Principal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

Principal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist Location: Exeter, EX2 5AF & Exeter, EX2 4UD
Salary: £53,755.00 to £60,504.00
Date posted: 14th March 2025
Closing date: 20th March 2025

Our professional responsibility is to reduce the risk of infection to others as far as possible. Getting vaccinated against diseases that can be passed person-to-person in healthcare settings is part of this responsibility. The Trust will provide advice, guidance and support on vaccinations and access to vaccinations where requested.

Job Description: The ethos of the Mardon Centre for Neuro-rehabilitation is to provide truly joined-up care which brings multiple professions together around each individual who stays in the centre. We take pride in providing individually tailored care in an environment where each profession is valued for the contribution they can bring. We are looking for someone to join the team as a band 8a psychologist to work alongside skilled nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and speech and language therapists. The psychological work involves neuropsychological and psychological assessments, multi-disciplinary formulation, goal planning, psychological therapy, and cognitive rehabilitation for people admitted to the unit with acquired neurological conditions including those with spinal injuries.

Whilst neuropsychological experience is welcomed, it is not essential and we would welcome applications from those with experience in other areas. Experience in in-patient work would be an advantage, as would experience in working with those who have intellectual disabilities, or who exhibit behaviour that challenges. The post will be supervised by a professional lead with experience in neuropsychology, and we will support the post-holder to develop the necessary skills in neuropsychological assessment and neuro-rehabilitation.

Interviews will take place on 27th March 2025.

Main duties of the job The principal purpose of the job is to improve the Neuropsychological health & wellbeing of people within the post holder's specialist field of practice. The post is situated within the Clinical Health Psychology and Neuropsychology (CHPN) team in Devon Partnership Trust, but is based wholly within the Mardon Centre for Neuro-rehabilitation.

The role's main tasks are:

• To ensure the systematic provision of high-quality neuropsychological assessments, psychological therapies, and the psychological elements of cognitive rehabilitation programmes as a key component of commissioned Clinical Health Psychology & Neuropsychology Services.
• To regularly attend and contribute to the neuro-rehabilitation service MDT.
• To carry a specialist caseload of patients, providing direct input as outlined above.
• To provide advice and consultancy to patients, their families, and carers, and professionals.
• To provide staff support, clinical supervision, teaching, and consultation for complex and challenging case work.
• To contribute to the development and maintenance of a psychologically informed environment within the neuro-rehabilitation unit.
• To provide behavioural management and support guidelines for the team supporting a patient, where the patient exhibits behaviour that is challenging for staff.

About us We provide mental health, learning disability, and neurodiversity services, as well as a range of specialist & secure services for the wider south-west region & nationally. We are passionate about promoting good mental health & wellbeing. We strive to use the expertise & resources within our organisation, and through our partnerships, to deliver high-quality services that are safe & focused on people's recovery.

We are committed to developing a culture of coproduction, involving patients, families & carers in everything we do.

Our values

We not only recruit based on qualifications & experience - we recruit individuals who possess & demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trust's core values. These include such attributes as showing a commitment to quality of care, improving lives of others, giving respect, dignity & compassion. We can bring those values to life in our everyday tasks by giving a smile; making time for people; challenging ourselves & others, & being open to new ideas.

We are committed to being an inclusive employer & applications are encouraged & welcomed from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics as governed by the Equality Act 2010. Part-time & flexible working applications will be considered & supported, where possible. We particularly encourage applicants with lived experience of mental health conditions, neurodiversity, or learning disabilities. We are a Disability Confident Leader.

Job responsibilities The principal purpose of the job is to improve the Neuropsychological health & wellbeing of people within the post holder's specialist field of practice. The post is situated within the Clinical Health Psychology and Neuropsychology (CHPN) team in Devon Partnership Trust, but is based wholly within the Mardon Centre for Neuro-rehabilitation.

The role's main tasks are:

• To ensure the systematic provision of high-quality neuropsychological assessments, psychological therapies, and the psychological elements of cognitive rehabilitation programmes as a key component of commissioned Clinical Health Psychology & Neuropsychology Services.
• To regularly attend and contribute to the neuro-rehabilitation service MDT.
• To carry a specialist caseload of patients, providing direct input as outlined above.
• To provide advice and consultancy to patients, their families, and carers, and professionals.
• To provide staff support, clinical supervision, teaching, and consultation for complex and challenging case work.
• To contribute to the development and maintenance of a psychologically informed environment within the neuro-rehabilitation unit.
• To provide behavioural management and support guidelines for the team supporting a patient, where the patient exhibits behaviour that is challenging for staff.
• To work autonomously within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within professional and Trust guidelines as a specialist member of staff.
• As directed by the Professional and Strategic Leads, embed practice-based evidence and evidence-based practice across the service area. This will include collating and implementing data from service outcome measures to support key performance indicators and to demonstrate the impact of the service, as well as working with people using the service to ensure their involvement in service design and evaluation.
• The post holder will work collaboratively to ensure a whole systems approach to service delivery and development, and will support wider Integrated Psychological Medicine (IPMS) developments.
• All staff within the CHPN services will be responsible for ensuring that involvement and experience, social inclusion, and race equality agendas inform and support their work.

Duties and Responsibilities

Communication and Working Relationship Skills

• Clients, family, and carers: To communicate in a highly skilled and sensitive manner with clients who may have specific difficulties in understanding and/or communicating and who may be hostile, antagonistic, or highly emotionally disturbed.
• Multidisciplinary team colleagues: To work closely with colleagues from both Devon Partnership Trust and the Acute Trust in the multi-professional integrated mental health/physical health and wellbeing service on a day-to-day basis.
• Health & social care staff: To communicate with a wide range of health & social care staff in hospital and in community settings in a highly skilled and sensitive manner, complex and sensitive information concerning the assessment, formulation, and treatment plans of clients under the service's care. To provide support & guidance in the application of psychological principles and techniques, and to foster reflective practice.
• Senior managers & professional staff: To maintain and build good working relationships with senior professional staff and managers across the Trust and the Acute Trust and to foster a positive approach to the integrated mental health and wellbeing service and to enable effective negotiation.

Analytical and Judgemental Skills

• To provide specialist clinical/counselling psychology expertise and advice.
• To provide psychological therapies, developing specialist psychological formulations and assessments of clients, formulating plans for their psychological treatment and implementing specialist psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families, and groups. Proficiency in both individual and group therapy approaches is desirable.
• To support the Professional Head, General Manager, Practice and Strategic Development Leads, and Professional Leads by undertaking service development and redesign projects and coordinating the resulting work within the team.
• To provide complex assessment of specialist conditions.

Planning and Organisational Skills

• The psychology service: To plan and organise own work within the service setting and to contribute to the development and improvement of the provision of psychological services within the commissioned integrated mental health and wellbeing service to best meet the organisation's strategy and priorities.
• The multidisciplinary service: To provide psychology/therapy supervision to the multi-professional planning, development . click apply for full job details