Psychologist

Job summary

An excellent opportunity has arisen for a Principal Clinical, Counselling or Forensic Psychologist, who is passionate about working with people a diagnosis of learning disability and/or autism to join the new Community Forensic Learning Disabilities and Autism Team at West London Forensic Service. This is a full-time Band 8b post (1.0wte) but applicants wanting part-time could be considered. A relocation package is also available for qualifying individuals.

West London NHS Trust provides a broad range of forensic mental health care in adult male, female and adolescent services, across high, medium and low security settings, as well as in a community and court diversion setting. The trust provides specialist forensic mental health care across eight boroughs in North West London, in addition to national enhanced medium and high secure services. West London Forensic Service has been chosen by NHS England to pioneer a new approach to support the discharge of Service users in Learning Disability and Autism medium and low secure forensic mental health settings and support their transition and community care.

You will work within the new team providing a high quality, specialist applied psychology service to service users with a diagnosis of learning disability and/or autism and an offending history who are living in the community or in the process of moving from secure inpatient care to the community.

Main duties of the job

Working within the Community Forensic Learning Disabilities and Autism Team provides an opportunity to pioneer a new approach to support the discharge of service users with diagnoses of learning Disabilities and/or Autism from medium and low secure forensic mental health settings and support their transition and community care.

You will be responsible for providing a high quality psychology service to culturally diverse service users with a diagnosis of learning disability and/or autism, enduring mental health disorders and forensic histories. As a core member of the MDT, you will provide specialist psychological assessments and therapies, specialist risk assessment and advice on risk management, and the provision of psychological advice and consultation to others involved in service user care. As such you will be able to utilise varied skills in assessment, formulation and evidence-based intervention, tailored to meet the needs of the client group. As well as direct clinical work, the role will involve staff supervision, consultation and training, service development and audit, and collaborative working with MDT colleagues and the psychological therapies department. There are also opportunities for research within WLFS.

About us

West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse providers of mental health, community and social care in the UK. It provides a broad range of forensic mental health care in adult male and female services, across high, medium and low security settings, as well as in a community and court diversion setting. West London Forensic Service was recently rated as outstanding by the CQC.

Psychology plays a valued and integral role within West London Forensic Service. We are committed to providing high quality, evidence based interventions within a recovery framework. The psychological therapies department, which comprises a team of over thirty psychologists and psychological therapists, is well-established and supportive with high standards of clinical supervision and excellent opportunities for continuing professional development.

We are keen to ensure that our workforce reflects the community it serves, particularly in terms of ethnicity, gender, disability, LGBTQ+ and experience of mental illness.