Job summary
The Bridge Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, is a single point of access to support for people living in the police constabulary areas of Avon & Somerset, Swindon, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, who have experienced sexual abuse and rape at any time in their lives. We provide medical care, emotional and psychological support, practical help and forensic medical examinations, to people who have been sexually assaulted and consultation and training to practitioners around responding to disclosures and providing support in relation to sexual abuse and rape.

The SARC Counselling and Psychology Team works as part of a the SARC multi-disciplinary team providing psychological and therapeutic knowledge and interventions. The team has a particular focus on early therapeutic intervention following recent sexual assault, and development of support pathways for clients with complex trauma or who face barriers to care for reasons associated with social and systemic factors. As part of the Sexual Violence Alliance, we work closely with specialist VCSE partner organisations to establish clear and accessible pathways to effective, trauma informed support across the geographical areas we serve.

This post includes a focus on understanding and addressing barriers to sexual abuse support for patients/clients across the areas we serve, including those living in rural communities. It therefore involves travel across the areas covered by the service.

Main duties of the job
See accompanying Job Description for full details.

Main duties include:

• Communicate effectively as part of provision of SARC clinical/counselling psychology services, working with clients/patients, Bristol NHS Trust staff, VCSE partners and statutory agencies, including the police.
• Communicate information, recognising the need to adapt communication style to accommodate the recipient as appropriate and attending to the highly sensitive, emotive and potentially disturbing nature of information arising within the SARC context.
• To liaise with other SARCs, lived experience partners, VCSE and statutory providers and academic researchers in service development, evaluation and research initiatives.
• Develop, deliver and evaluate multi-media accessible culturally appropriate information.
• Provide effective line management and clinical supervision consistent with a compassionate, inclusive, trauma-informed culture.
• Provide relational and trauma-focused therapy to clients who have experienced sexual violence.

About us
Bristol NHS Foundation Trust brings together more than 28,000 staff to deliver over 160 clinical services across thirteen hospital locations,operatingfrom three main sites at Southmead, Bristol citycentreand Weston.

With an annual turnover of £2.3 billion, we are now one of the largest NHS trusts in the United Kingdom. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone's throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that theSouth Westhas to offer.

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust values all people as individuals. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit andretaina workforce whichrepresentsthe rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your applicationin order toensurewe'remeeting our pledge.

Details
Date posted: 20 August 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 8a
Salary: £57,528 to £64,750 a year
pa pro rata
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Part-time, Flexible working, Home or remote working
Reference number: 387-MED0842-NG
Job locations: Central Health Clinic, Bristol, BS2 0JD, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities
Interpersonal and communication skills

• To communicate effectively as part of provision of SARC clinical/counselling psychology services, working with clients/patients, Bristol NHS Trust staff, VCSE partners and statutory agencies, including the police.
• Communicate information effectively, recognising the need to adapt communication style to accommodate the recipient as appropriate and attending to the highly sensitive, emotive and potentially disturbing nature of information arising within the SARC context.
• To liaise with other SARCs, lived experience partners, VCSE and statutory providers and academic researchers in service development, evaluation and research initiatives.
• Develop, deliver and evaluate multi-media accessible culturally appropriate information.
• Able to provide effective line management and clinical supervision consistent with a compassionate, inclusive, trauma-informed culture.

Professional knowledge and expertise

• Fully qualified as a clinical/counselling psychologist with a doctoral Degree in Clinical or Counselling Psychology
• Registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
• Provision of relational therapy to people of all genders who have been raped and sexually abused.
• Accredited as an EMDR Practitioner or demonstrably working towards accreditation, plus experience of a trauma-focused CBT (e.g. NET).
• Practice and research informed understanding of the impact of sexual violence across the lifespan.
• Provision of multi-disciplinary work to support clients with complex trauma, attending to risk formulation and safeguarding.
• Facilitating reflective practice and supervision with practitioners working with sexual trauma in a health care setting.
• Involvement in co-produced service evaluation, research or development initiatives that include Survivor Voice.
• Knowledge of sexual violence support pathways across the geographical areas served by The Bridge SARC, including statutory and VCSE service provision.
• Familiarity with key guidance documents relating to pre-trial therapy and experience of providing pre-trial therapy and responding to police requests for therapy notes.
• Knowledge and experience of gathering a range of information and drawing on appropriate psychological models and theories to develop psychological formulations for individuals and teams.
• Knowledge of the use and evaluation of psychometric measures relevant to the SARC context (e.g. the International Trauma Questionnaire).
• Evidence of a commitment to continuing professional development.

Problem-solving and decision-making

• Able to maintain a high degree of professionalism in the context of the highly sensitive and emotive issues relating to rape and sexual abuse.
• Able to work collaboratively across teams and services to identify barriers to care and support a culture of innovation and compassionate, trauma informed care.
• Able to evaluate and prioritise competing clinical and service demands.
• Able to effectively utilise planned and ad hoc supervision.
• Able to collate, analyse and report on qualitative and quantitative service delivery and feedback data.

Planning and coordination

• Management of workload to meet individual and service objectives as discussed with the SARC Principal Counselling Psychologist and SARC Manager.

Practical and technical skills

• To provide highly specialist psychological assessments, formulations and interventions for clients/patients.
• To develop and deliver specialist psychological interventions.
• To provide direct individual and group based clinical services as required to meet identified psychological needs in a uni and multi-professional manner with appropriate liaison with other staff in the multi-disciplinary team and partner providers.
• To develop and evaluate direct and indirect clinical services in collaboration with the wider SARC team, people with lived experience and partner agencies.
• To provide advice, consultation and training on appropriate psychological assessment, interventions and knowledge.
• To ensure effective communication and liaison with professionals within the team and any other services across the region as required on an individual basis.
• To utilise theory, literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members.

Patient care and support

• Direct and indirect assessment, formulation and psychological intervention using appropriate professional protocols in line with the Clinical Governing Body (HCPC) and Trust standards guidelines.

Service development and improvement

• Use Quality Improvement methodology for service improvement.
• Undertake or contribute to research and audit.
• Undertake, supervise and support research and development activity including the supervision of assistant and trainee psychologists and other research staff, as appropriate.
• Undertake, supervise and support service evaluation and service improvement in collaboration with clients/patients, multi-professional teams and partner organisations.
• Provide appropriate activity and outcome data for regular reporting, including reporting to commissioners.

Finance and resource management

• Maintain safe and efficient use of Trust equipment and supplies.

Leadership and team management

• To provide formal and informal teaching and training for other professionals on psychological knowledge and skills applicable in the provision of trauma-informed support.
• To provide clinical supervision and reflective practice as required by the service.
• To provide line management to other members of the team as required by the service.
• To receive regular clinical and professional supervision according to HCPC or relevant body and Trust guidelines.
• To ensure own Continuing Professional Development in line with BPS and Trust Personal Development Plan requirements and the HCPC Standards for Continuing Professional Development.
• To undertake occasional teaching and training of pre and post- qualification psychologists and specialised training to other professions as appropriate.
• To contribute to the development of the knowledge and skills base in provision of therapeutic support for the impact of sexual and domestic trauma, maintaining awareness of current developments and contributing to service development across specialist organisations and networks.
• To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.

Information and data management

• To maintain accurate, comprehensive and contemporaneous electronic clinical records in accordance with Trust, HCPC and information governance standards.
• To generate psychological reports, formulations, consultation records, outcome summaries and correspondence for clinical, professional and legal purposes where required.
• To collect, analyse and present clinical activity, outcome and service performance data to support governance, audit and service evaluation.
• To utilise electronic patient record systems, databases, digital assessment platforms and statistical software to support clinical practice, audit and research activity.
• To ensure confidentiality, security, retention and appropriate sharing of sensitive personal data in accordance with GDPR, Caldicott principles and Trust policies.
• To contribute to the development and maintenance of local databases and outcome-monitoring systems.

Innovation and continuous improvement

• To lead and contribute to service evaluation, clinical audit, quality improvement and research projects designed to improve patient outcomes and service effectiveness.
• To identify opportunities for service redesign and implement innovative approaches to improve accessibility, efficiency and quality of care.
• To utilise evidence from research, NICE guidance and national policy to inform service development and clinical practice.
• To disseminate findings from audit, quality improvement and research through presentations, publications and training activities.
• To contribute to the development of policies, clinical pathways, protocols and standards across the service and wider organisation.
• To support a culture of learning, reflective practice and continuous improvement within multidisciplinary teams.

Person Specification
Essential

• Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, Counselling Psychology or equivalent (A)
• Current registration as a practitioner psychologist with the Health Care Professions Council
• EMDR Practitioner Qualification
• Able to build therapeutic relationships with clients who have been sexually abused or raped.
• Able to establish collaborative, supportive and effective relationships with colleagues and partners working within the highly sensitive and complex area of sexual trauma
• Able to generate systemic and individual formulations and interventions based on applying psychological theory to the complex information generated by the person, family, health and social care systems relating to individuals engaging in care pathways.
• Able to demonstrate an understanding of the roles of a counselling/clinical psychologist in relation to clients, staff teams and the wider organisational systems around them.
• Able to demonstrate successful use of strategies to prioritise and manage time when there are conflicting demands.
• Advanced communication skills with the ability to provide and receive highly complex and sensitive information in a culturally appropriate manner in highly emotive situations. This includes the ability to provide complex psychological information to staff, clients and partner organisations in an accessible manner.
• Ability to access, record and manage information and data pertaining to the work undertaken in psychology notes, data bases and electronic records as required.
• Able to demonstrate a realistic awareness of the potential for work related stress and distress in this type of clinical work plus strategies to manage this.
• Post qualification experience of clinical work, including provision of formulation and relational and trauma-focused therapies to people who have been sexually abused or raped at any time in their lives across a range of complexity in presentation and care need.
• Post qualification experience of working as a counselling/clinical psychologist providing psychological consultation, case management supervision and training to multi-professional and multi-agency teams.
• Post qualification experience, and demonstrable understanding of working as a counselling/clinical psychologist within a multi-disciplinary and multi-agency context
• Experience of working with complex trauma within the SARC context.
• Formal teaching /presentation sessions to health and other professionals
• Demonstrable knowledge of legislation and guidance pertaining to safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults, consent, confidentiality and standards of psychological care within relevant NICE and other guidance
• Evidence of applying doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology.
• Knowledge of theory and practice relevant to specialised psychological formulation and interventions for adults who have experienced rape and sexual abuse.
• Experience of supervising qualified psychological therapists.
• Experience of survivor voice initiatives.
• Experience of contributing to service development projects.
• Experience of offering reflective practice and supervision to multi-disciplinary team staff.
• Advanced communication skills with the ability to provide and receive highly complex and sensitive information in a culturally appropriate manner in highly emotive situations. This will include the ability to provide complex psychological information to staff in an accessible manner.
• The ability to work collaboratively across VCSE and statutory services and with lived experience groups

Desirable

• Current Accreditation as an EMDR Practitioner
• Training in clinical supervision

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
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.

Certificate of Sponsorship
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).

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

Employer details
Employer name: Bristol NHS Foundation Trust
Address: Central Health Clinic, Bristol, BS2 0JD, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.uhbw.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact: Principal Counselling Psychologist, Louise Davey, louise.davey@uhbw.nhs.uk, 01173426999

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust is an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce. We aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them.