Principal Clinical Psychologist - Older Adult Inpatient East

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 East area. Core aims: provide psychological leadership for the continued development and delivery of a biopsychosocial MDT 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 Wrexham and Flintshire. 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

• 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, providing specialised psychological assessment and therapy to clients, 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.
• 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 who present with complex mental health presentations and in an inpatient setting, including offering specialist neuropsychological assessments, formulation, individual and group interventions.
• 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; English and/or Welsh speakers are equally welcome to apply.

Working for Our Organisation

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) North Wales is the largest health organisation in Wales, providing a full range of primary, community, mental health, acute and elective hospital services for a population of around 700,000 across North Wales. Join our team and get the support you need, in line with our Organisational Values and ‘Proud to Lead’ competence framework.

Enjoy being part of working with engaged leadership at all levels, and be assured we are committed to promoting equality and diversity, and are proud to welcome applicants under the “Disability Confident Employer” scheme.

Please check your email account regularly. Successful applicants will receive all recruitment‑related correspondence via the email account registered on the application form.

Applications may be submitted in Welsh. Applications submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application submitted in English.

Person Specification

Qualifications and/or 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) as accredited by the British Psychological Society.
• Registration with Health and Care Professions Council as a Clinical Psychologist.

Desirable Criteria

• Well‑developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult‑to‑treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities, etc.).
• Knowledge of the theory and practice 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 where the post is located, 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. Demonstration of further specialist training/experience through having received extensive and demonstrable clinical supervision of working as a specialist Clinical Psychologist or an alternative agreed by the Director of Psychology.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
• Experience of representing psychology within the context of multidisciplinary 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.