Job summary
- Main area
- CAMHS - Multi-Disciplinary Adoption Support Service (MDASS)
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8a
- Contract
- Fixed term: 6 months (subject to extension of contract upon confirmation of further funding for the service)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 346-DDC-046-25-A
- Employer
- Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- within North East and North Cumbria footprint
- Town
- within North East and North Cumbria footprint
- Salary
- £47,810 - £62,682 This is a B7-8a vacancy dependant on experience (see info)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 16/10/2025 23:59
Employer heading

Specialist / Highly Specialist Applied 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
We are seeking to appoint two enthusiastic and suitably experienced Applied Psychologists to work within an innovative multidisciplinary and multiagency service with close links to the Regional Adoption Agencies across the North East of England, supporting adopted children and their families. These posts are initially fixed term until March 2026, however, a funding review is due in autumn 2025 which we anticipate will lead to these posts becoming permanently funded.
Although this post is advertised as an 8a post, we are willing to consider applications from Psychologists who do not yet meet the essential criteria for a Band 8a, but who would be interested in undertaking the post at a Band 7 initially, with a supportive plan for development and progression in due course.
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. Please see notes below regarding trainee eligibility to apply.
Main duties of the job
The posts will involve working in the community within the newly developed multidisciplinary team to provide specialist psychological assessment, formulation and interventions to children and their families seeking adoption support. The service aims to improve outcomes for children by reducing the time taken to assess need and provide more effective pathways to therapy and support. The service comprises of Consultant Social Workers, a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Occupational Therapist and a Speech and Language Therapist, as well as the Applied Psychologist posts. Operational leadership will be provided by a Service Manager who will be responsible for delivery of the project’s objectives under the guidance of a Delivery Board.
The team works with children aged between 4 and 11 years who request adoption support regarding behaviours which may be indicative of neurodiversity and/or attachment and trauma, and which have resulted in emerging difficulties in education, peer relations and the adoptive home and which, without intervention, are likely to escalate in severity and complexity. The team is also developing a system wide understanding of trauma and attachment in order to successfully integrate and embed this new team within existing adoption support social work and health service referral and support pathways.
Working for our organisation
There is a strong Psychology network across the Trust and within the CAMHS directorate. We provide training placements for the local DClinPsy and DCounsPsy courses, and encourage Psychology staff to contribute to relevant research opportunities. The post holder would also develop strong links into our neighbouring mental health Trust, CNTW,
Psychologists & Psychological Therapists provide key leadership roles within the Trust. To support this we have developed leadership profiles for each psychology band and the profile card associated with this post is attached. You can find more information about the NHS Leadership Academy's Healthcare Leadership Model and the profiles at their website.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
We are looking for a highly motivated and reflective applied psychologists who have both passion for, and experience of working with, young people and their families. Suitable applicants will have good clinical and developing leadership skills. If you are passionate about being innovative in your work and making a real and meaningful difference to the lives of young people, we would be delighted to hear from you.
Experience of working with children and families is important, as well as the ability to work effectively within the multi-disciplinary team and with our multi-agency partner organisations. Prior training & experience in utilising Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) would be desirable, but training can be provided.
The successful candidates will provide specialist psychological assessment, formulation and intervention to young people and families accessing the service. They will support the clinical work of the multidisciplinary team and help foster a culture of reflective practice underpinned by attachment and trauma informed principles. The post holders will support clinical guidance and training to the team, and to partner agencies as required.
They may be expected to contribute to audit, service evaluation and/or research as needed as part of service development and evaluation of the effectiveness of the project, with the hope of being able to extend this. Excellent multi-agency working skills are essential to the role. Service development ideas and innovation in the role are actively encouraged. The successful candidates will be under the support and guidance of the Consultant Psychologist. We are are keen to support the ongoing development of Psychologists through training and CPD opportunities – both in-house and also externally.
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 clinical psychologists are eligible to apply when they are in their third year of training.
Psychologist Trainee Counselling Psychologists are eligible to apply 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)
Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for further detailed information to ensure that you meet the role criteria before applying.
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
Desirable criteria
- Post-graduate qualification showing evidence of supervised practice in an evidence-based psychological therapeutic model
Experience
Essential criteria
- Working as a qualified applied psychologist including a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and a range of clinical severity across a range of care settings.
- Teaching, training and clinical supervision and field supervisor for doctoral theses.
Desirable criteria
- Experience working with children with complex developmental trauma and/or attachment difficulties
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Evidence- based practice relevant to the role
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health
- Risk assessment and risk management
Skills
Essential criteria
- Communicate highly complex and highly sensitive information effectively, to a wide range of people
- Work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team and undertake care co-ordination/lead practitioner responsibilities
- Utilise psychometric tests competently
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
- Michelle Summerbell
- Job title
- Service Manager (MDASS)
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07548 952665
- Additional information
Dr Emma Lonsdale Consultant Psychologist - MDASS (Multi-Disciplinary Adoption Support Service) [email protected]
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