Practitioner Psychologist or Psychological Therapist

Working alongside an experienced psychologist, you will be responsible for assessing service users presenting with complex needs, formulating their difficulties to help them and MDT colleagues better understand how their difficulties are impacting on their life. You will be responsible for delivering NICE-recommended psychological interventions for chronic conditions such as emotionally unstable personality disorder, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders and depression, aiming to promote social inclusion and empower service users within their mental health recovery. You will also provide consultation and training for staff and others, and may offer placement and supervision for a trainee, assistant and undergraduate student depending on your level of experience.
We employ a trauma-informed consultation approach to support MDT colleagues to actively engage clients in safety and stabilisation work to enable them to make effective use of more formal psychological interventions/therapies.
Within Psychology Services in West Essex we have specialist skills and training in variety of areas and approaches, including CAT, CBT, CBTp, DBT, EMDR, Schema Therapy and Trauma-Informed approaches., + To work as an integral member of the Adult Community Psychology Service in West Essex, being primarily based within the Uttlesford locality Specialist Community Mental Health Service (MDT).
+ To provide verbal and written formulations that aid clinical interventions for service users presenting with highly complex problems, their families and carers, and other professionals.
+ To formulate and deliver plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of service users' mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the service user's problems, and to practice within the context of evidence based approaches and the overall therapeutic approach/ philosophy of the service.
+ To plan, manage and prioritise own caseload.
+ To conduct risk assessment and risk management of service users on your caseload and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk, including safeguarding.
+ To attend MDT meetings to provide guidance or advice and to contribute to clinical discussion about service users of the team.
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.
Important Professional References
Make sure that as a part of your application you have professional references with business contract information covering your last three year 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.
Applications for Job Share are positively welcomed.

This post is available at Band 7 or Band 8a level dependent on experience. We welcome applications from qualified or soon-to-be qualified Psychological Therapists with experience of working with complex mental health issues to join us at Band 7. We would also consider a final year Trainee Counselling Psychologist, appointed at Band 6 until HCPC registered.

EPUT provides community health, mental health and learning disability services to support more than 3.2 million people living across Bedfordshire, Essex and Suffolk. Also:
+ We are among the largest employers in the in the East of England region, with more than 10,000 staff working across more than 200 sites.
+ We run the COVID-19 vaccination programme across mid and south Essex and Suffolk and north east Essex.
EPUT was formed on 1 April 2017 following the merger of North Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (NEP) and South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (SEPT). A new leadership team was established at the Trust in 2020.

Our vision and values
Our Vision
"To be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care".
Our Purpose
"We care for people every day. What we do together, matters".
Our Values
+ We Care
+ We Learn
+ We Empower
Our strategic objectives
+ We will deliver safe, high quality integrated care services.
+ We will enable each other to be the best that we can.
+ We will work together with our partners to make our services better.
+ We will help our communities to thrive.
Our services
+ Mental Health Services
+ Community Health Services
+ Learning Disabilities Services
+ Social Care
Find out more about the services we offer in our service directory., 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.
Covid Vaccination
Although Covid vaccinations are no longer a mandatory requirement within the NHS we continue to encourage and support the vaccination uptake as this remains the best line of defence against Covid19. The safety of our staff and patients is a top priority for us at EPUT.
If you would like to book a Covid vaccination or would like more information please contact us by emailing [email protected].

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