Specialist Psychologist/Psychological Therapist

Job summaryTo provide a qualified specialist clinical/forensic psychology service to clients across all sectors of care, providing specialist psychological assessment and therapy, offering advice and consultation on clients' psychological care to non‑psychologist colleagues and to other non‑professional carers, working within the overall framework of the team's policies and procedures. The post holder will work as a part of the multi‑disciplinary team which has close links with a wide range of agencies.Specifically, to provide individual assessment, treatment and case management to prisoners on the Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) Pathway in HMP Swaleside Pathways Services.Main duties of the jobThe successful applicant will be required to work effectively with the non‑residential pathways team to provide assessments, formulations and intervention with those on the service. We work from a joint approach with both clinicians and operational staff being involved in all aspects of the work. The role will include regular supervision and you will be required to facilitate supervision for other clinical and operational staff and contribute to both internal and external training programmes. Research, evaluations, audits and policies will also likely be a part of this post.Oxleas Forensic Psychological Therapies departmentOxleas Forensic Psychological Therapies department is an unusually large, long‑established and nationally well‑regarded specialty. Psychological therapists are highly valued within the wider directorate and trust and occupy a variety of service‑wide leadership roles, including as Responsible Clinicians. The Psychological Therapies team is warm and friendly, whilst also being dynamic and innovative.About usOxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children’s centres, schools and people’s homes.We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:We're KindWe're FairWe ListenWe CareDetailsDate posted: 26 November 2025Pay scheme: Agenda for changeBand: Band 7Salary: £49,810 to £56,710 a year pa incContract: PermanentWorking pattern: Full‑timeReference number: 277-7578210-FORJob locations: HMP Swaleside, Brabazon Road, Eastchurch, ME12 4AAJob responsibilitiesTo provide specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex 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 formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a clients mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings.To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across teams employed individually and in synthesis, 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 and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically‑based care plans.To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically‑based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies.To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.To act as care coordinator, where appropriate, taking responsibility for initiating planning and review of care plans including clients, their carers, referring agents and others involved the network of care.To communicate 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.Teaching, training, and supervisionTo receive regular clinical professional supervision from a senior clinical psychologist and, where appropriate, other senior professional colleagues, as well as line management from the identified line manager.To continue to gain wider post‑qualification experience of clinical psychology over and above that provided within the principal service area where the post‑holder is employed.To develop skills in the area of professional post‑graduate teaching, training and supervision and to provide supervision to other MDT staff psychological work, as appropriate.To provide professional and clinical supervision of assistant/graduate psychology staff and, as appropriate, to contribute to the supervision of individual cases for trainee clinical psychologists.To contribute to the pre- and post‑qualification teaching of relevant healthcare staff, as appropriate.To contribute to external and internal training programmes.Person SpecificationEducation / QualificationsEssentialEntry‑level qualification in applied psychological therapy/mental health/social welfare profession or equivalent and demonstrable practice in this field (e.g., professional Doctorate, or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level/supervised practice/additional training) that has been accepted for the purposes of professional registration.Additional training beyond entry‑level qualification in a specialised area of psychological practice (through formal post‑qualification training (PG Diploma or equivalent), or a combination of specialist short courses and/or an evidence portfolio of supervised practice‑based learning in a specialist area of clinical psychological therapy practice, assessed by a registered body and/or an experienced clinical supervisor to be of equal level to a Postgraduate Diploma or higher).Registered with professional body or regulatory body as appropriate to psychological therapy discipline e.g., HCPC/UKCP/BACP/BABCP.DesirableCompleted training course in clinical supervision.Training or qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology.ExperienceEssentialExperience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of adult clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature under supervision.Experience working with and addressing issues of diversity, including experience of working within a multicultural framework.Experience of maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.DesirableExperience in forensic / secure settings.Experience of providing teaching and training.Skills / Abilities / KnowledgeEssentialSkills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.Ability to administer, score and interpret psychometric and neuropsychological tests with appropriate training and supervision.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 non‑professional groups.Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group, mental health and child protection.DesirableHigh level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.Knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex data analysis.OtherEssentialAbility to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi‑media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.Experience of working with diversity, including but not limited to a multicultural framework.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 and challenging behaviour.Ability to form good working relationships with others in a multi‑disciplinary setting.Interest and ability to contribute to service development.DesirablePersonal experience of mental health problems.Disclosure and Barring Service CheckThis 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.Certificate of SponsorshipApplications from job seekers who require current Skilled Worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.UK RegistrationApplicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see the NHS Careers website.Employer detailsOxleas NHS Foundation TrustHMP SwalesideBrabazon RoadEastchurchME12 4AA #J-18808-Ljbffr