Job summary An exciting opportunity has arisen for an 8b Clinical Psychologist, to cover maternity leave for one year fixed term, to work within Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust in the Halton Recovery Team. Halton Recovery Team are a large specialist secondary care community mental health Team. The successful applicant would be part of a large team of psychologists, CBT/EMDR therapists, assistant psychologists, occupational therapists, mental health nurses, support workers, psychiatry and soon to be peer workers. You will be joining a hard working and busy team providing holistic care/therapies with people who experience complex mental health difficulties. We in Halton are at the forefront of Mersey Care's Community Mental Health Transformation. We are working in partnership with our Primary Care colleagues to provide a seamless mental health offer. Our Recovery Teams provide high quality intervention-based care in both high and low intensity formats. Training opportunities will be available and you will be supported to follow CPD opportunities to further develop your career. Main duties of the job To work as part of the multi-disciplinary team at the Halton Recovery Team, providing specialist psychological assessments, formulations and therapeutic interventions to service users with complex psychological presentations. To provide advice and consultation on service users' psychological care to non-Psychological Services colleagues and to others involved in a service user's care, working autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the team's policies and procedures. The successful applicant will have particular responsibilities overseeing the operation of the Relational and Emotional Strengthening Pathway (RESP) as well as supporting the team to provide short term crisis interventions for client's presenting to the Duty Team. To utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research within the area served by the team/service. To provide teaching and training within the service and to other groups as required. About us Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands. We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities. At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so. Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles. Date posted 10 February 2025 Pay scheme Agenda for change Band Band 8b Salary £62,215 to £72,293 a year pa pro rata Contract Fixed term Duration 12 months Working pattern Full-time Reference number 350-MHC6977600 Job locations Brooker Centre Hospital Way Runcorn WA7 2DA Job description Job responsibilities Clinical: To provide highly specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the Psychological Service based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological tests, self-report measures, forensic history, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations, psychodynamic, adult attachment and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and other involved in the clients care. To contribute to diagnosis, often pertaining to highly distressing circumstances. To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of clients complex mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficiency, across the full range of care settings. To be responsible for implementing a range of specialised psychological interventions for individuals and groups, within and across teams, adjusting and refining psychological formulations, drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses. To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models, legal obligations and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individuals, family, or group. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients who problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans. To provide specialist psychological advice guidance and consultation to other professionals which contributes directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan. To provide directly and indirectly, a psychologically grounded framework of understanding to guide care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group. To ensure that comprehensive risk assessments on all patients within the service are carried out in line with Mental Health Care Division policy. To contribute to multi-disciplinary diagnostic assessment of complex cases, and to share advice and recommendations. To act as care coordinator, where appropriate, taking responsibility for initiating planning and review of care plans under enhanced CPA including clients, their carers, referring agents and others involved the network of care. To communicate and record in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni and multi-disciplinary care. To provide clinical leadership for therapy interventions for people within the Recovery Team to manage the referral process and waiting list. To lead on assessment, intervention, evaluation and risk assessment. Teaching, Training and Supervision: To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from professional colleagues. To gain additional highly specialist experience and skills relevant to psychological/nursing needs as agreed with the Lead Consultant Clinical Psychologist. To apply and continue to develop skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training supervision and to provide supervision to other MDT staffs psychological work as appropriate. To provide professional clinical supervision of qualified, assistant level, and trainee staff. To contribute to the pre and post qualification teaching of clinical psychological/nursing service staff, as appropriate, including the development of reflective practice interventions, enhanced by PhD. Study outcomes. To provide advice consultation and training to staff working with client group across a range of agencies and settings, where appropriate. Management, Recruitment and Service Development: To develop and apply professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit to enhance development, evaluation and monitoring of the multidisciplinary teams operational policies and services. To advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological/nursing and/or organisational matters need addressing. To be involved, as appropriate, in the shortlisting and interviewing of new staff. Research and Service Evaluation: To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members. To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research. To undertake project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within the service to help develop service provision. To contribute to the dissemination of any work undertaken by promoting the evidence base and by publishing the work in accredited journal and speaking at relevant conferences/workshops. General: To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the post holders professional service manager(s). To contribute to the development and articulation of best practice in psychological and nursing approaches across the service, by continuing to develop the skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the field of psychological/nursing and related disciplines. To maintain the highest standard of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific client group and mental health. To undertake a reasonable duty of care for Trust equipment and facilities used in the course of routine work. Job description Job responsibilities Clinical: To provide highly specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the Psychological Service based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological tests, self-report measures, forensic history, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations, psychodynamic, adult attachment and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and other involved in the clients care. To contribute to diagnosis, often pertaining to highly distressing circumstances. To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of clients complex mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficiency, across the full range of care settings. To be responsible for implementing a range of specialised psychological interventions for individuals and groups, within and across teams, adjusting and refining psychological formulations, drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses. To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models, legal obligations and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individuals, family, or group. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients who problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans. To provide specialist psychological advice guidance and consultation to other professionals which contributes directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan. To provide directly and indirectly, a psychologically grounded framework of understanding to guide care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group. To ensure that comprehensive risk assessments on all patients within the service are carried out in line with Mental Health Care Division policy. To contribute to multi-disciplinary diagnostic assessment of complex cases, and to share advice and recommendations. To act as care coordinator, where appropriate, taking responsibility for initiating planning and review of care plans under enhanced CPA including clients, their carers, referring agents and others involved the network of care. To communicate and record in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni and multi-disciplinary care. To provide clinical leadership for therapy interventions for people within the Recovery Team to manage the referral process and waiting list. To lead on assessment, intervention, evaluation and risk assessment. Teaching, Training and Supervision: To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from professional colleagues. To gain additional highly specialist experience and skills relevant to psychological/nursing needs as agreed with the Lead Consultant Clinical Psychologist. To apply and continue to develop skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training supervision and to provide supervision to other MDT staffs psychological work as appropriate. To provide professional clinical supervision of qualified, assistant level, and trainee staff. To contribute to the pre and post qualification teaching of clinical psychological/nursing service staff, as appropriate, including the development of reflective practice interventions, enhanced by PhD. Study outcomes. To provide advice consultation and training to staff working with client group across a range of agencies and settings, where appropriate. Management, Recruitment and Service Development: To develop and apply professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit to enhance development, evaluation and monitoring of the multidisciplinary teams operational policies and services. To advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological/nursing and/or organisational matters need addressing. To be involved, as appropriate, in the shortlisting and interviewing of new staff. Research and Service Evaluation: To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members. To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research. To undertake project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within the service to help develop service provision. To contribute to the dissemination of any work undertaken by promoting the evidence base and by publishing the work in accredited journal and speaking at relevant conferences/workshops. General: To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the post holders professional service manager(s). To contribute to the development and articulation of best practice in psychological and nursing approaches across the service, by continuing to develop the skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the field of psychological/nursing and related disciplines. To maintain the highest standard of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific client group and mental health. To undertake a reasonable duty of care for Trust equipment and facilities used in the course of routine work. Person Specification Qualifications Essential Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology. Registered with the Health Professions Council as a Clinical Psychologist Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the UKCP, and/or NMC or other professional bodies Desirable Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychological interventions. Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice. Post-qualification specialist training in particular psychotherapeutic approaches e.g., cognitive analytic psychotherapy, dialectical behaviour therapy, CFT, EMDR etc. Knowledge/Experience Essential At least 4 year's experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with SU across a range of care settings as appropriate to the specialty, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings. Experience of working with complex presentation Experience of working in Inpatient and Community services Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abut and the threat of physical abuse. Knowledge of IT systems including word processing, email and any local systems Knowledge of legislation in relation to client group Desirable Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision Experience of the application of psychological assessments and therapies in different cultural contexts Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnosis, people with additional disabilities etc.) High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health Working towards Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis Formal training in supervision of others Experience of bid writing Values Essential Continuous Improvement Accountability Respectfulness Enthusiasm Support High professional standards Responsive to service users Engaging leadership style Strong customer service belief Transparency and honesty Discreet Change oriented Skills Essential Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration. Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS. Skills in providing consultation to other professional and nonprofessional groups. Ability to sit in a constrained position when working with clients. Ability to sustain intense levels of concentration responding and participating as required. Ability to self-reflect and use clinical supervision appropriately. Ability to cope and deal with highly distressing emotional circumstances. Ability to cope with unpleasant working conditions. Willing and able to work flexible hours in order to meet the needs of the service Other Essential Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material. Experience of working within a multicultural framework Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multimedia materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings. Person Specification Qualifications Essential Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology. Registered with the Health Professions Council as a Clinical Psychologist Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the UKCP, and/or NMC or other professional bodies Desirable Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychological interventions. Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice. Post-qualification specialist training in particular psychotherapeutic approaches e.g., cognitive analytic psychotherapy, dialectical behaviour therapy, CFT, EMDR etc. Knowledge/Experience Essential At least 4 year's experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with SU across a range of care settings as appropriate to the specialty, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings. Experience of working with complex presentation Experience of working in Inpatient and Community services Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abut and the threat of physical abuse. Knowledge of IT systems including word processing, email and any local systems Knowledge of legislation in relation to client group Desirable Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision Experience of the application of psychological assessments and therapies in different cultural contexts Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnosis, people with additional disabilities etc.) High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health Working towards Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis Formal training in supervision of others Experience of bid writing Values Essential Continuous Improvement Accountability Respectfulness Enthusiasm Support High professional standards Responsive to service users Engaging leadership style Strong customer service belief Transparency and honesty Discreet Change oriented Skills Essential Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration. Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS. Skills in providing consultation to other professional and nonprofessional groups. Ability to sit in a constrained position when working with clients. Ability to sustain intense levels of concentration responding and participating as required. Ability to self-reflect and use clinical supervision appropriately. Ability to cope and deal with highly distressing emotional circumstances. Ability to cope with unpleasant working conditions. Willing and able to work flexible hours in order to meet the needs of the service Other Essential Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material. Experience of working within a multicultural framework Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multimedia materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings. Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions. UK Registration Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window). Additional information Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions. UK Registration Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window). Employer details Employer name Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust Address Brooker Centre Hospital Way Runcorn WA7 2DA Employer's website https://www.merseycare.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)