Clinical Psychologist

Principal Clinical Psychologist-Psychological Medicine Service-Cambridge University Hospital (CUH) Palliative Care


This is a fixed term maternity cover (0.The post holder will be a highly valued member of the Palliative Care Service, which is based in CUH. The Clinical Psychologist will work with in-patients and out-patients and there are ample opportunities to collaborate with other Palliative Care Services, contribute to national initiatives and develop research opportunities. This is an exciting opportunity to join CUH's dynamic Palliative Care Service and to develop your clinical and leadership skills within an acute hospital setting.


Whilst the Palliative Care Service is a CUH service, Clinical Psychologists are employed by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT), to work with hospital teams. We have over 40 Practitioner Psychologists in the Psychological Medicine Service, working across the age range, and linked with a large variety of specialties. Each Psychologist has expertise within medical specialties, and are accredited in a range of therapeutic modalities, these include CBT, CAT, IPT, ACT, CFT and EMDR, so there are many opportunities to develop skills through supervised practice.
The post holder is a member of the multi-disciplinary Palliative Care Team at CUH and will provide and manage a highly specialist Psychology Service to the Department of Palliative Care patients. They will be responsible for participation in the development and implementation of strategic plans that enable service improvements and innovation, including implementation of relevant NICE guidelines and other strategic guidance.


The post holder will be expected to work across palliative care in-patient and out-patient services, providing specialist psychological assessments and therapy. The post holder will also offer advice and consultation on client's psychological care to colleagues within the Department of Palliative Care and to other, non-professional carers, working withinprofessional guidelines and the overall framework of the Divisions' policies and procedures.


The post holder is part of the Psychological Medicine Service and will receive supervision, professional support, and guidance within the multi-disciplinary team.
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health and social care organisation dedicated to providing high-quality care with compassion to improve the health and wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting andempowering them to lead a fulfilling life.


Our clinical teams deliver many NHS services, not only via inpatient and primary care settings, but also within the community. These services include children's, adult and older people's mental health, forensic and specialist mental health, learning disabilities, primary care and liaison psychiatry, substance misuse, social care, research and development.


As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all sectors of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including people with long term conditions and members of our ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ communities.
To provide highly specialist psychological assessments based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of highly complex psychological data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the clients care.


To assist the medical team in communicating difficult, complex, and sensitive information which is both developmentally appropriate and psychologically informed.


To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families, and groups, within and across hospital and community-based teams employed individually and in synthesis, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.
Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical/counselling 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, or a BPS Statement of Equivalence.
Undertaken training in the supervision of Trainee Clinical Psychologists.
Registered with the Health and Care Professions Council.

Undertaken post-doctoral training in one or more relevant additional specialised areas of psychological practice.
Other relevant academic qualifications to Masters or Doctoral level.
Training in clinical health psychology.

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, inpatient and residential care settings severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified care coordinator and also within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan.
Experience of the application of psychology in different contexts.
Experience working in a hospital setting.
Experience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision.

Experience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
Experience of assessing and treating clients across the full range of care settings.
Experience working with palliative care patients.
Skills in individual and group work and programme planning.
Excellent communication skills, able to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information including contentious and highly distressing information to service users, their families, carers, and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, enabling formation of networks with professionals within the Trust and from other agencies to promote effective team working with clients.
Expert knowledge of clinical health psychology.
Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within clinical health psychology.
Evidence of Continuing Professional Development.

High level of knowledge of working with palliative care patients and their families.
Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc.).
Knowledge of the theory and practice of highly specialised psychological therapies and assessment methodologies.
Ability to exercise appropriate levels of self-care and to monitor own state, recognising when it is necessary to take active steps to maintain fitness to practice.
Motivated towards personal and professional development with a strong CPD record.
Ability to develop and use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings.
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
Addenbrooke's Hospital