About this role
Job summary
We are delighted to be offering a 0.5wte Band 7 Clinical Psychology development post within our Adult Inpatients Service based at Hopewood Park Hospital, Sunderland and are looking for enthusiastic Clinical Psychologists to provide specialist psychological input on our wards. We welcome applications from both current Band 7s and current final year trainees. Previous experience of working in an inpatient setting either pre/during or post clinical psychology training is desirable but not essential.
Adult Mental Health Inpatient Services provide multi-disciplinary care using a biopsychosocial model for service users over the age of 18. The acute service provides care for service users with acute mental health needs who require assessment and treatment in hospital. Service users admitted to hospital are often highly complex and have a range of experiences and difficulties including neurodiversity, psychosis, personality difficulties and learning difficulties, risk to self and others, forensic issues and behaviours that challenge.
Main duties of the job
The post involves providing expertise in applying specialist psychological assessment, including cognitive assessments, collaborative formulation and intervention with service users and working with MDT teams to embed formulation and trauma informed care. This includes individual and group based work and involvement of families and carers. It will involve supporting multidisciplinary staff working with service users through supervision, team formulation, contributing to understanding complex risk, developing behaviour support plans and providing reflective practice and training to the team. The development of the enhanced MDT (EMDT) in inpatient services may mean involvement in the wider remit of ward-based tasks.
The role may also involve research, service evaluation and audit. All of the wards have Higher Assistant Psychologist time and this provides opportunity for the development of skills in supervision and line management.
The post holder will be supported to enable them to progress to Band 8a within 2 years of having been in a Band 7 role. This will require successful completion of a mutually agreed development plan, demonstration of the experience, skills, knowledge and competencies required and confirmation of their suitability to progress by an assessment panel.
If the requirements are not fully achieved within 2 years the post holder will remain as a Band 7 and this outcome will be managed as part of the contract conditions agreed with the post holder at the outset
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.
NHS Employees identified as at risk of compulsory redundancy and those eligible for the NENC Re-Deployment careers hub will receive prior consideration.
Job description Job responsibilities
Please find attached job description for full details.
Advertising date : 4th June 2026
Closing date : 18th June 2026
We welcome your application.
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
Desirable
Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology.
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. ls in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
Desirable
Skills in providing clinical supervision
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
Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision. Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts. Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.
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 Hopewood Park Hospital
Sunderland
SR2 0NB
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.cntw.nhs.uk/careers/ (Opens in a new tab)