Job summary
Fixed Term or Secondment
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and highly motivated Clinical Psychologist to join the South Staffordshire Perinatal and Maternal Mental Health Service. This is a 22.5 hour per week, fixed term post until 31.03.2026.
The South Staffordshire Perinatal and Maternal Mental Service deliver care to expectant and new mothers who are experiencing moderate to severe and complex mental health problems within the perinatal period, or families who have mental health needs associated with loss and trauma occurring in the maternity and neonatal context.
We are looking for a dynamic, passionate, and creative clinician who wants to make a difference to the lives of mothers, babies, and their wider families. Clinicians who strive to always provide the best care.You will have a passion for supporting both Adult and Infant Mental Health and an understanding of how psychological interventions may be applied within this specialty. You will also have an interest in improving maternity systems and supporting those who have mental health needs associated with trauma or loss occurring in the maternity or neonatal context.This post will cover both arms of the service to ensure effective and timely delivery of psychological therapy.
You will have a genuine interest in Perinatal Mental Health and in shaping and developing this service. We would like the successful candidate to start as soon as possible.
Main duties of the job
- To provide specialist psychological assessments for adults in receipt of perinatal and/or maternal mental health services, taking into account (where applicable) the relationship with their baby and family using psychological theories and models
- To interpret and integrate complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations, semi-structured interviews, and guided clinical inquiry methods with clients, family members and others involved in the client's care.
- To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, therapeutic treatment and discharge of mothers and their babies
- To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients, to include risks to an unborn child or infant, and to provide advice to other professions, on psychological aspects of risk assessment, including the risk of self-harm, and risk management
- To formulate and make decisions about the treatment and/or management of clients' mental health problems, taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes and maternity experiences that have shaped the individual client and, when applicable, their relationship with their baby
- Please see Job description/person specification for full duties of the job
About us
- Supporting your career development and progression
- Excellent NHS Pension scheme
- Generous maternity, paternity and adoption leave
- Options for flexible working
- Up to 27 days annual leave (increasing with service up to 33 days) and the opportunity to purchase additional leave
- Extensive Health and Wellbeing support and resources
- If you work in our community teams, we pay for your time travelling between patients
- Lease car if you complete more than 500 business miles per annum, fully insured and maintained (including tyres), mileage paid at lease car rate
- Salary sacrifice car - fully insured and maintained (including tyres), your gross pay is reduced by the cost of the vehicle before tax, NI and pension deductions are calculated, mileage paid at business rates
- Salary sacrifice bikes up to £2k
- Free car parking at all trust sites
- Free flu vaccinations every year
- Citizens Advice support linked with a Hardship Fund for one off additional support up to £250 (if the criteria is met)
And more. We are proud to be a diverse and inclusive organisation and there is a choice of staff networks that help you meet like-minded people.
Please be aware that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in completing application forms will be monitored to ensure fairness and transparency. If you have used AI you must state this in your application.
Please note, we may be required to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications.
Job description
Job responsibilities
For more information relating to this position please refer to the attached job description and person specification.
Job description
Job responsibilities
For more information relating to this position please refer to the attached job description and person specification.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Post-graduate / Doctoral level qualification in Clinical Psychology as recognized by the Health Professions Council (HCPC).
- Registered with the HCPC.
Desirable
- Eligible for Chartership status with the British Psychological Society
- Further training in a psychological model / intervention specific to the role remit/area of work - attachment based intervention; EMDR; DBT; CBT; Video Interaction Guidance
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems.
- Experience of providing specialist psychological assessment and intervention across a full range of settings.
- Experience of work in multidisciplinary teams and with multi agency networks.
- Ability to work effectively within safeguarding procedures in the context of a therapeutic service.
- Experience contributing to the development of services
Desirable
- Experience of perinatal mental health.
- Experience of maternal mental health
- Experience of providing therapeutic intervention in different cultural contexts.
- Experience of conducting research and/or audit in clinical settings.
- Experience of group work
- Experience of role as CPA coordinator
- Experience of working therapeutically with women and babies with significant emotional or mental health difficulties, and their families/carers
- Experience of leading and contributing to the development of services.
- Experience of teaching, training and supervision
Skills
Essential
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management.
- Ability and knowledge relating to self-harm related risk assessment and care-planning.
- An ability to formulate and provide treatment within at least two models of psychological therapy and the experience and a working knowledge of at least one other approach to psychological intervention.
- Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
- Knowledge of research methodology
- Knowledge of Attachment theory and its application to clinical work
- A clear grasp of the concept of mental health recovery
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the service user group and mental health
Desirable
- Completion of formal training or courses in conducting specialist psychological assessments (incl. risk assessment and risk management).
- Knowledge of the theory & practice of specialised psychological therapies in difficult to treat groups (e.g Personality disorders)
- Skills in providing consultation/training to other professional and non-professional groups.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Post-graduate / Doctoral level qualification in Clinical Psychology as recognized by the Health Professions Council (HCPC).
- Registered with the HCPC.
Desirable
- Eligible for Chartership status with the British Psychological Society
- Further training in a psychological model / intervention specific to the role remit/area of work - attachment based intervention; EMDR; DBT; CBT; Video Interaction Guidance
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems.
- Experience of providing specialist psychological assessment and intervention across a full range of settings.
- Experience of work in multidisciplinary teams and with multi agency networks.
- Ability to work effectively within safeguarding procedures in the context of a therapeutic service.
- Experience contributing to the development of services
Desirable
- Experience of perinatal mental health.
- Experience of maternal mental health
- Experience of providing therapeutic intervention in different cultural contexts.
- Experience of conducting research and/or audit in clinical settings.
- Experience of group work
- Experience of role as CPA coordinator
- Experience of working therapeutically with women and babies with significant emotional or mental health difficulties, and their families/carers
- Experience of leading and contributing to the development of services.
- Experience of teaching, training and supervision
Skills
Essential
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management.
- Ability and knowledge relating to self-harm related risk assessment and care-planning.
- An ability to formulate and provide treatment within at least two models of psychological therapy and the experience and a working knowledge of at least one other approach to psychological intervention.
- Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
- Knowledge of research methodology
- Knowledge of Attachment theory and its application to clinical work
- A clear grasp of the concept of mental health recovery
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the service user group and mental health
Desirable
- Completion of formal training or courses in conducting specialist psychological assessments (incl. risk assessment and risk management).
- Knowledge of the theory & practice of specialised psychological therapies in difficult to treat groups (e.g Personality disorders)
- Skills in providing consultation/training 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.
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).
Employer details
Employer name
Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Brockington Parent & Baby Unit
St George's Hospital, Corporation Street
Stafford
ST16 3AG
Employer's website
https://www.mpft.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)
