Clinical Psychologist

Job summary
North Bedfordshire Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) Clinical Psychologist/Practitioner Psychologist.

CAMHS Adolescent Mental Health Team / Alternative to Admission Pathway

Band 8a

37.5 hours per week - permanent

Do you want to be a valued member of a diverse and dynamic mental health team working with young people and families? We are a range of professionals who know the importance of bringing together our different skills and experience to work together to meet the needs of our service users, and we are looking for a psychologist who would like to join us in meeting that challenge.

The successful applicant will be located within our North Bedfordshire clinic working with families with specific emphasis on adolescents with complex, severe and enduring mental health problems. This varied role will include the provision of specialist advice/consultation/ formulation, psychological assessment, liaison with other agencies, psychological interventions, clinical supervision and teaching of staff and/or students.

We are looking for someone who is an experienced clinical psychologist with a working knowledge in the field of child and adolescent mental health and who is confident working with adolescent mental health and crisis/risk management.

Main duties of the job
Psychologists make a major contribution within the team, the wider CAMH service in Bedfordshire and holding senior positions within the Trust leadership, shaping clinical strategy and service delivery at all levels. For our successful candidate there will be opportunities for individual development, in terms of clinical and leadership skills and experience. We would support time spent in our other specialist clinical areas (such as Looked After Children, Eating Disorders and the Neurodevelopmental Team) for those interested in varying and progressing their clinical experience.

Our clinically-led service is strongly committed to continuously improving the experience and quality of care we offer our families. We encourage curiosity and innovation in our clinicians in our ambition to do the very best for our service users.

As the successful candidate you would receive a robust induction program, regular clinical and management supervision to support you in the role. You would be invited to a regular countywide forum for psychologists so that you can develop and maintain links with other psychologists working across a range of teams and benefit from the shared learning from presentations by colleagues.

About us
Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

ELFT has long been recognised as a centre of excellence for mental and health care, innovation and improvement. So it is a very exciting time for you to come and work for us. Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Details
Date posted: 12 August 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 8b
Salary: £66,582 to £77,368 a year per annum
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 363-SSLB7728489-E
Job locations: Bedford CAMHS, 9 Rush Court, Bedford, MK40 3JT, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities
As a Trust and in our local service we are working hard to support staff well-being and address inequalities (for our service users and ourselves). We are doing our best to encourage open dialogues about difficult topics and ensure that the Trust values are evident in how we deliver our service and work together.

This post is based in Bedford, Bedfordshire, close to the M1 and easily reached by rail and car from North London, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire. The clinic also has the added benefit of free parking and all clinicians are supported by very dedicated and efficient administrative staff. Whilst some of the work is based in the clinic, access to a car is essential as some travel will be required to undertake outreach support at home or other CAMHS/ multi-agency sites.

Person Specification
Education/ Qualification/ Training
Essential

• Minimum: First degree in Psychology (BSc). Three year Postgraduate Doctorate in Clinical or Counselling Psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the HPC, covering all care groups
• Training in at least two therapeutic approaches and basic neuropsychological training.
• Clinical supervision training for Doctoral trainees.
• Registration with HCPC

Desirable

• Leadership/Management training.
• Post qualification training in Eating Disorders; Complex Mental health presentations in adolescence and / or CBT with children and adolescents
• Post qualification training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice.

Experience
Essential

• Work as a qualified Clinical Psychologist for a minimum of two years including relevant experience - working with young people with psychosis and emerging personality disorder. Emergency assessments and crisis intervention work.
• Experience of providing care coordination
• Experience of providing a direct clinical service, including specialist assessment, psychological formulation of problems and intervention (minimum 500 hours supervised practice), offering interventions in an individual al, family-based or group-based formats.
• Relevant experience with young people and their families/ carers and wider professional network with severe and complex adolescent mental health difficulties
• Experience of participating in Quality Improvement, audit, evaluation and research activities
• Additional relevant clinical and / or managerial knowledge and skills acquired through formal training, long or short courses, formal supervision (individual and/or group), structured self study or experience (or a combination of these) to an appropriate level approved by the Head of Psychology and demonstrated by certification, documented supervision logs, management appraisal documentation and/or assessment at interview. This will include supervision training and a minimum of 500 hours of supervised clinical practice.

Knowledge & Skills
Essential

• Able to provide a highly specialist clinical service, including specialist assessments, formulation and therapy from at least two therapeutic modalities.
• Able to supervise trainee and assistant psychologists and members of other staff groups.
• Able to design and deliver teaching/training programmes to a range of staff groups.
• Knowledge of the Children's Act, Mental Health Act, CPA legislation and national treatment guidelines
• Communication & Relationship skills: Able to provide & receive highly complex, sensitive or contentious information in a highly emotive and sometimes hostile atmosphere, in a range of relationships and settings including emergencies. Able to use highly specialist skills of empathy to overcome barriers to understanding and acceptance.
• Analytical & judgemental skills: Able to draw upon a broad theoretical knowledge base in the analysis of highly complex facts or situations to arrive at appropriate formulations. Able to compare and select from a range of treatment options, based on a contextualised formulation.
• Planning and organisational skills: Able to plan, organise and prioritise own workload.
• Research & Guidance: Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis. Up to date knowledge of psychological research and national guidance relevant to the client groups. Knowledge of legislation and its implications for clinical practice with the client 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.

Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

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: East London NHS Foundation Trust
Address: Bedford CAMHS, 9 Rush Court, Bedford, MK40 3JT, United Kingdom
Employer's website: (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact:
Clinical Team Lead
Matt Sparks
View email address on meeveem.com
View phone number on meeveem.com

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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications.
Applicants must have current UK professional registration.