About this role
Job summary
OpCOURAGE offers a range of specialist support and treatment for members of the armed forces community, which includes:
helping to recognise and treat early signs of mental health problems, as well as more advanced mental health conditions and psychological trauma providing support and treatment for co-occurring mental health and substance use liaising with charities and local organisations to support wider health and wellbeing, such as help with housing, relationships, finances and employment referring to other NHS services, where needed recognising that family may also need help and care and supporting them to access this.
Join OpCourage, the NHS specialist service for veterans, as we expand our dynamic therapy team.
We are seeking a committed and compassionate clinical psychologist to help us provide high-quality, evidence-based care to ex-armed forces personnel.
You will work within a supportive team compromising of psychologists, psychological therapists, substance misuse workers, peer support workers, and senior mental health practitioners, delivering care across a range of presentations including PTSD, complex trauma, depression, anxiety and substance misuse.
Main duties of the job
To formulate and implement plans for the psychological treatment and/or management of patient's mental health and the presenting problem(s), based upon the appropriate theoretical and conceptual framework of the patient's problems, via the employment of methods based upon evidence based practice and efficacy.
Provide timely access to trauma-informed, recovery-focused interventions tailored to the needs of those who have served.
To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for patients, carers and families. Adjusting and refining psychological formulations and drawing upon a range of theoretical perspectives and different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.
Offer specialist trauma-focused therapy e.g., EMDR, TF-CBT, CAT where qualified.
Work collaboratively in a multidisciplinary setting, contributing to care planning and clinical reviews.
To chair clinical meetings, developing knowledge and clinical skills of the practitioners whilst working collaboratively with Op Courage and system partners.
Provide clinical supervision to team members.
Contribute to service development and evaluation initiatives.
About us
We aim to attract and retain a diverse, talented and committed workforce, who are caring and compassionate, and therefore able to meet the demands of the modern NHS now and in the future. In return we can offer a dynamic working environment in which to build a career.
OpCourage North - The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service is a provider collaborative delivering specialist mental health services to Veterans, reservists, and their families across the North of England.
The collaborative is made up of Cumbria, Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust as the lead provider, working with NHS partners Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust, Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust and Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust and Charitable organisation partners Combat Stress and Walking With The Wounded.
Job description Job responsibilities
This role will cover the North East locality and be initially based at Monkwearmouth Hospital in Sunderland. Please note this office base is temporary and will be relocated within the local area of Sunderland.
Please find attached job description for full details.
Advertising date : 24th July 2026
Closing date : 9th August 2026
We welcome your application.
Please note - this vacancy may close early once a suitable number of applications are received.
Person Specification
Education and Qualification Essential
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 British Psychological Society and the HCPC. HCPC registered practitioner psychologist
Knowledge and Experience Essential
Experience of specialist 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 with presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity, including severe and enduring mental health problems, psychosis and personality disorder. This includes maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the possibility of physical abuse. Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex multivariable data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
Desirable
Clinical experience working with adults from veteran community
Skills and Competencies Essential
Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management. Skills in evidence based psychological interventions. Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinical sensitive information to clients, their family, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS. Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
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.
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 Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and wear (CNTW) NHS Foundation Trust
Address Monkwearmouth Hospital
Sunderland
SR5 1NB
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.cntw.nhs.uk/careers/ (Opens in a new tab)