Clinical/Counselling/Forensic Psychologist
Band 8a
Main area Psychology Grade Band 8a Contract Fixed term: 12 months (FT or Secondment) Hours Part time – 22.5 hours per week Job ref 270-TH452-MH
Site Campbell House Town Northampton Salary £57,528 – £64,750 pa pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 02/11/2026 23:59
Job overview
The post holder will be the designated Clinical/Counselling/Forensic Psychologist (0.6 WTE) for the Mental Health Treatment Requirements (MHTR) Team within NHFT. Band 7 development posts will be considered in applications.
The post will involve being the Clinical/Counselling/Forensic Psychologist for the MHTR within the county, one of 5 national pilot sites. The MHTRs sit alongside Drug Rehabilitation Requirement (DRR) and Alcohol Treatment Requirement (ATR) under the umbrella of ‘Community Sentence Treatment Requirements’ (CSTR) and provides a mechanism to ensure that certain offenders with mental health problems who are given a Community Order are able to access appropriate treatment.
The post holder will offer psychological assessment, therapy and hold a client caseload within the MHTR. The caseload will be of individuals that present with mental health complexities. The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate a keen interest in working with people with complex mental health needs and forensic histories as part of a multidisciplinary team, consulting on and promoting psychological informed approaches to understanding and working positively with this population.
Main duties of the job
Detailed in the job description attached to the advert
We are looking for a psychologist who possesses good, qualified specialist knowledge of complex mental health problems whilst having an awareness of risk to self and others. The post holder will work autonomously within professional guidelines (HCPC, BPS) and the overall framework of the Trusts policies and procedures. You will also be expected to support the senior management team in the clinical leadership of healthcare around anything that pertains to mental health, supervision, clinical responsibilities, audit, policy or service development and research. Lastly, the post holder is expected to liaise with other stakeholders within the court, criminal justice agencies, and individual cases through regular meetings.
On a day to day basis, 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, therapy, risk assessments, self-report measures, rating scales, multidisciplinary meetings with probation staff and service users, liaise with other professionals involved with the client. There will be a specific focus on complex presentations and trauma.
Working for our organisation
NHFT is an NHS Community and Mental Health Foundation Trust, providing physical, mental health and specialty services in hospital settings and in the community. We provide over 200 services across the county – as well as some specialist services in bordering and nearby counties. We work together with our partners to ensure that everyone who comes through our doors receives compassionate, person-centred care, regardless of their background or circumstances.
NHFT promotes a culture of learning, to improve the care and safety of our patients and colleagues. We have achieved our ‘outstanding’ rating by encouraging opportunity, innovation, development and growth across our workforce.
At NHFT we believe that work should be rewarded in every sense which is why we are proud to be an accredited living wage employer.
We aim to support financial wellbeing and create an environment where our people feel valued and able to thrive.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The post holder will offer psychological assessment, therapy and hold a client caseload within the MHTR. The caseload will be of individuals that present with mental health complexities. The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate a keen interest in working with people with complex mental health needs and forensic histories as part of a multidisciplinary team, consulting on and promoting psychological informed approaches to understanding and working positively with this population.
Person specification
Experience and knowledge
- Experience of providing psychological therapy to people with complex trauma/personality difficulties.
- Experience of working with people who present with high levels of risk.
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in personality disorder/complex trauma.
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
Skill
- To be able to supervise junior members of the service and give examples
- Has undertaken a supervisor course or undertaking
We are an equal opportunities employer, which aims to employ a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons from all backgrounds.
All roles are subject to the home office immigration rules and therefore eligibility must meet certain requirements for any sponsorship to be considered. Please visit the government website for more information regarding eligibility. At NHFT we support many of our colleagues to work flexibly and we will consider requests for flexible working from day one. For this role, we are open to discussing a range of options including flexible hours, agile/home working, compressed hours and part time hours. Applicants who have a disability and meet the essential criteria for the job will be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme. If you require a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process please make the recruitment services team aware as soon as possible. All posts that are engaged in a regulated activity will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and a DBS re-check on a three yearly basis whilst employed in such a role. Staff employed in these posts will therefore be asked to register with the DBS Automatic Update Service upon receipt of their DBS certificate and must update yearly, the annual fee will be reimbursed subject to Trust policy. For further information please visit: DBS Update Service: applicant guide – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Please note if a DBS is applicable for the position then a charge will be deducted from your first salary. Please note that all new starters to the trust are subject to a probationary period.
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 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
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