Job summary
Join Our Outstanding Team as a Clinical Psychologist in Children's Eating Disorder Service (CEDS)
Are you an experience Clinical Psychologist with a passion for supporting children and young people? We are thrilled to offer an exciting opportunity to take a leadership role in our highly regarded Children's Eating Disorder Service (CEDS) within Somerset CAMHS, rated "Outstanding" by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). If you're looking for a role where you can make a lasting impact and advance your career, this might be the perfect fit for you.
Why Join Us Now?
This is an ideal time to join us as we evolve our approach to supporting children with eating difficulties, offering the unique chance to contribute to both clinical practice and broader system change across the South West.
Who Should Apply?
Whether you're an experienced Band 8b looking for a new challenge, a Band 8a eager to progress, or currently working in a related field with relevant, transferable skills, we encourage you to consider this role. We offer full training in specialist psychological models to ensure you're fully supported in your professional development.
What We Offer
This is a full-time position, Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm, in a supportive and forward-thinking environment committed to continuous learning and professional growth. You'll be part of a team that values collaboration, innovation, and making a real difference in the lives of young people.
Main duties of the job
The Role
As a clinical leader within CEDS, you'll guide both our psychologists and multidisciplinary team, ensuring the highest standards of psychologically informed care for young people and their families. This role involves:
- Delivering direct clinical services to children and young people with complex eating challenges, providing impactful, evidence-based interventions.
- Offering essential supervision to junior psychologists and team members, contributing to the team's ongoing professional development.
- Shaping the quality of psychological assessments and therapies within CEDS, ensuring care remains of the highest standard.
- Collaborating closely with CAMHS and partner agencies, promoting a truly holistic approach to care that benefits from the best of shared expertise.
This is a fantastic opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the lives of young people, while further developing your skills in a supportive and forward-thinking environment.
About us
As an organisation, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust offers employees a wide range of benefits including flexible working, NHS pension scheme, generous annual leave allowance and a commitment to career development.You will be eligible for our Blue Light Card and a wide range of NHS exclusive shopping & leisure discounts.We are proud of our skilled, diverse workforce and as an inclusive employer we welcome applications from all backgrounds.Working in Somerset enables you to enjoy the idyllic countryside, areas of outstanding beauty and stunning coastlines whilst still only being a stone's throw away from bustling city centres like Bristol, Bath and Exeter and only two hours away from London.There are excellent educational facilities in the area and, when compared to other regions, house prices are reasonable.Somerset offers the countryside and the cosmopolitan -- there is truly something for everyone!
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To provide highly specialist psychological assessments based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex psychological data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, personality and risk assessment, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the client's care.
- To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a client's mental health and eating issues challenges, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the client's problems, and employing methods of proven efficacy, across the full range of care settings.
- To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.
- To provide highly specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients' formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
- To ensure that all members of the treating team have access to a specialist psychologically based framework for understanding and care of service users, through the provision of advice and consultation and the dissemination of specialist psychological research and theory.
- To undertake risk assessment and guide risk management for individual clients and to provide general advice to other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management.
- To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor and evaluate progress during the course of multi-disciplinary care.
- To provide expertise, advice and support to facilitate the effective and appropriate provision of psychological care by all members of the treatment team.
- To provide a consultancy service to the Children's Social Care, acute paediatric wards, in-patient teams, local community mental health teams, and other agencies and teams, with regard to appropriate referral and treatment options.
- To liaise with appropriate professionals, and to contribute to multi-disciplinary case discussions/planning meetings.
- To be responsible for own work and interventions with highly complex presentations as an autonomous practitioner, and to seek consultation appropriately from supervisor and colleagues.
- To provide a direct specialist service for service users presenting with eating disorders and/or eating issues, and their families.
- To write reports summarising complex information to guide clinical care.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To provide highly specialist psychological assessments based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex psychological data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, personality and risk assessment, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the client's care.
- To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a client's mental health and eating issues challenges, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the client's problems, and employing methods of proven efficacy, across the full range of care settings.
- To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.
- To provide highly specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients' formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
- To ensure that all members of the treating team have access to a specialist psychologically based framework for understanding and care of service users, through the provision of advice and consultation and the dissemination of specialist psychological research and theory.
- To undertake risk assessment and guide risk management for individual clients and to provide general advice to other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management.
- To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor and evaluate progress during the course of multi-disciplinary care.
- To provide expertise, advice and support to facilitate the effective and appropriate provision of psychological care by all members of the treatment team.
- To provide a consultancy service to the Children's Social Care, acute paediatric wards, in-patient teams, local community mental health teams, and other agencies and teams, with regard to appropriate referral and treatment options.
- To liaise with appropriate professionals, and to contribute to multi-disciplinary case discussions/planning meetings.
- To be responsible for own work and interventions with highly complex presentations as an autonomous practitioner, and to seek consultation appropriately from supervisor and colleagues.
- To provide a direct specialist service for service users presenting with eating disorders and/or eating issues, and their families.
- To write reports summarising complex information to guide clinical care.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Doctoral Clinical Psychology qualification or equivalent as accredited by the British Psychology Society (BPS).
- Eligible for Chartered Clinical Psychologist status.
- Registration with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Desirable
- Relevant specialist CPD qualification (Diploma/ Masters etc.).
- Management training/ qualification.
- Training in neuropsychological and developmental assessment.
- Relevant post-qualification training in work with eating disorders.
- Relevant post-qualification training/experience in working with young people.
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working with clients with complex presentations within CAMHS or similar services.
- Experience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision.
- Experience of supporting junior qualified and non qualified staff members.
- Experience and understanding of safeguarding children and relevant legislation and policies.
Desirable
- Experience of working within CAMHS environment.
- Experience of working across service settings and agencies.
- Experience of service development/project work.
- Experience of working in multi-agency teams and multi-agency service planning.
- Significant experience in assessing and managing risk and supporting teams in this process.
- Experience and understanding of lone working practices.
- Knowledge of community resources and systems for children and young people.
- Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS and HCPC.
- Highly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessments and therapies for use with young people with complex presentations.
Additional Criteria
Essential
- Well organised with good administration skills.
- Ability to cope with workload pressure and prioritise workload.
- Ability to make clinical decisions around complex and emotive issues relating to children/young people and their carers.
- Ability to work creatively, cooperatively, reliably, and consistently both independently and in multidisciplinary settings.
- Full UK driving licence, with access to a vehicle for work purposes.
Desirable
- Record of publications in peer-reviewed, academic, or professional journals or books.
- Change and project management techniques
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Doctoral Clinical Psychology qualification or equivalent as accredited by the British Psychology Society (BPS).
- Eligible for Chartered Clinical Psychologist status.
- Registration with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Desirable
- Relevant specialist CPD qualification (Diploma/ Masters etc.).
- Management training/ qualification.
- Training in neuropsychological and developmental assessment.
- Relevant post-qualification training in work with eating disorders.
- Relevant post-qualification training/experience in working with young people.
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working with clients with complex presentations within CAMHS or similar services.
- Experience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision.
- Experience of supporting junior qualified and non qualified staff members.
- Experience and understanding of safeguarding children and relevant legislation and policies.
Desirable
- Experience of working within CAMHS environment.
- Experience of working across service settings and agencies.
- Experience of service development/project work.
- Experience of working in multi-agency teams and multi-agency service planning.
- Significant experience in assessing and managing risk and supporting teams in this process.
- Experience and understanding of lone working practices.
- Knowledge of community resources and systems for children and young people.
- Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS and HCPC.
- Highly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessments and therapies for use with young people with complex presentations.
Additional Criteria
Essential
- Well organised with good administration skills.
- Ability to cope with workload pressure and prioritise workload.
- Ability to make clinical decisions around complex and emotive issues relating to children/young people and their carers.
- Ability to work creatively, cooperatively, reliably, and consistently both independently and in multidisciplinary settings.
- Full UK driving licence, with access to a vehicle for work purposes.
Desirable
- Record of publications in peer-reviewed, academic, or professional journals or books.
- Change and project management techniques
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.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
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.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
