Clinical/Counselling Psychologist
At a glance
- Band
- Band 7
- Contract
- Fixed-term
- Pattern
- Part-time
- Posted
- 16/09/2026
- Closes
- 29/09/2026
Sponsorship verdict
This contract type is not eligible for Skilled Worker sponsorship.
NHS Trusts cannot issue a Certificate of Sponsorship for part-time, bank, locum, zero-hours, job-share or short fixed-term (under 12 months) contracts under current Home Office rules. This applies even when the wider Trust holds a Skilled Worker licence.
Role summary
This role is for a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist to join the Psychological Therapies Team on a 12-month fixed-term contract, covering maternity leave. The successful candidate will provide specialist psychological assessments and deliver evidence-based interventions to older adults with complex mental health needs. Working within the North Oxfordshire Older Adult Community Mental Health Team, this position offers an opportunity to develop expertise in secondary care psychological therapies.
Essential criteria
- Doctoral level training in Clinical /Counselling psychology including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
- Registration with HCPC.
Desirable criteria
- Pre-qualification training and qualifications or experience in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology. Training in neuropsychology in use of specialist psychometric assessments for dementia and other cognitive disorders.
- Eligible for BABCP accreditation
- Knowledge Requirements
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies with clients with severe and complex mental health problems
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health
- Further Training or Job Related Aptitude and Skills
- 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 nonprofessional groups.
- Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the relevant professional body.
- Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of older clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, day services 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 threat of physical abuse
- Experience of working with people with dementia
- Experience of working within the NHS
- A positive approach to working with older people with psychosis, dementia and other mental health difficulties
- Ability to work as part of a team and independently.
- 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.
- Commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.
- Ability to travel between sites, to patients' homes, other care settings and to regional meetings.
- An awareness of own strengths and limitations
- Qualifications - Academic/Skills/Professional
- Doctoral level training in Clinical /Counselling psychology including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
- Registration with HCPC.
- Pre-qualification training and qualifications or experience in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology. Training in neuropsychology in use of specialist psychometric assessments for dementia and other cognitive disorders.
- Eligible for BABCP accreditation
- Knowledge Requirements
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies with clients with severe and complex mental health problems
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health
- Further Training or Job Related Aptitude and Skills
- 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 nonprofessional groups.
- Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the relevant professional body.
- Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of older clients across the full r
Useful to know
Agenda for Change 2024/25 pays Band 7 at £46,148 – £52,809 a year, across England.
This advert: £49,387 – £56,515 — outside the standard scale; check for HCAS/London weighting.
Posted 1d ago · Closes in 13d
Plenty of time to prepare a strong application.
Full advert · preview
Oxford Health NHS Trust
Clinical/Counselling Psychologist
The closing date is 29 September 2026
Job summary
Are you passionate about supporting older adults with complex mental health needs?
Would you like to develop your clinical/counselling psychologist skills working within a specialist older adults psychological therapies team and making a genuine difference to patients' lives?
We are seeking a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist to join our Psychological Therapies Team on a 12-month fixed-term contract to provide maternity leave cover. This rewarding role offers the opportunity to provide specialist psychological assessments and deliver evidence-based psychological interventions to older adults with a range of complex mental health needs, working as part of the North Oxfordshire Older Adult Community Mental Health Team (CMHT).
This post provides an excellent opportunity to develop your expertise within a secondary care psychological therapies team and gain valuable experience working with older adults in a supportive multidisciplinary locality team.
Main duties of the job
In this role, some of your key responsibilities will include to:
- Work as part of the locality psychological therapies team within the Older Adult Community Mental Health Team, providing formal psychological treatment and/or management of a client's mental health problems.
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