Job summary
Band 8A Post or Band 7-8A Preceptorship
Clinical/Counselling/Forensic Psychologist
Community Learning Disabilities Team
Learning Disabilities Division
0.8 WTE

We would welcome applications from Band 8a Clinical/Counselling/Forensic Psychologists. The post is also open to trainee psychologists who will qualify in Autumn 2026 or band 7 psychologists who are seeking a new specialty.

We are looking for creative, innovative and enthusiastic Clinical/Counselling/Forensic Psychologists to deliver clinical services within our Community Learning Disabilities Team in the Learning Disabilities Division.

You will deliver specialist psychological assessments and therapy, for individuals, groups and families as well as consultation to professionals. We pride ourselves on our compassionate and inclusive ways of working, which seek to reduce the risk of inpatient admission and associated trauma. We aim to improve the quality of life of clients , whilst emphasising the value of relationships and attachments with significant others.

Main duties of the job
Here is some feedback from trainees who have been on placement in the community team:

"the clients, close knit MDT and supportive supervisors make the community LD service a great place to work"

"lots of opportunities for getting involved with other aspects of the service, for example with staff wellbeing or the Service User Group"

"variety of interests within the psychology team which means you get to experience different models and perspectives. For example, there are opportunities to work systemically or from a trauma informed perspective"

We are currently working as a city-wide team and you will be expected to travel throughout Birmingham, with occasional out of area visits. You will be based at Riverside Lodge, our Learning Disabilities MDT base in Small Heath, with the aim of predominantly working with clients in the East of Birmingham. There may be opportunities for remote working within your working week, in balance with the needs of the MDT and our clients.

About us
Be Part of Our Team...
BCHC has more than 5000 staff working across Birmingham and the West Midlands in a wide range of community nursing and specialist healthcare roles. BCHC delivers over 100 clinical services, in people's homes, health centres, clinics and inpatient facilities. We deliver a wide range of services for children, young people and families as well as adults and community services, two community hospitals, services for people with learning disabilities, the internationally recognised West Midlands Rehab Centre and one of Europe's leading Dental Hospitals and School of Dentistry. We deliver all of this with a commitment to integrated, personalised care that is rooted in our local communities. We have an ambition to deliver outstanding, integrated care as one of the key NHS providers in the West Midlands.

If you want to 'Be Part of Our Team' and work with a Foundation Trust which is continuously striving for best care and healthy communities, we want to hear from you.

IMPORTANT

• Please ensure you check your Trac account regularly as this is how we will communicate with you during the shortlisting and selection process
• Please ensure all sections of the application form are completed fully. Please particularly ensure that you provide full details of all referees including business email address, telephone contact details and postal address

Job responsibilities
You will be joining an established group of friendly, committed, and supportive Psychologists, banded from 8C to 7, as well as Honorary Assistant Psychologists and trainees. We have psychology colleagues in the Intensive Support Team and Community Forensic Team. We utilise an exceptionally broad range of psychological models depending upon client need, including behavioural (primarily PBS), adapted CBT, systemic, narrative, ACT, CAT, attachment, CFT and EMDR. Working within our team would give you exposure to these models and additional training is actively encouraged using our Learning Beyond Registration scheme. We have developed a thriving family therapy/ staff consultation service and have links with local and national LD services.

Our psychologists work closely with colleagues within our leadership team and MDT to strive for care that is trauma informed, compassionate and formulation based. We facilitate rolling group interventions, including Emotion Regulation and Tree of Life groups. We support a small number of clients who are living with complex physical health conditions, pain and co-morbidity, in order to improve their quality of life and reduce health inequalities. As Birmingham is a diverse and multi-cultural community, we are mindful of the additional challenges that clients from marginalised communities may encounter when accessing our services. Our team is actively engaged in research; we are keen to facilitate opportunities for supervising doctoral research as well as smaller scale quality improvement projects.

Our service offers opportunities to develop clinical leadership skills, be involved with clinical projects and pathway development. The Psychology Service offers connection to and support from other psychologists through facilitated reflective practice groups, CPD events, forums and Special Interest Groups. There are strong links with the DClinPsy training course and the MSCi pathway at Birmingham University, as well as Coventry. There are opportunities for service user involvement work through our Service User Group. This challenges us to reflect upon and adapt our working practices and improve our clinical environment.

Key points to note
The relevant Band 8a Job Description and Person Specification is attached to this document .

For a discussion about the above post, you are very welcome to contact one of our senior Community LD psychologists: Dr Lisa Morris Consultant Clinical Psychologist at lisa.morris3@nhs.net or leave a message for Lisa on 0121 466 3900.

For further details / informal visits contact:
Name: Dr Lisa Morris
Job title: Consultant Clinical Psychologist
Email address: lisa.morris3@nhs.net
Telephone number: 0121 466 3900

Additional contact information
Name: Ivy Winters
Job title: Service Manager
Email address: Ivy.Winters@nhs.net

Qualifications
Essential

• Post graduate Doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
• HCPC Registration as a Practitioner Psychologist

Desirable

• Post-doctoral qualification, training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice.
• Training in the supervision of doctoral level trainee psychologists.
• Training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology

Experience
Essential

• experience of specialist psychological assessments /treatment
• experience of working with a wide variety of client groups

skills/knowledge
Essential

• skills in use of complex psychological assessments
• communication skills
• consultation skills

personal qualities
Essential

• self motivated
• positive ,energetic,enthusiastic
• ability to manage under pressure /tight deadlines /time management

other job requirements
Essential

• ability to teach/train others
• ability to work within a multicultural framework
• travel independently
• ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance

This 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.
Applications 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).
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).