Senior Practitioner Psychologist – 8a (or band 7 – 8 preceptorship)
Join us as we reopen our new CAMHS inpatient unit:
We are pleased to invite applications for a B7 Practitioner Psychologist wishing to pursue a development opportunity to join our newly redesigned Children and Young People’s Mental Health Inpatient Unit, reopening in Autumn 2026.
Following extensive co-design with young people, families and staff, and significant investment in our workforce and therapeutic approach, this is an exciting opportunity to work in a modern, recovery-focused inpatient service delivering high-quality, purposeful care to young people with acute mental health needs.
Our refreshed CAMHS inpatient service is built around:
- Purposeful admissions with early review points.
- Structured, therapeutic care programmes delivered across seven days.
- Strong links with crisis and community services, including COAST (Crisis Outreach Acute Support Team).
- Trauma‑informed and autism‑aware practice.
- A focus on least restrictive practice and improving experience and outcomes.
- Supportive MDT working, safe staffing and strong clinical leadership.
You will work as part of a skilled and supportive multidisciplinary team, delivering therapeutic care to young people and working closely with families and carers from admission through to discharge.
The role:
As a Band 7 Practitioner Psychologist, you will deliver high-quality, evidence‑based psychological care for children and young people (aged 12‑17 years) experiencing acute mental health difficulties, within an inpatient setting. In this role, you will have access to CAMHS specific training, structured clinical supervision, support from other psychological professionals across acute CAMHS and progression opportunities.
In this role, you would hold responsibility for assistant psychologists, trainee clinical psychologists and psychological practitioners. The role will be accountable to the Operational Team Manager and the Consultant Clinical Psychologist.
About us
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust delivers specialist mental health, learning disability and neurodevelopmental services across Sussex. This post sits within our Specialist CAMHS Services, providing opportunities to gain experience across acute, crisis and community pathways as part of your career development.
We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, and to creating a compassionate and supportive working environment where staff feel valued, developed and able to thrive.
What we can offer you
- The opportunity to be part of a newly reopened CAMHS inpatient unit.
- Comprehensive induction programme prior to opening where all new staff train together and contribute to the team’s therapeutic approach.
- A welcoming and supportive team culture with strong multidisciplinary clinical leadership.
- High‑quality clinical supervision.
- Access to CAMHS‑specific training and ongoing CPD.
- NHS Pension Scheme and Agenda for Change benefits.
Location
The unit is based in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, with on‑site parking and good transport links to London and across Sussex, with close proximity to Gatwick Airport.
Job responsibilities
- To work as a member of the clinical team at the inpatient unit, providing a high quality, specialist applied psychology service to young people, their families or carers.
- To support psychological practice within the team through consultation, supervision, formulation and training and by participating in systematic clinical governance.
- To contribute to the multi‑disciplinary team, ensuring that psychological aspects of young people’s care and risk management are considered and integrated into treatment plans.
- To utilise research skills for audit, service development and research within the inpatient unit, and collaborate on quality improvement with colleagues across acute CAMHS.
- To deliver compassionate, person‑centred and trauma‑informed psychological care and treatment for young people and families during periods of crisis and when they may be experiencing high degrees of distress.
- To work collaboratively with the wider team, young people, families, carers and partner agencies to support safe discharge planning.
Qualifications
- Post‑graduate doctoral level training in applied psychology (or its equivalent for those trained before 1996 or outside the UK*) as approved by the HCPC, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
- For forensic psychologists working in forensic settings: Masters degree (with the award of the British Psychological Society qualification in forensic psychology or equivalent).
- Professionally registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health Professions Council (HCPC).
Knowledge/Experience
- Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and inpatient settings.
- Demonstrate specialist experience gained post‑qualification of working as an applied psychologist with evidence of having received a substantial amount of clinical supervision (normally in the region of approximately 50 hours).
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
- 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 abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
- Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
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.
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