Specialist Clinical/Counselling Psychologist
Band 8a
Contract: Fixed term 12 months (until Sept 2027) Hours: Full time, 37.5 hours per week (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm) Location: Central London Community Healthcare (CLCH) Medical Centre Town London Salary: £66,274 – £73,496 per annum, inclusive of HCAS Closing date: 28/07/2026 23:59
Welcome to Central London Community Healthcare (CLCH)
CLCH is one of the largest community healthcare providers in the country, employing more than 4,500 staff and caring for over four million people across London and Hertfordshire.
Job overview
12‑month fixed‑term opportunity for a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist to join the Woodfield Child Development Service (WCDS). The primary focus is neurodevelopmental assessment, especially social communication assessments. Applicants must have experience in completing neurodevelopmental assessments and be ADOS trained, with confidence contributing to MDT diagnostic discussions.
You will work within a multidisciplinary team supporting children and families through the assessment process. In addition to assessment, there will be opportunities to contribute to pre‑ and post‑diagnostic support and to service development or project work.
This role is suitable for a psychologist who values collaborative, reflective, and neuroaffirmative practice. The position offers a supportive team environment with regular supervision throughout the fixed‑term contract.
Main duties of the job
- Clinical Assessment: Deliver effective assessment for children and families referred to the service, ensuring high-quality care.
- Group Facilitation: Plan, implement and evaluate behavioural and therapeutic groups with psychology assistants and MDT colleagues.
- Multidisciplinary Work: Contribute to MDT formulations and care delivery, focusing on psychological assessments and treatments.
- Development & Innovation: Support the development of psychological frameworks for assessment and intervention within the team.
- Materials Preparation: Prepare relevant resources, test materials, and visual aids to support therapeutic use.
- Research & Audits: Participate in or lead research and audit projects as required to inform best practices.
- Data & Reporting: Assist with data collection, analysis, and reporting for the team.
- Support & Development: Receive regular supervision from a senior psychologist, with opportunities for peer supervision and collaboration across trust (e.g., CDS, CAMHS).
We welcome applications from diverse backgrounds, including those with lived experience of neurodiversity.
Person specification
Qualifications
- Doctoral level training in clinical psychology, including models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies, and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by the BPS.
- Pre‑qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology.
- Further specialist training and experience in the administration and interpretation of the ADOS; a range of neuropsychological tests including the WISC, WIAT and NEPSY, CARS, and knowledge of assessment and intervention of complex feeding difficulties.
Experience
- Minimum of 2 years post qualification experience in specialist psychological assessment and intervention with children with neurodevelopmental differences across outpatient, community, primary care and inpatient settings.
- Experience working with a wide variety of client groups, across the full life course, presenting problems of varying clinical severity, maintaining professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, including verbal or physical abuse.
- Clear experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
- Experience in applying clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
- Experience presenting research or audits within a service or to wider forums.
- Experience engaging with voluntary organisations.
Skills
- Proficiency in complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management requiring sustained concentration.
- Competent neuro‑psychological and psychometric assessment skills.
- Knowledge of applying and adapting psychological approaches for children & adolescents with complex neuro‑developmental difficulties.
- Well‑developed communication skills, orally and in writing, to convey complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, families, carers and professional colleagues.
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, design and complex, multivariate data analysis.
- Knowledge of theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in difficult-to-treat groups.
- High level knowledge of theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.
- Knowledge of legislation relevant to the client group and mental health.
CLCH Commitment to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
CLCH is a Disability Confident employer. We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce is essential for providing exceptional patient care and are dedicated to attracting and retaining talent from all backgrounds.
We pledge to:
- Guarantee an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for a role.
- Provide reasonable adjustments to support diverse needs throughout the recruitment and employment process.
- Challenge misconceptions about disability and foster an inclusive culture for everyone.
Learn more about our equal opportunities policy on our website: Equal opportunities: Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust clch.nhs.uk
Employer certification / accreditation badges
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020. Disclosure to the Disclosure and Barring Service will be required.
Application telephone: 07766 9688 120 7766 968812
#J-18808-Ljbffr…