Clinical / Counselling Psychologist

Job title:

Clinical / Counselling Psychologist

Company:

NHS

Job description

These two roles will require the post holders to provide a specialist psychology service to clients with gender dysphoria on the Gender Affirmation Surgery pathway under CWFT and will be based at either New Victoria Hospital or Parkside Hospital. They will provide specialist psychological therapy to trans and non-binary service users around any aspect of their mental health or well-being connected to their surgical journey and recovery. This can include, but is not limited to, managing anxiety associated with healthcare settings, managing low mood or depression during the initial stages of recovery, processing bodily changes post-surgery, developing coping skills and resources, or dealing with surgical complications. The post holders will offer advice and consultation on clients’ psychological care to non-psychologist colleagues and to other, non-professional carers or external agencies. They will work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the team’s policies and procedures.Main duties of the jobThe post holders would be expected to provide short- to medium term evidence based psychological assessment and therapy to clients for a range of presenting difficulties including issues related to living with gender dysphoria who are undergoing gender affirmation surgery. We also anticipate that the post holders may contribute to the design and running of group psychoeducation interventions on mental wellbeing related to gender affirmation surgery under the supervision of the senior psychologist based at CCGS.They will provide supervision to non-psychologist staff within the team, as well as offering advice and consultation on clients’ psychological care to colleagues and to other, non-professional carers; working autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the team’s policies and procedures.The post holder will need to work autonomously within professional practice guidelines.About usNew Victoria Hospital (NVH) is situated in Kingston-Upon-Thames, we have been providing excellent, patient-centric care for over 125 years. Our size enables us to respond quickly, innovate, and provide personalised, team-based care. While we have fantastic facilities, it is the dedication and experience of our staff and Consultants that is the secret to our success.NVH has been commissioned by NHS England to provide gender affirmation lower surgery and is one of the leading healthcare providers for masculinising lower surgery, including metoidioplasty and phalloplasty, since December 2021.Parkside Hospital, established in 1983, is situated on Wimbledon Parkside (SW19). There are eighty-two beds, four operating theatres and four procedure rooms. We have extended clinical settings on site including ‘The Lodge’ where we run the lower feminising surgery clinics and the chest wall surgery clinics.Parkside Hospital has been commissioned by NHS England to provide gender affirmation surgery, including for lower feminising surgery and masculinising chest wall surgery. We strive to provide a high-quality patient service to all our patients within our setting.DetailsDate posted03 July 2025Pay schemeAgenda for changeBandBand 7Salary£54,320 to £60,981 a year per annum incl. HCAS.ContractPermanentWorking patternFull-timeReference number289-SC-103Job locationsParkside Hospital / New Victoria HospitalLondonSW10 9NHJob descriptionJob responsibilitiesTo formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a clients mental health, well-being, and psychological aspects of their surgical journey and recovery, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings.To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups; adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account queer and trans affirmative models and considering the impact of wider systems on that person’s experience of gender dysphoria and gender affirming surgery.To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose difficulties are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group.To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management, and to support other members of the MDT in risk management.To contribute to multi-disciplinary team meetings; to communicate and reflect using a psychologically based framework.To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.To act as a named designated professional for clients within each service.The post holders are expected to adhere to all local and national safeguarding policies, identify and appropriately escalate concerns, and work in a trauma-informed, patient-centred manner with individuals who may be at risk or have experienced abuse, neglect, or discrimination. Job descriptionJob responsibilitiesTo formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a clients mental health, well-being, and psychological aspects of their surgical journey and recovery, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings.To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups; adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account queer and trans affirmative models and considering the impact of wider systems on that person’s experience of gender dysphoria and gender affirming surgery.To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose difficulties are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group.To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management, and to support other members of the MDT in risk management.To contribute to multi-disciplinary team meetings; to communicate and reflect using a psychologically based framework.To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.To act as a named designated professional for clients within each service.The post holders are expected to adhere to all local and national safeguarding policies, identify and appropriately escalate concerns, and work in a trauma-informed, patient-centred manner with individuals who may be at risk or have experienced abuse, neglect, or discrimination.Person SpecificationEssential and Desirable CriteriaEssential

• Doctoral level training in clinical/ counselling 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.
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient 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.
• Experience of working with gender diverse patients.
• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
• Knowledge of the issues affecting gender diverse populations
• High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies
• 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

Desirable

• Further training and qualifications in clinical supervision
• Experience of planning and implementing service development.
• Experience of providing supervision to non-psychologists

Person SpecificationEssential and Desirable CriteriaEssential

• Doctoral level training in clinical/ counselling 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.
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient 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.
• Experience of working with gender diverse patients.
• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
• Knowledge of the issues affecting gender diverse populations
• High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies
• 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

Desirable

• Further training and qualifications in clinical supervision
• Experience of planning and implementing service development.
• Experience of providing supervision to non-psychologists

Expected salary

£54320 – 60981 per year

Location

Chelsea, South West London

Job date

Sat, 05 Jul 2025 03:35:42 GMT

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