- 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 working effectively in a multi-disciplinary team and multi-agency environment
- Experience of service development and carrying out clinical audits, evaluative research and applying the findings
- Experience of working with, and addressing, issues of diversity, including experience of working with diversity, multiculturalism, and equality of access to the service
Desirable criteria
- Experience of delivering teaching and training to staff
- Experience of providing clinical supervision, mentoring or providing structured guidance to other staff
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
Essential criteria
- Demonstrable knowledge, skills and abilities in the practice of assessment, formulation and intervention, relevant to specialist modality and service area
- Knowledge and understanding of service evaluation, audit and research and how to undertake these activities in an NHS context, including how to implement learning
- Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, complex, technical and/or sensitive information to service users, their carers/families and other professional colleagues, both within and outside of an NHS setting
- 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 Berkshire to fulfil the requirements and duties of the position
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.
Application numbers
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Joanne Storr
- Job title
- Principal Psychologist / Psychotherapist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07757458090
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