Job summary
- Main area
- Mental Health
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8b
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- 37.5 hours per week (Full time)
- Job ref
- 363-SSLB7728489-C
- Employer
- East London NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Bedford CAMHS
- Town
- Bedford
- Salary
- £66,582 - £77,368 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 14/06/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Clinical Psychologist/Psychology Practitioner
NHS AfC: Band 8b
ELFT has long been recognised as a centre of excellence for mental and health care, innovation and improvement. So it is a very exciting time for you to come and work for us. Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.
Job overview
North Bedfordshire Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
Clinical Psychologist/Practitioner Psychologist.
CAMHS Adolescent Mental Health Team / Alternative to Admission Pathway
Band 8b
37.5 hours per week - permanent
Do you want to be a valued member of a diverse and dynamic mental health team working with young people and families? We are a range of professionals who know the importance of bringing together our different skills and experience to work together to meet the needs of our service users, and we are looking for a psychologist who would like to join us in meeting that challenge.
Our clinically-led service is strongly committed to continuously improving the experience and quality of care we offer our families. We encourage curiosity and innovation in our clinicians in our ambition to do the very best for our service users
Main duties of the job
The successful applicant will be located within our North Bedfordshire clinic working with families with specific emphasis on adolescents with complex, severe and enduring mental health problems. This varied role will include the provision of specialist advice/consultation/ formulation, psychological assessment, liaison with other agencies, psychological interventions, clinical supervision and teaching of staff and/or students.
Psychologists make a major contribution within the team, the wider CAMH service in Bedfordshire and holding senior positions within the Trust leadership, shaping clinical strategy and service delivery at all levels. For our successful candidate there will be opportunities for individual development, in terms of clinical and leadership skills and experience. We would support time spent in our other specialist clinical areas (such as Looked After Children, Eating Disorders and the Neurodevelopmental Team) for those interested in varying and progressing their clinical experience.
We are looking for someone who is an experienced clinical psychologist with a substantial knowledge in the field of child and adolescent mental health and who is confident working with adolescent mental health and crisis/risk management.
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Working for our organisation
Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.
ELFT has long been recognised as a centre of excellence for mental and health care, innovation and improvement. So it is a very exciting time for you to come and work for us. Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
We are looking for someone who is an experienced clinical psychologist with a substantial knowledge in the field of child and adolescent mental health and who is confident working with adolescent mental health and crisis/risk management.
Our clinically-led service is strongly committed to continuously improving the experience and quality of care we offer our families. We encourage curiosity and innovation in our clinicians in our ambition to do the very best for our service users.
As the successful candidate you would receive a robust induction program, regular clinical and management supervision to support you in the role. You would be invited to a regular countywide forum for psychologists so that you can develop and maintain links with other psychologists working across a range of teams and benefit from the shared learning from presentations by colleagues.
As a Trust and in our local service we are working hard to support staff well-being and address inequalities (for our service users and ourselves). We are doing our best to encourage open dialogues about difficult topics and ensure that the Trust values are evident in how we deliver our service and work together.
This post is based in Bedford, Bedfordshire, close to the M1 and easily reached by rail and car from North London, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire. The clinic also has the added benefit of free parking and all clinicians are supported by very dedicated and efficient administrative staff. Whilst some of the work is based in the clinic, access to a car is essential as some travel will be required to undertake outreach support at home or other CAMHS/ multi-agency sites.
Person specification
Education/ Qualification/ Training
Essential criteria
- Postgraduate Training in Clinical Psychology leading to Practitioner Psychologist Registration with the HCPC, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
Desirable criteria
- Leadership/Management training.
- Post qualification training in Eating Disorders; Complex Mental health presentations in adolescence and / or CBT with children and adolescents
- Post qualification training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice.
Experience
Essential criteria
- Substantial post-qualification experience of working within an NHS CAMHS service as a clinical psychologist.
- Experience within the specialty of child and adolescent clinical psychology- assessed experience of working at a Band 8a level in child and adolescent mental health.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, primary care, in-patient and residential care settings.
- Experience of liaison and joint work with other statutory, including Social Services and Education, and voluntary agencies, including crisis management.
- Experience of teaching, training and professional and clinical supervision.
- Experience of providing CBT interventions to patients with complex problems.
- Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients’ psychological care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified care co-ordinator and also within the context of a multi-disciplinary care plan.
- Experience of providing clinical supervision.
Desirable criteria
- Experience of management responsibilities.
- Service development experience.
- Experience of professional management of qualified and pre-qualified clinical psychologist
Knowledge & Skills
Essential criteria
- Doctorate level knowledge of clinical psychology including highly developed knowledge of lifespan developmental psychology, models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, and two or more distinct psychological therapies.
- Specialist knowledge Highly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy especially as relevant to adolescents and their families.
- Highly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialist psychological therapies for complex presentations in adolescence e.g., psychosis, OCD, eating disorders, severe depression, neuro-developmental disorders and their assessment, dual diagnosis.
- Able to use highly specialist skills of empathy and diplomacy to overcome significant barriers to understanding and acceptance often in a highly emotive and sometimes hostile atmosphere. Able to provide consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
- Planning and organisational skills Able to initiate, flexibly plan, organise and prioritise a broad range of complex activities or programmes over time.
- Competence and confidence in the selection and administration of cognitive and neuropsychological test equipment.
- Ability to develop content and use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings.
- Research & Guidance Masters or Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis and qualitative research techniques.
- Up to date knowledge of psychological research and national guidance relevant to the client group.
- Cultural awareness Aware of the potential impact of discrimination & disadvantage on mental health. Able to provide a cultural competent service.
- Flexibility Able to be flexible and adapt approach according to need. Able to accommodate disruption to plans owing to the often crisis nature of the Acute working environment.
- Formal training in Clinical supervision,
- Record of providing training and supervision to others to widen the availability of CBT.
- Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS.
Desirable criteria
- Able to innovate on the basis of theoretical knowledge.
- Developed knowledge in the application of psychological approaches to work with adolescents with emerging personality disorders.
- Formal training in Management Skills
- Crisis management and skills for promoting helpful reflection amongst the clinical team
- Knowledge of adapting therapies for adolescents and presentations, including working with young people on the Autistic Spectrum
- Working with victims of child sexual abuse and relational trauma
- Working with looked after children
- Competent use of other IT packages e.g. PowerPoint, Excel and Access, RiO
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
- Matt Sparks
- Job title
- Clinical Team Lead
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01234 893300
- Additional information
If you would like more information about this opportunity, or to arrange an informal visit please contact Matt Sparks, Clinical Team Lead, Dr Sobia Naz, Consultant Psychiatrist & Medical Team Lead, or Dr Louise Scrivener, Consultant Clinical Psychologist on 01234 893337.
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