Principal Clinical Psychologist - Older Adult Inpatient Central in Colwyn Bay

Job Overview

This is an exciting and rewarding opportunity to help make a real difference to older adults in acute older adult functional and dementia inpatient care in North Wales. The senior post is to provide psychological input and oversight in acute care older adult psychology services in the BCUHB Central area.

Core aims are to provide psychological leadership for the continued development and delivery of a biopsychosocial multidisciplinary team for acute older adult functional and dementia care, MDT interventions within older adult dementia care inpatient settings, and to lead the provision of expert advice, consultation, training and supervision in psychological approaches within these settings with the acute care pathway in mind.

The post holder will provide psychological interventions, behavioural and neuropsychological assessment, staff training, support and supervision within the acute dementia care pathway in Conwy and Denbighshire. The post holder will also be required to provide direct expert psychological clinical input to service users and families.

There is the potential for this post to be combined with the concurrently advertised Adult Mental Health Acute Care Principal Clinical Psychologist posts. Please enquire if interested in this.

Main Duties of the Job

• Be an active and integrated member of the inpatient multidisciplinary mental health team.
• Provide a highly specialised clinical psychology service to clients of the sector, including specialised psychological assessment, therapy and consultation to staff.
• Work autonomously in accordance with the British Psychological Society Code of Conduct, Ethical Principles and Guidelines 2004, and Health and Care Professions Council standards.
• Plan and provide individual and group interventions, both directly and via the guidance of MDT members.
• Carry a specialist clinical psychology caseload of adult clients presenting with complex mental health presentations in an inpatient setting, including offering specialist neuropsychological assessments, formulation, and intervention.
• Provide effective clinical leadership by demonstrating and promoting excellence in the provision of highly specialist assessment, formulation, evidence‑based intervention and offering advice and consultation in complex clinical cases to other health professionals.
• Act as a highly specialist resource to the wider professional community.
• The ability to speak Welsh is desirable for this post; Welsh and/or English speakers are equally welcome to apply.

Person Specification

Qualifications and Knowledge

Essential Criteria

• Good Honours degree in Psychology.
• Eligibility for British Psychological Society Chartered status.
• Post‑graduate Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) accredited by the British Psychological Society.
• Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council as a Clinical Psychologist.

Desirable Criteria

• Well‑developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in difficult‑to‑treat groups (e.g., personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities).
• Knowledge of highly specialised psychological therapies and assessment methodologies, including neuropsychological assessment.

Experience

Essential Criteria

• Substantial assessed experience of working as a qualified and senior clinical psychologist, normally including significant post‑qualification experience within the designated speciality or relevant transferable skills.
• Assessed experience of working effectively as a qualified and senior‑level clinical psychologist in the designated speciality, or relevant transferable skills, including extensive clinical supervision and specialist training.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of applying clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
• Experience of representing psychology within the context of multi‑disciplinary care.

Aptitude and Abilities

Essential Criteria

• The ability to demonstrate a high level of competence to work within the designated speciality.
• Doctoral‑level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practised within clinical psychology.

Desirable Criteria

• Ability to speak Welsh.