Job summaryThe Department of Clinical Health Psychology (South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust) has an exciting opportunity for a qualified and experienced Clinical Psychologist to come and join our well established and supportive team based in Stratford upon Avon. This full-time post is split between the Clinical Health Psychology service and our specialist Pain Management Psychology service.
Both services provides a range of psychologically informed, evidence-based interventions to alleviate distress and promote psychological wellbeing for the people of South Warwickshire who may be struggling with their chronic pain and/or physical health condition. In the specialist pain management service this valued role involves working as part of the multidisciplinary team. In the Clinical Health Psychology service, work may also include supporting staff with work-related issues, and through consultation and supervision.
We are looking for a Clinical Psychologist with an interest in working with people in a physical health setting. Whilst experience of working within physical health is ideal we would love to hear about other relevant experience too.
Applications from newly qualified psychologists interested in a band 7 preceptorship are also welcome.The post will be based at our department at Stratford Healthcare and will involve both face to face and remote working. Some work will also necessitate travel to Warwick Hospital and other locations across the patch.
Main duties of the jobDevelopment and provision of high quality specialised clinical psychology input and advice to patients and staff working in the South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust.
To provide specialist clinical health psychology assessment and therapy to patients. To provide advice and consultation on patient care to colleagues and carers. To utilise research skills for audit, service development and research.
To work autonomously within professional guidelines and exercise individual responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the role. To support workforce development by offering training and supervision as required
About usCome and join a Trust rated Outstanding by the CQC. South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust have been rated as outstanding following our latest inspection by the CQC and we are recruiting new staff to come and help us improve even further. In addition our staff survey results have placed us 4th in the country for recommended place to work.We provide services across Warwickshire and beyond ranging from Hospitals in Warwick, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Royal Leamington Spa and Shipston-on Stour to Community Services across the county. We are a progressive, expanding organisation with great ambition around improving quality, integrating pathways and delivering high levels of productivity.Our values can be summed up in one sentence. We are 'Trusted to provide safe, inclusive, effective and compassionate care'. Throughout the recruitment process you will be asked to think about how you demonstrate these values and how they impact on your work. It doesn't matter what role you do, whether it is patient facing or not, we are all working in the same way with our values at the core.As part of our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion we encourage all applicants to complete a short survey. This can be accessed via the link below:https://forms.office.com/e/ahWY3eAGM2We appreciate you completing the survey.DetailsDate posted: 17 September 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 8a
Salary: £57,528 to £64,750 a year
per annum (preceptorship available)
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 203-SS1228
Job locations: Stratford Healthcare
Building 1, 2nd Floor, Arden Street
Stratford upon Avon
CV37 6NQ
United Kingdom
Job responsibilitiesKnowledge, Skills and ExperienceClinical:To provide specialist psychological assessments requiring advance theoretical and practical knowledge to patients with a broad range of potential difficulties e.g., fatigue, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, relationship issues. This will be based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including self-report measures, rating scales, specialist knowledge within oncology/ palliative care, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with patients, family members, staff and others who may be involved in the patients care.
To formulate and implement highly specialist psychological intervention plans for the formal treatment and/or management of a patients physical and psychological health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the patients difficulties employing evidence-based methods of efficacy.
To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals, including members of staff, carers, families and groups, within and across teams, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.
To evaluate and decide on treatment options utilising physical and psychological theoretical and therapeutic models (e.g., systemic, cognitivebehavioural therapy, CFT, ACT) and highly complex factors, based on past psychological and mental health history and ongoing psychological developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.
To decide upon appropriate courses of action (consulting as appropriate with supervisor / peers) and exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of patients whose problems are managed by psychologically based treatment plans according to a professional code of conduct.
To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to a patients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
To facilitate a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all patients of the project.
To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual patients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
To act as care co-ordinator, where appropriate, taking responsibility for initiating the planning and review of case conferences, advising on psychological management and reviewing psychological care for the individual with their family, carers, referring agents and others involved the network of care.
To communicate complex information in a highly developed, skilled and sensitive manner (respectful of patient confidentiality as appropriate) concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of patients and their families/carers. This is to include situations that may present with hostility and high emotion or that involve overcoming major barriers to acceptance, and to monitor and review progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.
To provide clinical assessment and therapy which will involve sitting still for substantial periods of time requiring intense concentration, exposure to aggression and highly emotive or distressing situations. To work face-to-face without staff nearby, with any associated risk of dealing with people with mental health problems such as aggression and self-neglect.
To provide advice, support, supervision, training and development to facilitate the effective and appropriate provision of psychological care by all members of the team.
To have an advanced theoretical and practical knowledge of clinical health psychology services provided by the NHS and other agencies for patients with a broad range of health difficulties
Teaching, Training, and Supervision:To design, facilitate and help evaluate teaching of psychologically related workshop sessions to groups of patients on topics such as fatigue, selfesteem/ confidence, anxiety management, depression, managing difficult conversations, impact on relatives/relationships, adjustment to Illness.
Contribute to the analysis and preparation of reports following evaluation of service provided.
Contribute to the dissemination of results at meetings, conferences and through reports.
To advise/support/provide professional and clinical supervision members of the team using psychologically based skills to enable development of necessary clinical skills, knowledge and competencies. (21/388) Band 8a Clinical Health Psychologist May 2021
To provide advice, consultation, training and supervision, to other members of the team, for their provision of psychologically based intervention to help improve patients functioning.
To continue with the development (and recording) of acquiring highly specialist experience and skills relevant to areas of interest in clinical psychology and/or the service through protected CPD (as agreed with the professional psychology manager following BPS/DCP guidelines up to two sessions per month).
To undertake and continue developing skills in the teaching of psychologically related workshops to health professional colleagues covering a range of related clinical topics on an individual or group basis (e.g. Communication Skills, Boundaries, Management of psychological distress).
In common with all clinical psychologists, to receive regular clinical professional supervision in accordance with good practice guidelines from a more senior clinical psychologist.
Management, Recruitment, Policy and Service Development:
To participate as a senior clinician in the development, evaluation and monitoring of a high quality, responsive and accessible service.
To be aware of relevant government policies, reports, National Service Frameworks and clinical guidelines in relation to the development of the service.
To participate as a clinician in the development, evaluation and monitoring of the teams operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.
To support the working practices of clinical and non-clinical staff (students and postgraduates) within the framework of the service policies and procedures.
To participate, as appropriate, in the shortlisting and interviewing process as a member of the interview panel for assistant clinical psychologists.
Person SpecificationQualificationsEssential- Doctoral level training in clinical psychology, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by the BPS.
Desirable- Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology.
ExperienceEssential- Experience of psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and inpatient settings.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including 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 working within a physical health setting.
- Experience and expertise in developing, facilitating and evaluating patient groups, with awareness of group dynamics.
Desirable- Experience of working with children and families in a physical healthcare setting.
- Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
SkillsEssential- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
- Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
- Skills in providing consultation to other Professional and non-professional groups.
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
- Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc.).
Desirable- High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.
PersonalEssential- Ability to approach the therapeutic work with compassion and empathy.
- Ability through these qualities to form good therapeutic alliance where appropriate.
- Ability to work well within a team
OtherEssential- Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
- Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
- Must have own transport
Desirable- Experience of working within a multicultural framework.
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: South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust
Address: Stratford Healthcare
Building 1, 2nd Floor, Arden Street
Stratford upon Avon
CV37 6NQ
United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.swft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)
Employer contact detailsFor questions about the job, contact:Consultant Clinical Psychologist
Dr Cressida Darwin
psychology@swft.nhs.uk
01926495321
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