Senior Clinical Psychologist

Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear (CNTW) NHS Foundation Trust

Senior Clinical Psychologist

The closing date is 16 December 2025

We are looking to recruit to an established post in this service which sits within the Specialist Services Clinical Business Unit of an outstanding mental health provider NHS Trust. We are looking for a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist to support the team, implement the necessary Psychological Therapies, providing scaffolding, training and consultation across the wider network of clinics, and supervision within the team, in collaboration with the team members and wider gender diverse community. As an employer we welcome diversity, celebrate and cultivate individual differences. We have a strong reflective culture, providing protected time and fora for learning, growth and development. It will support the post holder to engage with the national teams and networks necessary to deliver the service in line with NHS England expectation.

Main duties of the job

Suitable applicants will be a qualified Clinical/Counselling Psychologist and demonstrate knowledge and expertise required to provide psychological therapy and to learn skills to work within the gender dysphoria pathway. In addition, they will show skills in applying specialist psychological models in a very person-centred way with adults with a wide range of emotional, psychological or somatic distress. They will demonstrate skills in using evidence-based psychological interventions including demonstrated competence in applying two or more psychological therapies or any kind of structured group therapy.

The post brings opportunity for personal and professional development through gaining further knowledge of innovative approaches to health and wellbeing and engagement across the system regionally and nationally.

The post base will be Walkergate Park Hospital with the potential for travel and flexibility.

About us

We aim to attract and retain a diverse, talented and committed workforce, who are caring and compassionate, and therefore able to meet the demands of the modern NHS now and in the future. In return we can offer a dynamic working environment in which to build a career.

NHS Employees identified as at risk of compulsory redundancy and those eligible for the NENC Re-Deployment careers hub will receive prior consideration.

Job responsibilities

NRGDS seeks to serve communities of gender diverse people, across England, in managing gender dysphoria through physical pathways and access to therapies, as well as onward referrals to other physical health services. The psychological therapies service is one aspect of this provision and offers specific needs-led interventions for a range of difficulties arising from gender dysphoria and relevant to the pathway. This includes psychosexual therapy, counselling, gender identity exploration and specialist trauma-focused therapy in preparation for interventions. Additionally, the psychology team offers highly specialised assessments of complex presentations, neurodiversity, capacity and readiness for medical interventions. This fixed term role is focussed on providing psychological therapy for people with the most complex needs as service users of the NRGDS. Therapy is longer term and requires excellent working knowledge, and adaptive skills, about neurodiversity and trauma to ensure that the neurodiverse service users can achieve their goals in a supportive environment and in a timely way.

Support will be given to candidates to develop skills in assessing gender-related distress and offering safe and effective therapy with reference to the Memorandum of Understanding 2.

Person Specification Education

• Doctoral level training in clinical psychology, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and Neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by the HCPC and British Psychological Society.
• HCPC registered practitioner psychologist
• Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology Additional qualification in at least one therapeutic model, evidence-based for use with this client group

Knowledge and experience

• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialist psychological therapies in specific difficult-to-treat groups relevant to the client group Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinical sensitive information to clients, their family, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS. Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex multivariable data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology. Evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HCPC. Formal training in clinical supervision of trainee clinical psychologists and other staff.
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.

Skills

• Skills in managing emotional impact of dealing with highly emotive and distressing situations through self-management and use of the clinical supervision process. Specialist skills in evidence-based psychological interventions. Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management. Skills in providing clinical supervision and consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear (CNTW) NHS Foundation Trust

£55,690 to £62,682 a year pro rata per annum