Consultant Applied Psychologist

Job summary

As the successful candidate you will act as Consultant Psychology lead for the BCHFT IAPT service across 3 locality areas - Wolverhampton, Sandwell and Walsall. Working closely with the senior management team you will ensure that the IAPT service offers an inclusive, clinically effective and compassionate service to the clients it serves, delivering the range of nationally mandated psychological interventions for people experiencing common mental health problems.

You will work closely with the MDT team to develop and provide robust supervision matrices and to upskill the workforce in line with new challenges and the development of new clinical pathways. A recent example of this has been the development of Long Term Condition Pathways (eg Diabetes and Long Covid), developed in partnership with our Physical Health Psychology (PHP) service. You will be comfortable and confident in working with a range of psychological professionals including counsellors, low and high intensity IAPT workers and CPNs and will have an understanding of the training and professional registration needs of each of these groups.

Main duties of the job

As Consultant Psychology IAPT Lead your day to day role will include oversight of the service from a strategic and clinical point of view, working closely with the team leaders and service manager to ensure that clinical assessments and interventions are being delivered in line with KPI's and that data is regularly fed back to NHSEI. You will recruit to the workforce and support the embedding of new roles within the service (eg apprenticeship roles).

You will be supported to develop a job plan based on BPS National guidance. Experience and training in EMDR and trauma informed care would be particularly useful as the service develops clinical pathways in each of these areas. BABCP accreditation is desirable in this role.

In addition to your IAPT role you will join an expanding team of Mental Health Division Consultant Psychologists spanning all 8 of the clinical service areas that sit within the Division. You will become a regular and embedded member of the pan Trust Consultant Psychologists group and contribute to the governance and development of the profession of psychology with your colleagues and the Mental Health Divisional Psychology Lead.

Your own operational management will be provided by the Senior Operational Manager covering IAPT whilst your professional supervisory oversight will come from the MH Divisional Lead. Your clinical supervision arrangements will be determined once in post, with specialist and external options available if necessary.

About us

BCHFT was formed in April 2020 from two legacy Trusts - Black Country Partnership Foundation Trust and Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Trust. Forming at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Trust faced a number of challenges as it brought together its two legacy arms to work towards a more cohesive whole. Much focus over the last 2 years has been on bringing services and the workforce together and harmonising policies and procedures, whilst also managing the impact of Covid on both our staff and clients.

On July 1st 2022 the Trust became Lead Provider within the Black Country ICS and the next phase of our development will be on realising the benefits and complexities of this role, alongside the ongoing transformation agenda brought by the NHS Long Term Plan. You will be joining the organisation at a time of change and pace and so an ability to work within this context will be essential.