NHS
Job Summary
We have an exciting opportunity for a Cluster Psychologist to join our integrated Mental Health team in the North West region. This role will be based at HMP Lancaster Farms, a Category C prison in Lancaster, and will also oversee services at HMP Preston (Category B) and HMP Kirkham (Category D). The sites are a short drive from the Lake District and close to the M6 for commuters. As a Cluster Psychologist you will work collaboratively with the Integrated Mental Health teams on each site, developing the psychological services, including data and performance reporting, clinical supervision and delivering clinical assessments and sessions for patients.
Hours 9 am‑5 pm. We are flexible regarding which 3 days Monday‑Friday this role will be worked.
Salary Annual salary between £49,184 and £75,359 per annum FTE, depending on experience.
How will we support you?
Bespoke induction, including our Introducing Health in Justice training course
Competency framework
Regional and national career development opportunities
Our bespoke Learning Management System to address your learning needs
Candidates are required to have a legal right to work in the UK due to the nature of the role; offers of employment will be subject to additional vetting and security checks.
Main duties of the job As a Cluster Psychologist, your responsibilities will vary. You will:
Provide highly specialist psychological assessment of patients based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data
Contribute to proposals and implementation of policy and service development changes in relation to psychology and psychological therapies
Advise the Mental Health lead and/or Heads of Healthcare on those aspects of the service where psychological matters need addressing in line with best practice and service objectives
Provide training and supervision for members of the service (healthcare and prison) in the delivery of psychologically trauma‑informed care and treatment
Be responsible for planning, delivery and clinical supervision of a specialist psychology training placement for trainees on the postgraduate doctoral courses in clinical, counselling and/or forensic psychology
Attend regional and national Psychological Therapies meetings, service development and other relevant meetings
Be aware of, adhere to, and where appropriate, contribute to the formulation and review of Practice Plus Group policies and procedures
It doesn’t stop there – we also offer:
Discounts on shopping and leisure activities
Support to grow in your role and continue your professional development
24/7 employee assistance helpline and financial assistance when you need it
About us Practice Plus Group’s purpose is to Unlock your best work life and we stand by our core values:
We treat patients and each other as we would like to be treated
We act with integrity
We embrace diversity
We strive to do things better together
We are looking for caring, compassionate but also driven professionals who can help us drive our vision for a fair and inclusive healthcare access to all.
Qualifications, skills and experience required
Qualified clinical, counselling or forensic psychologist and registered with the HCPC as a practitioner psychologist
Postgraduate qualification/training in at least one specific mode of psychological therapy relevant to people with severe and long‑standing mental health difficulties (e.g. CBT, Systemic / family therapy, Mindfulness‑based therapies, CAT, DBT, Mentalisation, Schema Therapy)
Experience of providing evidence‑based psychological interventions to adults with a range of mental health problems
Experience of working with mental health forensic populations
Working knowledge of clinical governance, including relevant approaches and tools
Secure environments are one of the most challenging, yet rewarding places for healthcare professionals to work. If you’re looking for a role where you can develop your existing healthcare skills and learn something new every day in an environment that never stands still, then this could be the right opportunity for you.
Job description The Cluster Psychologist will oversee psychological services across a cluster of more than two prisons and/or IRCs, focusing on providing clinical oversight and supporting the integration of trauma‑informed practices within each facility. With a minimum of five years’ experience, this role will involve leadership in the delivery of psychological therapies that align with the Practice Plus Group's service model, ensuring high‑quality, evidence‑based interventions are provided in accordance with NICE guidelines. By working closely with multidisciplinary teams and overseeing the work of the qualified psychologists, the Cluster Psychologist will ensure the delivery of high‑quality mental healthcare, lead the development, support the implementation and evaluation of trauma‑informed and evidence‑based treatment programmes in line with the Psychological Therapies Services (PTS) model, and contribute to the formulation of policies and practices that promote psychological wellbeing. The Cluster Psychologist will monitor service targets and regularly evaluate the effectiveness of psychological inputs, while also delivering clinical interventions for complex patients and facilitating complex case discussions within the teams. Additionally, the role will include offering reflective practice sessions to help mitigate the effects of secondary trauma among staff. By fostering strong collaboration with prison and community stakeholders, the Cluster Psychologist will support rehabilitation efforts and empower individuals in secure settings to address and minimise the impact of trauma. This position will involve close work with regional and national senior leadership colleagues to review and enhance service quality, driving improvements in psychological service delivery across the cluster.
MAIN DUTIES / RESPONSIBILITIES
Clinical –
To provide highly specialist psychological assessment of patients based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self‑report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi‑structured interviews with patients, family members (when appropriate) and others involved in the patient’s care.
To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to patient formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan;
To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals and groups, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models, and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses; engage in structured and dynamic risk assessments;
To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors, including historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group;
To contribute directly and indirectly to a trauma‑informed, psychologically‑based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, promoting the psychological mindedness of staff;
To contribute a psychosocial, trauma‑informed perspective within the multidisciplinary team including for those patients not directly on the psychologist’s caseload and attend individual patient reviews and risk‑management meetings where appropriate;
To attend ACCT reviews and segregation reviews in the prison as appropriate and to offer psychological opinion about management and appropriate referrals in that context and, offer psychological understanding into CSIP plans to support management of patients within the wing by prison staff;
To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, highly complex/sensitive information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans to the patient, appropriate professional colleagues and to family members, as appropriate, and to monitor and evaluate progress during the course of multi‑disciplinary discussions;
To be able to complete and interpret formal psychometric assessments;
To maintain accurate clinical records and keep the PTS dashboard up to date with outcomes data for patient/service and staff outcomes;
To contribute to the development of specialised individual treatment plans or packages of care for patients with complex psychological problems and who may present a risk of harm to themselves or others;
To be able to manage the emotional impact of working, often one‑to‑one, with people who can be in crisis, who can show high levels of arousal and can be actively self‑harmful or suicidal;
To work jointly with other psychologists/therapists, to plan and handover the psychological assessment and treatments of patients that may continue after either transfer to other prisons or released in the community or other recovery‑based settings;
In liaison with Mental Leads and/or Heads of Healthcare and the National head of Psychological Therapies, identify opportunities for and conduct service development projects in collaboration with other members of the multidisciplinary team;
Participate in and contribute to CPD and peer supervision within the wider healthcare team;
Active engagement in appropriate practice supervision.
Teaching, training and supervision
To receive regular clinical supervision from an appropriately qualified and experienced supervisor, in accordance with the BPS and the HCPC guidelines and, where appropriate, from other senior professional colleagues and, to supervise junior psychology colleagues and other therapists and MDT colleagues as appropriate;
To provide training and supervision for members of the service (healthcare and prison) in the delivery of psychologically, trauma‑informed care and treatment;
To provide specialist advice and consultation and training to members of other disciplines within the teams and to non‑psychology managers of the teams on psychological understanding, interventions and evaluations;
To develop and deliver teaching as appropriate for members of staff from other disciplines;
Responsible for planning, delivery and clinical supervision of a specialist psychology training placement for trainees on the postgraduate doctoral courses in clinical/counselling and/or forensic psychology;
To develop further post‑qualification experience in psychology over and above that provided through training by engaging in a clearly planned CPD programme in accordance with British Psychological Society guidance and in line with service model and needs;
To contribute to peer psychology supervision sessions.
Management, recruitment, policy and service development
To plan and supervise the work of undergraduate psychology students, and trainee psychologists and be responsible for their support in their placements;
To contribute to proposals and implementation of policy and service development changes in relation to psychology and psychological therapies;
To advise the Mental Health lead and/or Heads of Healthcare on those aspects of the service where psychological matters need addressing in line with best practice and service objectives;
Responsible for contributing to the planning, organising, auditing and developing of policy strategies for the delivery of the psychological therapies service;
To contribute to proposals for and implementation of policy and service development changes in relation to psychology and psychological therapies within the service;
To take responsibility for representation of the profession at appropriate service development and governance meetings as agreed with their Line Manager and in line with Personal and Professional Development Plans (PDPs);
To contribute to recruitment shortlisting and interviewing as appropriate across the service;
Research, service evaluation & audit
To utilise theory, evidence‑based literature and research to support evidence‑based practice in individual/group work and work with other team members;
To undertake project management, including complex audit, research and service evaluation projects, with colleagues within the service, to help develop service provision;
To prepare and present information from audits, evaluations and research to professional audiences within and outside the Organisation;
To prepare papers for publication based on audit, evaluation, research and development work;
To utilise theory, evidence‑based literature and research to support evidence‑based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
Professional –
To attend regional and national Psychological Therapies meetings, service development and other relevant meetings regularly;
To adhere to professional/accrediting body codes of conduct, policies and procedures (e.g. HCPC, BABCP, BPS);
To be aware of, adhere to, and where appropriate, contribute to the formulation and review of Practice Plus Group policies and procedures;
To maintain and develop high standards of psychology/psychological therapy practice by engaging in continuing professional development and co‑operative working/networking with therapists, clinical, counselling and forensic psychologist colleagues;
To receive regular line management supervision by the Head of Healthcare;
To participate in the organisation's annual performance review and personal development planning process with the clinical supervisor and line manager;
To keep up to date with legislation, national directives, policies and NICE guidelines in relation to the work delivered.
Other
This Job Description is not exhaustive and may change as the post develops, but such change will not take place without consultation between the post holder and their manager. Job descriptions should be reviewed at least annually at the appraisal meeting.
Person Specification Qualifications
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Essential
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Desirable
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Experience
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Additional Criteria
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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 Practice Plus Group
Address HMP Lancaster Farms Stone Row Head Lancaster Lancashire LA1 3QZ
Employer's website https://practiceplusgroup.com/our-jobs/join-our-team/ (Opens in a new tab)
£49,184 to £75,359 a year between £49,184 and £75,359 FTE per annum DOE
#J-18808-Ljbffr
Hours 9 am‑5 pm. We are flexible regarding which 3 days Monday‑Friday this role will be worked.
Salary Annual salary between £49,184 and £75,359 per annum FTE, depending on experience.
How will we support you?
Bespoke induction, including our Introducing Health in Justice training course
Competency framework
Regional and national career development opportunities
Our bespoke Learning Management System to address your learning needs
Candidates are required to have a legal right to work in the UK due to the nature of the role; offers of employment will be subject to additional vetting and security checks.
Main duties of the job As a Cluster Psychologist, your responsibilities will vary. You will:
Provide highly specialist psychological assessment of patients based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data
Contribute to proposals and implementation of policy and service development changes in relation to psychology and psychological therapies
Advise the Mental Health lead and/or Heads of Healthcare on those aspects of the service where psychological matters need addressing in line with best practice and service objectives
Provide training and supervision for members of the service (healthcare and prison) in the delivery of psychologically trauma‑informed care and treatment
Be responsible for planning, delivery and clinical supervision of a specialist psychology training placement for trainees on the postgraduate doctoral courses in clinical, counselling and/or forensic psychology
Attend regional and national Psychological Therapies meetings, service development and other relevant meetings
Be aware of, adhere to, and where appropriate, contribute to the formulation and review of Practice Plus Group policies and procedures
It doesn’t stop there – we also offer:
Discounts on shopping and leisure activities
Support to grow in your role and continue your professional development
24/7 employee assistance helpline and financial assistance when you need it
About us Practice Plus Group’s purpose is to Unlock your best work life and we stand by our core values:
We treat patients and each other as we would like to be treated
We act with integrity
We embrace diversity
We strive to do things better together
We are looking for caring, compassionate but also driven professionals who can help us drive our vision for a fair and inclusive healthcare access to all.
Qualifications, skills and experience required
Qualified clinical, counselling or forensic psychologist and registered with the HCPC as a practitioner psychologist
Postgraduate qualification/training in at least one specific mode of psychological therapy relevant to people with severe and long‑standing mental health difficulties (e.g. CBT, Systemic / family therapy, Mindfulness‑based therapies, CAT, DBT, Mentalisation, Schema Therapy)
Experience of providing evidence‑based psychological interventions to adults with a range of mental health problems
Experience of working with mental health forensic populations
Working knowledge of clinical governance, including relevant approaches and tools
Secure environments are one of the most challenging, yet rewarding places for healthcare professionals to work. If you’re looking for a role where you can develop your existing healthcare skills and learn something new every day in an environment that never stands still, then this could be the right opportunity for you.
Job description The Cluster Psychologist will oversee psychological services across a cluster of more than two prisons and/or IRCs, focusing on providing clinical oversight and supporting the integration of trauma‑informed practices within each facility. With a minimum of five years’ experience, this role will involve leadership in the delivery of psychological therapies that align with the Practice Plus Group's service model, ensuring high‑quality, evidence‑based interventions are provided in accordance with NICE guidelines. By working closely with multidisciplinary teams and overseeing the work of the qualified psychologists, the Cluster Psychologist will ensure the delivery of high‑quality mental healthcare, lead the development, support the implementation and evaluation of trauma‑informed and evidence‑based treatment programmes in line with the Psychological Therapies Services (PTS) model, and contribute to the formulation of policies and practices that promote psychological wellbeing. The Cluster Psychologist will monitor service targets and regularly evaluate the effectiveness of psychological inputs, while also delivering clinical interventions for complex patients and facilitating complex case discussions within the teams. Additionally, the role will include offering reflective practice sessions to help mitigate the effects of secondary trauma among staff. By fostering strong collaboration with prison and community stakeholders, the Cluster Psychologist will support rehabilitation efforts and empower individuals in secure settings to address and minimise the impact of trauma. This position will involve close work with regional and national senior leadership colleagues to review and enhance service quality, driving improvements in psychological service delivery across the cluster.
MAIN DUTIES / RESPONSIBILITIES
Clinical –
To provide highly specialist psychological assessment of patients based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self‑report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi‑structured interviews with patients, family members (when appropriate) and others involved in the patient’s care.
To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to patient formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan;
To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals and groups, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models, and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses; engage in structured and dynamic risk assessments;
To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors, including historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group;
To contribute directly and indirectly to a trauma‑informed, psychologically‑based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, promoting the psychological mindedness of staff;
To contribute a psychosocial, trauma‑informed perspective within the multidisciplinary team including for those patients not directly on the psychologist’s caseload and attend individual patient reviews and risk‑management meetings where appropriate;
To attend ACCT reviews and segregation reviews in the prison as appropriate and to offer psychological opinion about management and appropriate referrals in that context and, offer psychological understanding into CSIP plans to support management of patients within the wing by prison staff;
To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, highly complex/sensitive information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans to the patient, appropriate professional colleagues and to family members, as appropriate, and to monitor and evaluate progress during the course of multi‑disciplinary discussions;
To be able to complete and interpret formal psychometric assessments;
To maintain accurate clinical records and keep the PTS dashboard up to date with outcomes data for patient/service and staff outcomes;
To contribute to the development of specialised individual treatment plans or packages of care for patients with complex psychological problems and who may present a risk of harm to themselves or others;
To be able to manage the emotional impact of working, often one‑to‑one, with people who can be in crisis, who can show high levels of arousal and can be actively self‑harmful or suicidal;
To work jointly with other psychologists/therapists, to plan and handover the psychological assessment and treatments of patients that may continue after either transfer to other prisons or released in the community or other recovery‑based settings;
In liaison with Mental Leads and/or Heads of Healthcare and the National head of Psychological Therapies, identify opportunities for and conduct service development projects in collaboration with other members of the multidisciplinary team;
Participate in and contribute to CPD and peer supervision within the wider healthcare team;
Active engagement in appropriate practice supervision.
Teaching, training and supervision
To receive regular clinical supervision from an appropriately qualified and experienced supervisor, in accordance with the BPS and the HCPC guidelines and, where appropriate, from other senior professional colleagues and, to supervise junior psychology colleagues and other therapists and MDT colleagues as appropriate;
To provide training and supervision for members of the service (healthcare and prison) in the delivery of psychologically, trauma‑informed care and treatment;
To provide specialist advice and consultation and training to members of other disciplines within the teams and to non‑psychology managers of the teams on psychological understanding, interventions and evaluations;
To develop and deliver teaching as appropriate for members of staff from other disciplines;
Responsible for planning, delivery and clinical supervision of a specialist psychology training placement for trainees on the postgraduate doctoral courses in clinical/counselling and/or forensic psychology;
To develop further post‑qualification experience in psychology over and above that provided through training by engaging in a clearly planned CPD programme in accordance with British Psychological Society guidance and in line with service model and needs;
To contribute to peer psychology supervision sessions.
Management, recruitment, policy and service development
To plan and supervise the work of undergraduate psychology students, and trainee psychologists and be responsible for their support in their placements;
To contribute to proposals and implementation of policy and service development changes in relation to psychology and psychological therapies;
To advise the Mental Health lead and/or Heads of Healthcare on those aspects of the service where psychological matters need addressing in line with best practice and service objectives;
Responsible for contributing to the planning, organising, auditing and developing of policy strategies for the delivery of the psychological therapies service;
To contribute to proposals for and implementation of policy and service development changes in relation to psychology and psychological therapies within the service;
To take responsibility for representation of the profession at appropriate service development and governance meetings as agreed with their Line Manager and in line with Personal and Professional Development Plans (PDPs);
To contribute to recruitment shortlisting and interviewing as appropriate across the service;
Research, service evaluation & audit
To utilise theory, evidence‑based literature and research to support evidence‑based practice in individual/group work and work with other team members;
To undertake project management, including complex audit, research and service evaluation projects, with colleagues within the service, to help develop service provision;
To prepare and present information from audits, evaluations and research to professional audiences within and outside the Organisation;
To prepare papers for publication based on audit, evaluation, research and development work;
To utilise theory, evidence‑based literature and research to support evidence‑based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
Professional –
To attend regional and national Psychological Therapies meetings, service development and other relevant meetings regularly;
To adhere to professional/accrediting body codes of conduct, policies and procedures (e.g. HCPC, BABCP, BPS);
To be aware of, adhere to, and where appropriate, contribute to the formulation and review of Practice Plus Group policies and procedures;
To maintain and develop high standards of psychology/psychological therapy practice by engaging in continuing professional development and co‑operative working/networking with therapists, clinical, counselling and forensic psychologist colleagues;
To receive regular line management supervision by the Head of Healthcare;
To participate in the organisation's annual performance review and personal development planning process with the clinical supervisor and line manager;
To keep up to date with legislation, national directives, policies and NICE guidelines in relation to the work delivered.
Other
This Job Description is not exhaustive and may change as the post develops, but such change will not take place without consultation between the post holder and their manager. Job descriptions should be reviewed at least annually at the appraisal meeting.
Person Specification Qualifications
Click apply to view job specification (removed to keep content focused)
Essential
Click apply to view job specification (removed)
Desirable
Click apply to view job specification (removed)
Experience
Click apply to view job specification (removed)
Additional Criteria
Click apply to view job specification (removed)
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 Practice Plus Group
Address HMP Lancaster Farms Stone Row Head Lancaster Lancashire LA1 3QZ
Employer's website https://practiceplusgroup.com/our-jobs/join-our-team/ (Opens in a new tab)
£49,184 to £75,359 a year between £49,184 and £75,359 FTE per annum DOE
#J-18808-Ljbffr