Band 8a Senior Clinical Psychologist or Band 7 Preceptorship

Job summary

Are you passionate about working alongside individuals who are experiencing acute mental health difficulties necessitating an inpatient admission? Are you able to work effectively with people who are in crisis?

Sycamore ward is an acute adult inpatient unit in the beautiful city of Bath, Somerset. It supports service users in their recovery from acute mental health challenges, through multidisciplinary professional teamwork and the adoption of evidence-based clinical practice. You will be joining an established multidisciplinary team, where the role of the psychologist, alongside other therapies colleagues, is much valued.

We are flexible how we recruit to the Clinical Psychology role and would welcome applications from applicants wanting full /part time employment. We would welcome discussions around creating the right job for you. This might include options such as adjunct roles on the Bath D.Clin.Psy programme, working within other parts of our services and being a preceptorship Psychologist (this would involve starting at a Band 7 and in conjunction with your supervisor, developing and progressing through a structured development plan with review process, to support your transition to fulfilling competencies at Band 8a).

Responsibilities of the role will adapt to match the developing skills of the successful candidate.

Main duties of the job

The post-holder will provide a comprehensive psychology service to the inpatient team, including specialist assessment, formulation, individual and group interventions. There is also a strong focus on indirect work through team formulation, reflective practice and training. You will need to be well organised with the ability to prioritise your work according to clinical need and liaise effectively with team colleagues and professionals in other teams/services. The post holder may also manage or supervise other psychological staff such as assistant psychologists, CAPS etc.

You will be part of a growing acute care psychological therapies team where exciting developments are taking place; including attending Comprehend Cope Connect (CCC) training, a third wave CBT approach. Other initiatives include the adaptation of evidence based therapeutic approaches such as Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) for an acute care setting.

The importance of support and supervision for psychology staff is prioritised. There are opportunities for joint working and being part of a dynamic Trust wide CPD network for inpatient therapy staff. You will be dually supported by the BANES Therapies Services (PTS) who are committed to supporting the development of the acute pathway.

We have close ties with the University of Bath Clinical Psychology Doctorate Training programme, with opportunities to teach, provide placements, and collaborate on research.

About us

We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust) a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.

We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.

Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.

At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.

The Royal United Hospital site, is located only a short walk away from the centre of Bath, a beautiful, family friendly and vibrant city, with direct trains to London and easy access to nearby Bristol. Bath offers all the advantages of city living, whilst surrounded by beautiful countryside.