Band 8a Clinical, Forensic or Counselling Psychologist

AWP Secure Services are looking for an experienced clinical, Forensic or Counselling Psychologist with an interest in working with people with learning disabilities, autistic people and people with significant mental health difficulties such as psychosis, who present a significant risk to others.
Secure Services consists of Fromeside, an 81 bed medium secure unit and Wickham, a 30 bed low secure unit, both based on the Blackberry Hill Hospital site in north Bristol. We have a large friendly psychology team with expertise in working with people with a wide range of presenting difficulties including; violence, sex offending, fire setting, learning disabilities, autism, personality disorders and psychosis.
This post will be split across our medium secure ward for people with autism and/or learning disabilities and our medium secure wards for men experiencing severe and enduring mental health difficulties. It will involve providing direct clinical work, consultation, teaching and staff support, supervision for assistant psychologists and band 7 psychologists, and working collaboratively with other members of the MDT including psychiatry, nursing, arts psychotherapists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists. The role will involve completing specialist assessments, developing complex formulations and designing and delivering individualized therapeutic interventions; as well as facilitating therapeutic groups and engaging in complex systemic work. There will also be the opportunity to engage in service development projects. The successful post-holder will need be adaptable, creative, to have good communication and team working skills, and to have experience in working with people with learning disabilities, autistic people and people with significant mental health difficulties such as psychosis, who present a significant risk to others. There will be regular supervision and support for the role.

• We think that a visit to our service is an essential part of the recruitment process and so would expect applicants to visit before interview.*

We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust) a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care. We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset. Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.
At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.
To lead an entirely autonomous and systematic, specialist area of responsibility within the Clinical Psychology service for people with severe and complex mental health difficulties.
To offer an entirely autonomous highly specialist clinical psychology assessment and treatment service to inpatient and those in the community.
To provide specialist consultancy, advice and clinical supervision to qualified clinical psychology staff and staff from other professions.
To provide an advanced and specialist treatment role in the Area in one NICE recommended intervention.
To undertake management/ leadership tasks as delegated by the manager including caseload, supervision, appraisals and service development.
To undertake relevant research, teaching and lecturing in specialist clinical areas
Please see attached Job Description