Principal Clinical / Counselling / Forensic Psychologist in Bridgend

Welcome to Swansea Bay University Health Board. We welcome applications from people who share our values: caring for each other, working together and always improving.

The Caswell Clinic is a 61 bedded unit providing specialist inpatient care to males and females detained under the Mental Health Act (2007) and who have complex clinical and risk needs. The psychology service sits within an MDT model of care to offer strengths-based, attachment informed, collaborative interventions which draw upon a range of approaches including DBT, ACT, CBT, EMDR, Narrative, Systemic and Mentalisation-based therapies. With a strong focus on recovery, we endeavour to provide and promote care that complements the principles of least restrictive practice.

The duties attached to this job will include both direct clinical work and managerial responsibilities for junior psychological staff. Other broader duties linked to this role include overseeing and coordinating relevant risk assessment training in the service and wider service group, leading on the development and delivery of group treatment programmes, and linking in with local academic institutions for the purpose of hosting placements and securing collaborative research opportunities. The successful candidate will be highly skilled and experienced in working in secure settings and within a multidisciplinary team. Working with, and formulating complexity, alongside understanding crisis presentations is essential for this role.

Clinical Responsibilities:

• Exercise autonomous professional responsibility and be legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of professional practice, being guided by principles and broad occupational policies.
• Provide highly specialised psychological assessments using a wide variety of methods, including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the client’s care.
• Analyse, interpret and integrate highly complex assessment information where the data are often conflicting and incomplete.
• Formulate plans for formal psychological therapy, across a range of care settings, based on a number of provisional hypotheses derived from psychological theory and evidence-based practice.
• Responsible for implementing a range of specialised psychological interventions, for individuals, carers, families and groups.
• Contribute to the development and articulation of best practice in psychology within the team, by continuing to develop the skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the field of clinical psychology and related disciplines.

We believe staff are our best asset and we want you to be happy and confident about starting your career here in Swansea Bay University Health Board. As one of the biggest healthcare groups in the UK we can offer a wealth of professional training and development opportunities in an innovative, forward-thinking organisation.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities include providing a highly specialised clinical psychology service to clients of the sector, providing specialised psychological assessment and therapy to clients. Working autonomously in accordance with The British Psychological Society Code of Conduct, Ethical Principles and Guidelines 2004, and Health and Care Professions Council.

Within the team, to hold designated responsibility for the systematic governance of sector staff’s psychological practice, in order to ensure the delivery of high-quality clinical psychology services within the framework of the team/service policies and procedures. Within the team, to exercise delegated responsibility for the management and supervision of designated staff up to and including Senior level, including staff appraisal/PADR, and informal grievance. Contributing to the development of local team policies and procedures in order to facilitate improvements in service quality.

Advise service and professional management on aspects of the service related to the team where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing. Provide clinical placements and supervision for Doctoral level trainee clinical psychologists and to deliver training to other professionals. Utilise highly specialised research skills for audit, policy and service development, and research. Act as a panel member in the recruitment of designated staff, as appropriate. Assist the Consultant Clinical Psychologist, in conjunction with other senior staff, in the efficient day-to-day management of the service.

Swansea Bay University Health Board is committed to supporting its staff and processes to fully embrace the need for bilingualism thereby enhancing service users experience. In our commitment to increase the number of staff able to communicate in Welsh with patients and professionals, we would particularly welcome applications from Welsh speakers. Equality remains at the centre of the Health Boards policy-making, service delivery and employment practices. We value the diversity of our staff and welcome applications from people from protected groups under the Equality Act 2010, this specifically includes age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/reassignment, race, religion, disability, pregnancy and maternity and marriage and civil partnership.

We are a Disability Confident Employer and applications are welcomed from persons with disabilities. A disability will not prejudice your application. If you are unable to submit your application in the requested format because of a disability please contact the Recruitment Team, who will agree a more suitable way for you to apply. All disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria listed in the Person Specification will be invited to interview.

To work in the UK, all candidates who are not UK or Republic of Ireland (RoI) nationals require sponsorship to obtain either a Health and Care visa or Skilled Worker visa, unless you have permission to work via another route.