Principal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist - Inpatient Psychology

Transformationunitgm; Chelmsford; Hybrid; GBP 64,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare service provider in Chelmsford seeks a Principal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist to lead its inpatient psychological services. This role supports trauma-informed care and offers opportunities for professional development in a dynamic environment. Candidates should hold a Doctoral level qualification in clinical psychology and have significant experience in inpatient services. The position allows for flexible working arrangements and is suited to those passionate about improving mental health delivery.

Benefits

NHS discounts for staff

Excellent training facilities

Flexible working arrangements

Buying and selling annual leave scheme

Qualifications

• Registered with HCPC and eligible for BPS registration.
• Significant CPD in relation to Adult Mental Health.

Responsibilities

• Lead inpatient psychological services and provide clinical leadership.
• Support and supervise psychological services staff.
• Shape and deliver trauma-informed services.

Skills

Experience in inpatient services

Supervisory skills

Excellent assessment and formulation skills

Crisis management

Education

Doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology

Post-doctoral qualifications in EMDR/DBT/CAT

Job description

Main area Principal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist - Inpatient Psychology Services Grade Band 8b Contract Permanent Hours

• Full time
• Part time
• Flexible working

37.5 hours per week Job ref 364-A-8869-E

Employer Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site The Linden Centre Town Chelmsford Salary £64,455 - £74,896 per annum pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 25/01/2026 23:59

Principal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist - Inpatient Psychology

Band 8b

Our Trust cares for more than 100,000 patients at any one time across our community health, mental health and learning disability services across Essex and parts of Bedfordshire and Suffolk.

We want you to be part of our journey of transformation, where our patients and their families are at the heart of everything we do and to achieve our vision to be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care.

You’ll be part of a Trust where you will be supported to be your authentic self and be the best you can be, where we will help you to grow, develop and thrive.

The Trust is recognised by the University of Essex and is a top provider of apprenticeships for people looking to be an assistant practitioner, senior health care support worker (CAP). Our trailblazing CAP apprenticeship won a national HSJ Award.

We are also recognised as a Veteran Aware Trust and holder of gold accreditation from the Ministry of Defence Employment Recognition Scheme. Our services are highlighted as an exemplar of good practice, producing the best care for more than 3.500 armed forces veterans in the past seven years.

We have been shortlisted and won national awards. We are an inclusive organisation and Level 3 Disability Confident Leader Trust.

We are constantly innovating and looking for new ways to deliver care, such as using technology to enhance patient care and working with partners to launch new services such as the Basildon Mental Health Urgent Care Department, virtual hospitals and falls response cars.

Join us and you’ll do the best work of your life – and make a difference to other people’s lives. What we do together, matters.

Job overview

An exciting new opportunity has arisen for 1WTE 8b Principle Clinical/Counselling Psychologist to join our Adult Inpatient Psychological Services Team in Chelmsford*.

You will be joining us at a time of implementation of the new Inpatient Operating Model, which also aims to realise EPUTs commitment to become a trauma informed organisation.

We have a proven track record of valuing and investing in our staff. Many of our Consultant Psychologists have been promoted within EPUT. We value staff well-being and understand the importance of flexible working to maintain a work/home life balance and offer different configurations, including compressed hours.

If you would like to be a part of shaping and contributing to innovation in mental health delivery, are a champion of quality initiatives and have an interest in delivering interventions for people with severe mental health problems then we are keen to interview you and see if we can offer you the opportunities you deserve!

Main duties of the job

The main duties of this job involve both clinical and line managerial responsibilities. The post holder will have excellent assessment, formulation and intervention skills as well as an ability to work short-term with Service Users who present in crisis. They will also have good supervisory skills and an ability to motivate our Inpatient Psychological Services staff who include; senior Psychological Practitioners, trainees, Arts Psychotherapists and our newly appointed Clinical Associates in Psychology trainees (CAPS). A wider systemic understanding of team and organisational dynamics or an interest in developing this is welcomed. Duties also cover indirect working such as; representation at Trust wide meetings, chairing local service development groups staff training and staff support initiatives (e.g. reflective practice). The post-holder will work within the Inpatient and Urgent Care Unit to help shape and deliver trauma informed services.

The successful candidate will be skilled and experienced in working in secondary care health settings and within a multidisciplinary team. Working with and formulating complexity as well as understanding crisis presentations is essential for this role. The ability to make professional recommendations and risk informed decisions alongside the ward team is key, as well as a passion for partnership and MDT working .

Working for our organisation

EPUT are looking for motivated staff who shares our Trust values of Care, Learn and Empower. In return, EPUT can offer you a range of benefits and development including;

• Season Ticket Loans
• NHS discounts for staff
• Excellent Training facilities and opportunities
• Buying and Selling annual leave scheme
• The opportunity to work bank shifts and expand knowledge and experience in other areas
• Salary Sacrifice schemes including lease cars and Cycle to Work
• Day One Flexible Employer

The Trust supports and actively encourages flexible working for all employees. We offer many options and you are encouraged to ask the recruiting manager what is possible for this role. If appointed, you will have the opportunity to apply for a flexible working request from the first day of your employment.

Join our Staff bank

What is Staff Bank?

Our EPUT NHS staff bank is an entity managed by the trust that hires clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals to take on shifts at our trust hospitals and community settings. Here at EPUT we maintain our own bank of specialist staff to ensure that we are able offer safe and effective care at all times.

All our permanent staff are automatically enrolled onto the staff bank however this does not mean you have to work any additional shifts, but the option is there for you if you wish.

If you are joining our Trust in a fixed term role, please indicate on your New Starter Paperwork that you wish to join our staff bank.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

We, the Adult Inpatient Psychological Services team aim to understand the impact of trauma and adverse experiences on an individual’s crisis presentation within the hospital setting. We work together with our MDT colleagues and wider Care unit colleagues to ensure our Service Users experience purposeful inpatient admissions and timely discharges.

EPUT’s Adult Inpatient Psychological Services team cover 6 inpatient sites across Essex. Each site has a Principle Lead overseeing the area/areas. Our team is comprised of Principle/Senior Practitioners, Arts Psychotherapists, trainees, assistant psychologists and CAPS. We acknowledge the excellent day-to-day work of our staff team and also pride ourselves on new creative practice as evidenced by recent innovations; such as our nationally recognised staff training packages.

We welcome discussions about flexible and part-time working. When appropriate, remote ways of working will be utilised in this role.

The post holder will work alongside our four 8bs in our existing leadership team to ensure that the Adult Inpatient Psychological Services team is current, evidence-based and in line with best practice and Trust standards. Flexible and adaptive clinicians will prosper in this role as well those individuals who enjoy innovative practice. The successful candidate will oversee the psychological services staff who are based at The Linden Centre, Chelmsford. The post holder will also provide day to day psychological therapy into some of the Linden Centre wards including the PICU. They will offer clinical leadership, evaluation and service monitoring. They will work autonomously within professional guidelines to provide a high quality Inpatient Psychological Service to Service Users, assisting or leading in service development and project management as agreed.

As well as applicants from the UK, we encourage overseas candidates to apply for this role. We welcome diversity within our organisation. We can offer guidance for candidates coming from overseas about settling into working in the UK and we have a programme to provide a ‘buddy’ for you, i.e. a member of the Psychological Services Directorate who has also emigrated to join us at EPUT and can guide you through as you settle into your new home.

The Psychological Services Directorate enjoys good links with and supervises clinical psychology trainees from The University of East Anglia, University of Essex and University College training schemes. Clinical research, teaching and specialised interests are encouraged as well as formal courses. Members of the directorate have enjoyed secondments and learning opportunities across the Trust.

Registration with Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) is essential as well as eligibility for registration with a professional body (BPS).

Please contact Dr Sophie Bellringer, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, [e-mail] (07583136523) for further discussion.

Person specification

Education /Qualifications

• Doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) including models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by the HCPC and BPS.
• Evidence of significant CPD in relation to Adult Mental Health.
• Qualifications in management and supervision of psychological services colleagues.
• Post-doctoral qualifications in EMDR/DBT/CAT/Schema Therapy/Sensorimotor Psychotherapy/CBTp or other evidence based models for the treatment of complex cases, personality disorders and/or psychoses.

Skills/Experience /Abilities

• Experience and skills in training others/professionals in psychological theory and practice and therapeutic models.
• Experience in supervising psychologists, psychotherapists and junior staff at a lower banding. Ability to line manage, conduct appraisals, performance manage and supervise lower banded staff.
• Experience of working in inpatient services or crisis settings may be useful.
• Skills and experience in the management of more junior colleagues in addition to psychological services staff.

Important note: please ensure that as part of your application, you include professional references with business contact information covering your last three years of employment history. We are unable to accept personal or character references.

As a newly appointed employee, you are responsible for incurring the cost of your initial DBS check relevant to your post; the amount will be deducted from your first salary with the Trust.

Our Trust is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We particularly welcome applications from people with experience of using mental health services. We also hold the Disability two tick symbol and have made the pledge to commit to employing more people with learning disabilities, we encourage people with a disability to apply. If you require this application form in another format i.e. Braille or audio tape etc, please contact the Recruitment Department on 01375 364513 or email [e-mail] and we can arrange for this to be dispatched to you.

The Trust has the right to expire vacancies prior to the closing date if they so wish. The Trust makes every attempt to contact all applicants and we strongly advise that you check the email account which is registered with NHS Jobs regularly, we would advise however due to the high number of applications we receive that if you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expect all staff to undertake this commitment. Applicants will be subject to robust safer recruitment processes.

Important Notice: Recently the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021 (the Regulations) which amended on 22 July 2021 and come into force on 11 November 2021 that anyone directly employed to work in a Care Home or who are required as part of their role to be deployed to a CQC registered care home are required to have both their COVID vaccinations, unless they are exempt. This is therefore a requirement of this role and will form part of our pre-employment checks.

Please note -staff who are formally at risk within the organisation will be given priority in securing alternative employment. Should it come to light that a post being advertised by the Trust is considered ‘suitable alternative employment’ to an individual who is at risk, the recruiting manager will be advised and the post will be withdrawn from NHS Jobs.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.