North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare Trust
Principal Clinical / Counselling / Forensic Psychologist
Closing date: 12 May 2026
Are you looking to further develop your career within a supportive and innovative service? We are looking for an enthusiastic and highly motivated Principal Clinical/Counselling/Forensic Psychologists to join the Community Mental Health Directorate.
This role offers flexibility and hybrid working, 22.5 hours across 3-5 days – ideal for working parents or professionals looking to complement their private and personal commitments, with the benefits of working in a multidisciplinary team in the NHS.
The post will be based at the Lyme Brook Centre, Newcastle-under-Lyme with an opportunity to work across the directorate into clinical pathways of interest. It offers the opportunity to develop skills in leadership, supervision and service development alongside the Consultant Clinical Psychologist. You will be part of an integrated MDT, working closely with colleagues to deliver trauma‑informed pathways.
There are opportunities to further develop expertise in a range of psychological models (funded via NHS England) such as CAT, CBTp/practice, and more. Specialist supervision groups and interest groups in various models (CAT, CFT, EMDR) are also provided. Excellent support for continuing professional development, additional peer supervision and participation in quality innovations, research, and audit is available. We have strong links with the local Clinical Psychology Training course at Staffordshire University.
We are supportive of flexible working and blended office time with remote working.
Main duties of the job
- Accountable for own professional practice in delivering highly specialist psychological care to clients with highly complex mental health conditions.
- Compassionately meet the needs of clients, their carers and families.
- Provide clinical supervision and training to less experienced colleagues within the psychology service and to other members of the multidisciplinary team.
- Act as field supervisor to doctorate trainees.
- Be proactive in continual service improvement within own area.
- Promote a positive image of people with mental ill health and the service/Trust.
Job responsibilities
- Provide highly specialist psychological assessment of clients with highly complex and contentious conditions based on appropriate use, interpretation and integration of data from diverse sources.
- Recognise and report potential harm, abuse or neglect, safeguarding concerns, and ensuring client protection.
- Undertake risk assessment and risk management, providing specialist advice to other professionals on psychological aspects of risk.
- Formulate plans for highly specialist psychological therapy and/or management of clients’ mental health conditions based on evidence‑based practice.
- Negotiate implementation of plans with clients and/or their carers.
- Implement a range of highly specialist psychological therapies for individuals, carers, families and groups, adjusting formulations as required.
- Undertake highly skilled evaluations and make decisions about treatment options.
- Provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other staff contributing to diagnosis, formulation and intervention plans.
Person Specification
Qualifications
- Post‑graduate doctoral level training in clinical/counselling/forensic psychology (or its equivalent prior to 1996) accredited by the BPS, including models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
- Post‑doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice.
Experience
- Working as a qualified applied psychologist within the designated service, covering a wide variety of client groups across the whole life course and a range of clinical severity across full range of care settings.
- Liaison and joint working with statutory, voluntary and private sector agencies.
Knowledge
- Doctoral level knowledge of evidence‑based practice relevant to the role.
- Risk assessment and risk management.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and requires a Disclosure and Barring Service check to verify no prior criminal convictions.
£66,582 to £77,368 a year, pro‑rata per annum.
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