Job summary
- Main area
- Mental Health
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8a
- Contract
- Fixed term: 1 year (Fixed until October 2027)
- Hours
- Part time - 22.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 354-AE-21327
- Employer
- Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Millwood, Uckfield Community Hospital
- Town
- Uckfield
- Salary
- £57,528 - £64,750 pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 13/09/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Senior Practitioner Psychologist
NHS AfC: Band 8a
Come and join us
We’re looking for people who share our values of compassion, accountability and optimism to help us provide high quality care for the patients, carers, families and communities we serve. We specialise in NHS mental health and learning disability services and we’re proud to make a difference every day.
At SPFT we put people first. We’ll do everything possible to help you feel respected, valued and included. You’ll have opportunities to learn, grow and gain new experiences to support your career, with access to lifelong learning and professional development.
We actively promote flexible working and understand how important work life balance is, especially in healthcare. Whether it’s part time hours, hybrid working or flexible start and finish times, we’ll explore what works for you and the role.
We recognise that tools like AI are becoming part of everyday life and you may choose to use them when preparing your application. We welcome this, as long as what you submit reflects your own experience, skills and voice. AI can be helpful for structuring or refining your answers, but it should not replace your own examples or create content that isn’t based on your real experience.
Our recruitment process is designed to get to know you, and we’ll explore your examples further at interview, so it’s important your application genuinely represents what you bring. You can read more about using AI in applications and interviews on our recruitment process page.
We’re shaping a workplace where ideas are encouraged, technology supports you and everyone has a voice in how we improve. If that sounds like the kind of organisation you want to be part of, we’d love to hear from you.
Job overview
A fantastic fixed-term or secondment opportunity (until February 2028) has arisen for a Practitioner Psychologist experienced in working with older people, or wanting to gain experience, to provide cover to our Specialist Older Adult Mental Health Service (SOAMHS) based at Millwood (Framfield Rd, Uckfield, East Sussex). This is to cover the current post holder undertaking a secondment.
Our Service provides specialist mental health care and interventions to older people who are struggling to live to their potential due to their mental health, for example difficulties with anxiety, depression, complex emotional needs or psychosis, as well as care for people with dementia. Because distress will often impact on the wider system, our support extends to families and carers.
Although this is a Senior Practitioner Psychologist role, we will consider psychologists with appropriate experience for Band 7 and adapt the role as necessary (Band 7 JD and PS also included). We can also consider flexible working, job shares and secondments.
Main duties of the job
Within this post you will have several responsibilities: Working directly with clients providing psychological and neuropsychological assessments; providing psychological formulations and developing intervention plans; and offering evidence based psychological therapy for complex mental health conditions to the person and families. Equally important in this role is experience in multidisciplinary team working. You will be supporting psychological practice within the wider team through consultation, formulation, supervision, teaching, reflective practice, and training. You will provide advice and consultation to the multi-disciplinary team and other mental health and physical health professionals. We are looking for someone who has the ability to work autonomously within the context of a busy multi-disciplinary team.
Older adult services are changing in line with the national Transformation model. You will have an opportunity to contribute to and support developments to improve access to psychological therapies for older people with severe mental health problems.
Working for our organisation
You will be based within a friendly multidisciplinary team consisting of community mental health nurses, MHWPs, psychiatrists and occupational therapists. The team has strong links with the Salomon's, University of Canterbury, Doctoral Training in Clinical Psychology and regularly hosts Salomon's Clinical Psychology Trainees. You will have a close relationship with the working age psychology team within the local NMHT, and the wider psychological professions within SOAMHS, providing a cohesive and supportive network. There is a valued programme of CPD, peer supervision and reflective practice for psychology staff. You will receive high standards of clinical and professional supervision from the East Sussex Professional Lead for Older Adult Psychology, who is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, as well as peer-group and modality-specific supervision where appropriate. Current supervision groups include neuropsychology, CBT and family therapy.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
As a Senior Practitioner Psychologist, you will provide high-quality psychological assessments, interventions and consultation services for older people, their families and staff, drawing on significant experience and possible post-registration training. You will develop specialist expertise tailored to the service's needs, which include adaptation of therapeutic models to the needs of older people. Models commonly used include ACT, CFT, CBT, and FI, and adaptation of specific interventions (e.g. CBTP, SCM) to the needs of older people.
You will contribute to the delivery of evidence-based psychological care within a multidisciplinary team, ensuring the psychological needs of clients are met effectively and in accordance with the highest standards of practice. You will also have a key role in the supervision of more junior staff, such as assistant psychologists, trainees, and Mental Health and Wellbeing Practioner’s (MHWP’s) while also contributing to service development and research.
Please see Job Description and Person Specification for details.
We are happy to speak about the role, so for more information please contact Dr Lewis Hackett, Consultant Clinical Psychologist ([email protected]).
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Post-graduate doctoral level training in applied psychology as approved by the HCPC, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology
Knowledge/Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience in highly specialist psychological assessment and treatment across outpatient, community, primary care, and inpatient settings.
- Post-qualification experience as a practitioner psychologist with approximately 50 hours of clinical supervision
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, design and complex data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of applied psychology
- Experience working with diverse client groups across the lifespan, addressing a wide range of clinical severities, and maintaining a high degree of professionalism in challenging situations.
- Skilled in teaching, training and/or supervision
- Experience of applying psychology in different cultural contexts and working within a multicultural framework.
- Experience of representing psychology within the context of multidisciplinary care.
- Experience or demonstrable knowledge of working with the particular client group served by the team/service
- Knowledge of relevant national and local guidance, legislation, and mental health frameworks.
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of highly specialist psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc)
- High-level proficiency in at least two specialised psychological therapies and neuropsychology, with continued practice or training post-qualification.
- Formal training in supervision of other psychologists.
- Evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HCPC.
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
- Lewis Hackett
- Job title
- Consultant Clinical Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
List jobs with Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in Allied Health Professions or all sectors