Principal Clinical Psychologist

The Stockport Psychological Medicine in Primary Care Service is a specialist MDT team working with people whose high use of healthcare services is atypical for the health conditions they experience. Patients often present with complex co-morbid physical and mental health conditions or psychological distress. Patients may have accessed a range of services in the past and been unable to engage or make progress with their condition. Physical health conditions include long term health conditions as well as persistent physical symptoms. Psychological presentations include complex trauma and emotional and relational needs, enduring depression and anxiety., The post holder is responsible for leading psychologically informed care in the team. They will work closely with psychiatry (and medical psychotherapy) colleagues, a preceptorship psychologist and Mental Health Liaison. Practitioners, the role leads delivery of psychologically informed care. Supporting patient assessment and review, working closely with practitioners, leads and supports skill development. The role promotes reflective practice and manages challenge in working with this complex patient group. Development of the skills of the band 7 psychologist is also a critical part of the work. The post holder carries a small case load of 2 to 3 therapy patients but primarily informs psychological care provided by the practitioners in the team through formal su, Integrating highly specialist assessments into a psychological specialist
formulation for service users of complex and challenging co-morbid physical and mental ill health using a range of psychological theoretical perspectives.
The post holder will work with Liaison Practitioners and the MDT to develop specialist and highly complex psychological treatment
plans or management, for patients with complex co-occurring physical and mental ill health.
The post holder will, through joint assessment and review, supervision, MDT discussion and formulation support the delivery of psychologically informed care by Liaison Mental Health Practitioners. They will maintain a small therapy caseload of 2-3 cases.
Working with consultant psychiatry, team manager and the other psychologist in the team, the postholder will on an ongoing basis consider the development needs of the team, working with others to ensure referral and treatment protocols are well governed, that learning needs in the team are identified and supported.
The post holder will be responsible for the supervision and skills development of the other psychologist in the team.
Along with the team manager and lead psychiatrist, the post holder will form a pathway of leadership by linking in with leads meetings within Psychological Medicine and any relevant borough or trust strategic meetings. With colleagues across psychological medicine services, they will support wider staff development through the Psychological Medicine Network.
A hints and tips document is attached below for guidance on completing your application form.
Disclosure Barring Certificate check
All of our new starters, who are appointed to a post which requires a Disclosure Barring Certificate check (DBS), will be recharged for the full cost of the check (DBS checks for volunteers are free of charge).
An enhanced DBS check costs £38 and a standard check costs £18 (plus an administration charge of £3.50). If you are a substantive member of staff, the full amount will be taken from your first month's salary.
If you are a member of staff on our bank, you will need to repay the full amount from your first salary.
We encourage you to register with the DBS update service at an annual cost of £13 (this is mandatory for bank staff).
Other important information
+ We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) and recognise the importance of ensuring our diverse service user population is reflected within our workforce. Unfortunately, we know that, at present, there is underrepresentation of our communities in our workforce. We welcome applications from people from diverse communities to help us grow, learn, be better and consider brilliant innovation diverse people bring.
+ Priority will be given to applications from existing NHS employees who have an at risk status
+ This post is on our terms and conditions (T&Cs). If you are an existing employee currently on transferred terms and conditions (i.e. you transferred from another employer and retained their T&Cs) and you are voluntarily applying for this post; if you are successful, you will be employed on our T&Cs
+ You will be informed about the progress of your application following shortlisting. Only applicants who clearly demonstrate the criteria listed in the person specification will be shortlisted for interview
+ We will notify you by email if you have been shortlisted or not. Computer access is available at your local job centre or library. Please make sure you check your spam filter/junk folder. If any mail goes to your junk folder please mark it as safe
+ If you would like to be considered under the disability confident scheme, you will be guaranteed an interview if you meet the essential criteria on the person specification for the post
+ If you require reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process please phone us on at the earliest opportunity. We will support you to complete your application
+ We reserve the right to close a vacancy earlier than the advertised closing date if a sufficient number of applications have been received
+ Unfortunately we are not able to guarantee the transfer of lease cars, or cover the costs of early termination charges. We have a strict policy on unsolicited contact from recruitment agencies. Please do not contact our recruiting managers directly.

Applicants for the post should have demonstrable experience of working therapeutically with complex mental health presentations, and an interest in working with people with physical health conditions. They should be committed to MDT working and be able to lead others effectively to deliver psychologically informed care. An awareness of the challenges of working with complex mental health conditions and commitment to compassionate leadership of colleagues is essential for this role.

NHS AfC: Band 8b
About the Trust
We are proud to provide high quality mental health and learning disability services, both inpatient and in the community across five boroughs of Greater Manchester - Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport and Tameside and Glossop.
Our vision is for a happier and more hopeful life for everyone in our communities and our staff work hard to deliver the very best care for the people who use our services. We're really proud of our #PennineCarePeople and do everything we can to make sure we're a great place to work.
Our ambition is to maximise people's potential and we aim to promote an inclusive environment and improve the diversity of our workforce so our people truly represent the communities we serve.
All individuals regardless of race, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership are encouraged to apply for this post. We would also encourage applications from individuals with a lived experience of mental illness, either individually or as a carer.
If you come and work for us we will offer a range of benefits and opportunities, including:
1. Generous annual leave entitlement for Agenda for Change and Medical and Dental staff.
2. Flexible working opportunities to support your work/life balance
3. Access to Continued Professional Development
4. Involvement in improvement and research activities
5. Health and Wellbeing activities and access to an excellent staff wellbeing service
6. Access to staff discounts across retail, leisure and travel
If you are Kind, Fair, Ingenious and Determined then we want you to come and join our #PennineCarePeople
https://www.penninecare.nhs.uk/values