Job summary
- Main area
- Applied Psychology
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8a
- Contract
- Secondment: 12 months
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 334-CLI-8185850
- Employer
- South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Lambeth Drug and Alcohol Team
- Town
- Brixton
- Salary
- £66,274 - £73,496 per annum inclusive of HCAS (Inner)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 10/09/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Practitioner Psychologist
NHS AfC: Band 8a
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We deliver specialist services in the London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Wandsworth and Richmond.
We are committed to provide a high quality and specialist care to our service users and we are recognised for our care and treatment we provide. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’.
We launched our five-year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives in 2021 together with Our Care Improvement System as our quality management system methodology to make a positive impact on patient care, outcomes and staff experience. By joining SLaM, all staff will get the opportunity to be part of this exciting improvement journey supported with learning and development to harness everyone’s potential as change makers.
The trust recognises the unique and valuable contribution that people with lived experience of mental illness can bring to a role. We therefore welcome applications from people with lived experience and consider them as an asset to the Trust.
Our Values
We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values and our promise to be caring, kind, polite, prompt, honest, listen and do what I say I’m going to do is at the heart of everything we do. When you join us, you’ll be part of something special.
As a Trust we are happy to talk flexible working.
Job overview
We are seeking an experienced and enthusiastic Practitioner Psychologist to join the Lambeth Community Drug and Alcohol Service (LCDAS), a multidisciplinary service providing specialist support to adults experiencing substance use difficulties and co-occurring mental health needs. This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in delivering and developing psychologically informed addiction services within a highly regarded NHS and third-sector partnership.
The post holder will provide highly specialist psychological assessment, formulation and intervention for individuals with complex substance use and mental health presentations. They will contribute to service development, clinical leadership, research, supervision and training, helping to ensure that psychological thinking is embedded throughout the service. The successful candidate will work autonomously within professional guidelines while receiving support and supervision from the Consultant Psychologist.
This post is offered on a fixed-term basis (up to one year) to provide maternity leave cover in another service and presents an excellent opportunity for an experienced practitioner to develop their specialist expertise in addictions and co-occurring mental health difficulties within a well-established multidisciplinary team.
Main duties of the job
The successful candidate will deliver highly specialist psychological assessments and evidence-based interventions for adults with substance use problems and co-occurring mental health difficulties. They will act as a lead practitioner for complex cases, contributing to care planning, risk assessment and multidisciplinary decision-making.
Key responsibilities include:
- Providing specialist psychological assessment, formulation and treatment.
- Offering consultation and psychological advice to multidisciplinary colleagues.
- Leading and contributing to service development initiatives, including group programmes and psychological treatment pathways.
- Supervising assistant psychologists, trainee psychologists and other staff as appropriate.
- Delivering training and reflective practice sessions to multidisciplinary teams.
- Supporting service evaluation, audit and research activity.
- Promoting psychologically informed and culturally competent approaches to care across the service.
- Maintaining high standards of clinical record keeping and governance.
Working for our organisation
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) is one of the largest and most respected mental health trusts in the UK, providing specialist mental health and addiction services to a diverse population across South London and beyond. The Trust has an international reputation for excellence in clinical care, innovation, research and education.
LCDAS is a partnership service led by SLaM that provides comprehensive community-based treatment for people experiencing drug and alcohol problems. The service works closely with primary care, mental health services, social care and the voluntary sector to provide integrated, recovery-focused support.
As part of SLaM, you will benefit from access to excellent professional development opportunities, strong clinical supervision structures and close links with King's College London and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience. You will join a motivated and supportive team committed to improving outcomes for service users and reducing health inequalities within local communities.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The post holder will provide highly specialist psychological services within LCDAS, including assessment, formulation, intervention, consultation and risk management for adults with complex substance use and mental health presentations.
They will contribute to the development and delivery of psychologically informed services by supporting colleagues, promoting evidence-based practice and helping to shape treatment pathways. The role includes responsibility for supervising assistant and trainee psychologists, contributing to staff development, and supporting multidisciplinary team functioning.
The successful candidate will play an active role in service evaluation, quality improvement, audit and research, helping to ensure that clinical practice reflects current evidence and professional standards. They will also contribute to training programmes across the service and support the development of psychological skills within the wider workforce.
The post holder will work autonomously within HCPC, BPS and Trust guidelines, maintaining high standards of clinical governance, record keeping and professional practice. They will contribute to promoting accessible, inclusive and culturally responsive services that meet the needs of the diverse communities served by the London Borough of Lambeth.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or equivalent
- Additional training in a specialised area of psychological practice relevant to addictions
- Completed training course in clinical supervision
- Registered with the HCPC as Practitioner Psychologist
Desirable criteria
- Training in Motivational Interviewing and CBT for Addiction
Experience
Essential criteria
- Evidence of having worked as a clinical specialist under supervision in Addiction
- Experience in specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with complex mental health and co-occurring substance misuse needs
- Experience of supervising assistant and trainee psychologists having completed the relevant training
- Experience of carrying out post-doctoral research, audit or service evaluation projects
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working in a specialist addictions service or in a role with a specific focus on working with clients with co-occurring mental health and substance use issue
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessments and interventions for people with mental health problems and substance use issue
- Theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatment for people with co-occurring mental health and substance use issues.
- Advanced knowledge of psychological assessment and clinical psychometrics for people with mental health and substance use issues
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health issues, child and adult protection, and equalities.
- Doctoral level knowledge of psychological research methodology and complex statistical analysis
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge of policy and commissioning structures for people with co-occurring mental health and substance use issue
Skills
Essential criteria
- To deliver psychological therapy across cultural and other differences.
- To select and administer specialist psychological assessments, interpreting and integrating complex data that require analysis, interpretation and comparison, drawn from several sources.
- To plan and schedule assessment and interventions for individual clients and groups and carers, and for meetings such as CPAs and case reviews
- To plan allocation of tasks to assistant psychologists.
- Well-developed IT skills including entry and analysis of research data
Desirable criteria
- Skills in training staff in substance use specific interventions
Abilities
Essential criteria
- Ability to work effectively within a multi- disciplinary team, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles.
- Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate
- Ability to develop and use complex multi- media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic meetings
- Ability to manage verbal aggression and hostility directed at self
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Luke Mitcheson
- Job title
- Consultant Clinical Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 02032281512
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