Principal Psychologist, Psychotherapist & Psychological Therapist

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Principal Psychologist/Psychotherapist/Arts Psychotherapist/Family Therapist (Band 8b, 1.0 WTE, permanent) to join the Maudsley Adult Acute and Crisis Psychology and Psychotherapy Service.

The person should already have extensive experience of working in acute and crisis services.

This role is split between the Southwark Home Treatment Team (HTT) and adult acute mental health wards. You will work with people experiencing severe and enduring mental health difficulties, including schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, psychosis, and personality disorder, often alongside trauma, self-harm, suicidality, and other complex challenges.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced clinician to contribute to high-quality psychological care across acute and crisis services.

Main duties of the job

You will provide highly specialist psychological assessments, formulations, and brief interventions for service users admitted to inpatient wards or supported by the Southwark HTT.

A key part of the role will be supporting multidisciplinary teams to deliver psychologically informed care, including the development of behavioural support and risk management plans. As a Principal Therapist, you will provide leadership and supervision to Junior Psychological Therapists, trainees, and Clinical Associate Psychologists.

You will deliver culturally responsive interventions for service users, carers, and families, and contribute to quality improvement, research, audit, and service development across the acute and crisis pathway.

This is a varied and rewarding role offering opportunities to further develop your clinical, leadership, and service development skills, supported by regular supervision and an experienced multidisciplinary team.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Entry-level qualification in an applied psychological profession and demonstrable practice in one of the roles below (professional Doctorate, or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level/supervised practice/additional training) that has been accepted for the purposes of one of the professional registrations below.
• Additional training beyond entry-level qualification in a relevant specialised area of psychological practice through formal post-qualification training (PG Diploma or equivalent), OR a combination of relevant specialist short courses and/an evidenced portfolio of relevant supervised practice-based learning in a specialist area of clinical practice, assessed by a registered body and/or an experienced clinical supervisor to be of equal level to a Postgraduate Diploma or higher.
• Completed training course in clinical supervision and/or accredited to supervised qualified psychological professionals in relevant discipline.

Experience

• Evidence of having worked as a clinical specialist under supervision in HTT and acute services.
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in HTT and acute services.
• Experience of supervising assistants and trainees having completed the relevant training.
• Experience of carrying out post-qualification research, audit or service evaluation projects).
• Experience of providing teaching and training to psychological professionals or other professional groups.
• Experience of working with, and addressing issues of, diversity, including experience of working within a multicultural framework.

Knowledge

• Theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatment.
• Knowledge of a range of a range of therapeutic ideas/approaches models in assessment and treatment relevant to scope of practice.
• Knowledge of racial and other diversity issues and factors affecting access to mental health care.
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessments and interventions relevant to this post.

Skills

• To communicate skilfully and sensitively complex and sensitive information with clients, carers and colleagues overcoming barriers to communication including sensory, and emotional difficulties, cultural differences and hostility to or rejection of information.
• To plan allocation of tasks to assistants/trainees and junior staff as appropriate.
• Skills in providing teaching and training to other professional groups.
• Consultation skills to work with the multi-professional team or other professional groups and sensitively managing, a number of people's needs simultaneously within the context of therapeutic work/consultation.

Benefits

• Competitive salary: £75,328 to £86,114 a year.
• Access to professional development and learning opportunities.
• Opportunity to work alongside people who are world leaders in their field.