Specialist Clinical/Counselling PsychologistJob summaryAn exciting opportunity has arisen for a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist to work on the Older Adult wards in the Mental Health Inpatients Psychological Therapies Team at Prospect Park Hospital in Reading.
We welcome applications for this band7 developmental post, with the opportunity to progress to band 8a when developmental competencies are met. There are opportunities for flexible working patterns which would include face-to-face clinical work as well as home working. We are also flexible in accommodating requests for part-time working days.
Please note that we are also advertising this post as a band 8a post- this is one post to be applied for as either an 8a or a 7-8a developmental role.
We have one vacancy where we are looking to fill with a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist OR Specialist Clinical/Counselling Psychologist. This role can be filled by either a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist OR Specialist Clinical/Counselling Psychologist. There are currently 14 Psychologists and an art therapist working across the hospital, where we support people experiencing a mental health crisis across seven wards.
If you are a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist, please use this link to apply: Apply through our website
If you are a Specialist Clinical/Counselling Psychologist, please use this link to apply: Apply through our website
Main duties of the job- Work on allocated wards - predominantly older adults mental health.
- Offer psychological consultation to community and hospital staff (e.g. team formulation, teaching sessions, joint working, supervision and staff support groups).
- Supervise Assistant Psychologist.
- Clinical work with service users and carers involving assessment (including neuropsychological assessments and behavioural support assessments), formulation and interventions with varied and complex mental health and cognitive presentations.
- Contribute to service improvement initiatives in a ward/community team, as well as contributing to projects arising from the Inpatients Psychological Therapies Team.
About usBerkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated 'outstanding' by the CQC, we're committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we're committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.
Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are:
Caring for and about you is our top priorityCommitted to providing good quality, safe servicesWorking Together with you to develop innovative solutionsYour wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:
- Flexible working options to support work-life balance
- 27 days' annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
- Generous NHS pension scheme
- Excellent learning and career development opportunities
- 'Cycle to Work' and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
- Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
- Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
- Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality
- Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave
- Free parking across Trust sites
DetailsDate posted: 13 July 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 8a
Salary: £57,528 to £64,750 a year
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Part-time
Reference number: 371-MHS1017-C
Job locations: Prospect Park Hospital, Honey End Lane, Honey End Lane, Reading, RG30 4EJ, United Kingdom
Job descriptionJob responsibilitiesThe 5 must haves for you to be considered for this role:
- Postgraduate doctoral qualification in Clinical or Counselling Psychology (or equivalent)
- You will have experience working with adults and/or older adults with complex mental health problems, cognitive impairment or other disabilities and have excellent therapeutic and management skills.
- You will enjoy working in teams and providing psychological consultation, teaching and supervision.
- Calm, confident and assertive in emotionally demanding situations, you will be astute at setting and maintaining professional boundaries and will be efficient at dealing with distressing or hostile situations and behaviour.
- Self-motivated and confident, you will show initiative and a determination to support clients and their families through creative engagement. This includes an ability to work integrative in your clinical work.
We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted.We're committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed.We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please don't hesitate to contact Dr Claudia Kustner on 01189605277 or by emailing claudia.kustner@berkshire.nhs.uk who'll be delighted to help.
Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible.
Person SpecificationEducation/Qualifications/TrainingEssential- Postgraduate doctorate in clinical or counselling psychology (or equivalent for those who trained prior to 1996 or for those who completed their training overseas)
- Registered as a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
- (Eligibility for) Chartered Membership of British Psychological Society (BPS)
Desirable- Additional training and accreditations (or working towards these) in relevant therapeutic approaches or psychological models to reflect post qualification interests/ specialism (e.g., specific therapy models and accreditations, Health Psychology, Neuropsychology etc).
Continuous Professional DevelopmentEssential- Evidence of post-qualification training and expert knowledge in multiple psychological models and therapeutic approaches relevant to the post and service area.
- Comprehensive and up to date knowledge of the current evidence-base and developments within the area of specialism
- Training, and where relevant, accreditation in clinical supervision
ExperienceEssential- Demonstrable post qualification experience working as a qualified specialist practitioner in the area of specialism
- Experience of working in evidence-based ways with services users (and their carers/families) presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the range of settings, maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse
- Experience of dealing with highly distressing or emotional circumstances, such as serious mental illness, child and sexual abuse, exploitation, and complex family dynamics
- Experience of delivering interventions across different modalities (e.g. individual, group and systemic-based approaches)
- Experience of working effectively in multi-disciplinary team and multi-agency environments
- Experience of providing specialist advice and consultation to multi-disciplinary and multi-agency colleagues to support the psychological care of service users
- Experience of providing effective clinical supervision, mentoring and leadership to junior staff
- Experience of developing and delivering teaching to a range of staff groups
- Experience of carrying out clinical audit, evaluative research and applying the findings
- Experience of service evaluation, quality improvement work and of implementing change from this and from a national and local health or social care change agenda that impacts across services and professions
- Experience of working with and addressing issues of diversity, including experience of working with diversity, multiculturalism, and equality of access to service
Desirable- Experience of line managing staff (including junior psychological roles)
Knowledge, Skills & AbilitiesEssential- Demonstrable knowledge, skills and abilities in the practice of assessment, formulation and intervention, relevant to the specialist modality and service area
- Knowledge and understanding of service evaluation, audit and research and how to undertake these activities in an NHS context, including how to implement learning
- Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, complex, technical and/or sensitive information to service users, their carers/families and other professional colleagues, both within and outside of an NHS setting
- Well-developed interpersonal skills, with the ability to support, influence and engage with clinicians, stakeholders and service users to create change and improvement
- Well-developed interpersonal skills with the ability to support, influence and engage with clinicians, stakeholders and service users to create change and improvement.
- The ability and skills to act as an advocate for the service, to engage and foster positive relationships with all health professionals in promoting the good integration of the service within the wider health care system
- Advanced IT skills and the ability to navigate various systems and software packages (such as RiO, Outlook, databases, MS Office/Teams, One Consultation and the Internet)
Additional RequirementsEssential- Able to work flexibly around working patterns as required
- Ability to travel independently between locations in Berkshire to fulfil the requirements and duties of the position
Disclosure and Barring Service CheckThis 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.
Certificate of SponsorshipApplications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK RegistrationApplicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer detailsEmployer name: Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust
Address: Prospect Park Hospital, Honey End Lane, Honey End Lane, Reading, RG30 4EJ, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.berkshirehealthcare.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)
Employer contact detailsFor questions about the job, contact:Principle Clinical / Counselling Psychologist
Claudia Kustner
claudia.kustner@berkshire.nhs.uk
01189605277
