Job Description

We are looking for an experienced Clinical/Counselling Psychologist passionate about working with complex presentations to join our diverse, dynamic team of skilled practitioners in South Bristol. You would offer evidence based approaches to work with service users and excellent supervision and training for Support and Recovery staff, as well as colleagues.



The Complex Psychological Interventions Team (CPI), are part of Bristol Mental Health. CPI offers a range of activities to support psychologically informed care within the secondary mental health service. CPI has a strong presence in the Support and Recovery and the Crisis Teams. We have a unique identity as a group of highly skilled and respected professionals who liaise with senior Bristol management and meet monthly city - wide.



CPI is comprised of multidisciplinary professions and provide a range of services both direct to clients, and indirect supportive functions with staff teams. These are designed to enhance the interventions delivered by teams, as well as contributing to the resilience and well-being of staff.



The South Bristol Recovery Team are a compassionate, busy, diverse and forward thinking group of mental health practitioners who work in an area of high deprivation and need.



We are keen to continue to develop the excellence of our staff with further training, research and development opportunities. We have good links with local Universities and the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology courses.



You will provide specialist assessment, formulation, intervention and evaluation, alongside staff training, supervision, consultation, advice and support to the South Bristol Recovery team. You will also provide clinical and/or management supervision to more junior CPI staff, placements to Clinical/Counselling Psychology trainees and engage in service development work as appropriate.



To work within the Assessment & Recovery Services, it is essential for you to have experience of delivering therapy to this client group, and to have been trained in NICE guideline interventions (e.g. DBT, CBT, Family Interventions, CAT, MBT etc). You will need excellent interpersonal skills to support the development of psychological thinking and intervention within multidisciplinary teams. Experience of delivering supervision and training would be essential.



We would be especially interested in candidates with experience of supervision and management of Complex Trauma within secondary settings.



We also plan this post to include the CPI Service User Involvement lead role. This entails working with a CPI colleague to co-facilitate our monthly CPI Service User Reference group.



We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust): a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.



We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.



Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.



AWP is committed to support and create a positive research and evidence-based environment and culture, which can have a beneficial impact on everyone who works for the organisation and the care we provide to those who use our services.



At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.



1. To offer a highly specialist and entirely autonomous systematic Complex Psychological Intervention service in specified lead areas.



2. To provide an advanced and specialist assessment and treatment role in the South Bristol Assessment and Recovery Team, using relevant CPD qualifications for clients presenting with high levels of distress/emotion/ behavioural disturbance.



3. To offer regular Clinical supervision (both individual and group) to peers, trainees and other professionals from the locality and other parts of the service.



4. To undertake regular teaching, as appropriate, in psychological approaches to healthcare to trainees, team members and associate CPI practitioners.



5. To plan and implement service developments regarding specialist areas of skill linked to service priorities in collaboration with the Director of the CPI service and local clinical managers (e.g. collaborating with colleagues in developing a strategy for the development of an identified service area).



6. To develop specialist lead roles for the CPI. In this post we are especially wishing for a CPI Service User Involvement lead. This will entail working with a CPI colleague to co-facilitate our monthly CPI Service User Reference group.