Specialist Applied Psychologist

We are delighted to offer an exciting opportunity for a highly motivated Specialist Applied Psychologist to join our Psychologically Informed Community Services (PICs) as part of the Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) Pathway across Durham and the Tees Valley. This innovative service delivers psychologically informed formulation and consultation for individuals assessed as presenting with complex interpersonal, relational, and personality difficulties. Working closely with probation partners, the service supports psychologically informed practice across community offender management, enhancing risk management, rehabilitation, and relational safety. The PICs team forms a key component of the regional OPD Pathway and works alongside OPD services in custody and community settings.

This role may be eligible for sponsorship under the UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker route. However, sponsorship can only be provided where applicants meet the specific requirements, therefore, we recommend that you assess your eligibility before applying for this position.

Main duties of the job

• Clinical Formulation
  • Develop psychological formulations that integrate theory, evidence, and service-user context.
  • Provide risk assessments (self-harm, suicide, violence, vulnerability) and contribute to risk management plans.
• Consultation and Multidisciplinary Working
  • Offer psychologically-informed consultation to probation colleagues and the wider MDT.
  • Contribute to supporting clinical decision-making and care planning at MDT reviews.
• Indirect Work and Service Development
  • Contribute to service improvement initiatives, pathway development, and quality assurance processes.
  • Participate in clinical governance, audits, and service evaluations.
• Teaching, Training, and Supervision
  • Provide supervision to other staff.
  • Deliver training sessions to probation colleagues on psychological models, trauma-informed practice, risk, formulation, etc.
• Professional Leadership
  • Take responsibility for defined areas of clinical practice or small-scale service initiatives.
  • Support the implementation of Trust-wide psychological strategies (e.g., trauma-informed care, relational security).
  • Work autonomously within professional guidelines (HCPC, BPS) and Trust policies.
• Research, Evaluation, and Evidence-Based Practice
  • Use outcome measures, service evaluation tools, and research evidence to inform practice.
  • Contribute to or lead small-scale research projects, audits, or service evaluations.

About us

We are the Mental Health & Learning Disability NHS Trust for County Durham and Darlington, Teesside, North Yorkshire, York and Selby. From education and prevention, to crisis and specialist care – our talented and compassionate teams work in partnership with our patients, communities and partners to help the people of our region feel safe, understood, believed in and cared for. We nurture the recovery journey of anyone in need of our help. In Our Trust, everyone has a say in how they are supported and treated because we listen to every person in our care until they feel understood. Our patients, their families and carers work together with us towards better mental health. We're committed to new thinking that improves the wellbeing of our region. We connect with our communities and partners to get mental health care right, in areas that really need it.

Job responsibilities

Psychologists & Psychological Therapists provide key leadership roles within the Trust. To support this we have developed leadership profiles for each psychology band and the profile card associated with this post is attached on NHS Jobs. You can find more information about the NHS Leadership Academy's Healthcare Leadership Model and the profiles at their website. We encourage you to look at these resources as they will play a part in the interview process.

We welcome applications from staff who are currently coming to the end of their training in Clinical or counselling psychology that on successful completion will achieve the required qualification and registration with HCPC as Practitioner Psychologist. Trainee counselling psychologists are eligible to apply for and to be shortlisted for interview and to be offered qualified posts when they are in their 3rd year of the doctoral training and have the following confirmed as completed by the university. This information may be requested prior to interview:

• All clinical competencies.
• 80% of the 450 supervised clinical practice hours (360 hours).

Trainee clinical psychologists are eligible to apply for and to be shortlisted for interview and to be offered qualified posts when they are in their third year of training, as they will have completed their core clinical competencies by this stage of the course. Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for further detailed information to ensure that you meet the role criteria before applying.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Post‑graduate training (doctoral level equivalent) in clinical / counselling / forensic psychology (or its equivalent prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS
• HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist
• Trained in clinical supervision (within agreed timescale)
• Trained in care coordination (within agreed timescale)
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Post‑graduate qualification showing evidence of supervised practice in an evidence‑based psychological therapeutic model
• Registration with BPS

Skills

• Must be able to:

• Communicate complex and highly sensitive information effectively, to a wide range of people
• Adapt creatively the evidence base for interventions in mental health for clients with communication difficulties / learning disabilities
• Provide (within agreed timescale) effective teaching, training and clinical supervision
• Work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team and undertake care coordination / lead practitioner responsibilities
• Undertake complex multiagency working and liaise with multiple systems
• Utilise psychometric tests competently
• Identify, provide and promote appropriate interventions / means of support for carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and challenging behaviours
• Utilise appropriate clinical governance mechanisms within own work
• Use approved breakaway techniques
• Skills in using multimedia materials in presentations

Experience

• Must have experience/interest in:

• Working with mental health/learning disability clients (depending on designated service area)
• Multi‑disciplinary team working
• Experience of CBT, DBT, Psychodynamics, systematic therapy
• Experience of research and audit

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.