Consultant Clinical/Counselling Psychologist/Psychotherapist

Consultant Clinical/Counselling Psychologist/Psychotherapist Are you a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist, or Psychotherapist with experience in Personality Disorder? Join our friendly, skilled team within a compassionate and highly rated Trust.

This is a rare opportunity to:

• Support the delivery, development, and governance of a key pathway
• Help shape and grow our Personality Disorder services
• Work as part of a supportive leadership team alongside psychological therapists, mental health professionals, and lived experience practitioners

We deliver evidence-based interventions, prioritising client outcomes and staff wellbeing with regular supervision, reflective practice, and wellbeing events. You'll contribute to and oversee the provision of specialist assessments and therapies (MBT & DBT) and collaborate with sub-teams within the Personality Disorder pathway. We also work closely with the wider Psychological Therapies network and mental health services.

A Mon - Fri role with flexibility around working hours. Condensed or part-time options (min. 30 hours) will be considered. We ask that to support the team you spend at least half of your working week based at Erlegh House in Reading. We believe being present together strengthens collaboration and fosters a more supportive and connected working environment.

We'd love to show you around and tell you more about the role - please call to arrange a visit.

Applications for this role will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

Main duties of the job

• To lead, manage, and supervise Clinical Leads and enable all staff to deliver high quality assessments and evidence-based interventions to individuals accessing the Personality Disorder pathway, providing strategic, professional, and clinical direction
• To draw on a high level of expert knowledge and experience of evidence-based interventions of working with individuals with difficulties which may be associated with Personality Disorders.
• To draw on substantial experience of leading service delivery and service development in supporting the ongoing implementation of the pathway, across multiple settings, and involvement of key stakeholders within and outside of Berkshire Healthcare
• To work as part of the senior management team alongside the PICT Consultant Psychologist
• To deputise for the Lead Consultant Psychologist / Head of Service and represent IMPACTT and/or psychological therapies at relevant policy and service provision meetings, locally and nationally
• To bring a personal, professional, and leadership approach which is collaborative and compassionate and enables positive engagement, emotional containment, and skills development relevant to work with the client group.
• To exercise responsibility for service improvement, quality assurance, and governance of the service

About us Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated 'outstanding' by the CQC, we're committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire.

We value diversity and are proud to be a Stonewall Top 100 Employer. We work hard to create an inclusive environment where you'll be supported by friendly and professional colleagues to flourish.

Our values at Berkshire Healthcare:

• Caring for and about you is our top priority
• Committed to providing good quality, safe services
• Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions

We welcome people who share these values to come and work for us.

Benefits of working for us include:

• Flexible working options to support work-life balance
• 27 days' annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
• Excellent learning and career development opportunities
• 'Cycle to Work' and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
• Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
• Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
• Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment, and armed forces community to support equality
• Generous maternity, paternity, adoption, and special leave
• Free parking across Trust sites

If you share our values and would like to come and work for us, please submit your application as soon as possible as we'll occasionally close roles early that have a high number of applications.

Job responsibilities The must-haves for this role:

• You must hold a UK recognised qualification in Clinical/Counselling psychology or Psychotherapy
• Significant experience in working with personality disorder/complex emotional needs.
• Current UK professional registration with the Health and Care Professions Council or a UKCP registration.
• Clinical supervision qualification and accreditation.
• Experience in leading services and successfully managing or contributing to major change programmes within the NHS.
• Experience of successfully holding responsibility for, delivering, and being accountable for services that meet local and national targets.
• An enhanced DBS check
• You will be able and willing to travel between bases in Berkshire as needed.

For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.

Working hours for this post will be Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm (flexible working requests will be considered)

Work base: Erlegh House, Earley Gate, Whiteknights Campus, Reading, RG6 6BZ

You will need to travel across Berkshire at times to deliver training as part of your role.

Working from home opportunities can be discussed.

We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted.

We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed.

We have identified that this is a role where we have underrepresentation of ethnically diverse colleagues. As part of our commitment to inclusion and Unity Against Racism, we offer guaranteed interviews to candidates who meet the essential criteria and identify as: Asian or Asian British, Black or Black British, Mixed and Other Ethnic Groups.

We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please don't hesitate to call: Sorana Berry (Head of Service) on or email: , who'll be delighted to help.

Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible. Candidates who have applied for this role in the last three months and been unsuccessful need not apply.

Person Specification Education/Qualifications/Training - For Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

• Postgraduate doctoral qualification in clinical/counselling psychology (or approved equivalent for those who trained prior to 1996 or for those who completed their training overseas) which provides eligibility for Chartered Membership of the British Psychological Society (BPS)
• Registered and accredited with Health Care Professional Council (HCPC) or UKCP/BPC
• Additional accreditations to reflect post-qualification specialist training (e.g., MBT, DBT or equivalent).

Education/Qualifications/Training - For Psychotherapists

• Recognised master's level qualification in psychodynamic psychotherapy or equivalent.
• Registered and accredited with UKCP as a psychotherapist or with the British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC).
• Additional accreditations to reflect post-qualification specialist training (e.g., MBT, DBT or equivalent).
• Registered with professional body UKCP, BACP, or HCPC.
• Evidence of post-qualification specialist training to accreditable level in at least two areas of psychological practice directly related to the clinical requirements for this post. OR evidence of extensive post-qualification training, experience, and expert knowledge in psychological models and therapeutic approaches with an evidence base in Adult Mental Health and Personality Disorder, appropriate to discipline.
• Clinical supervision qualification and accreditation.
• Professional leadership qualification or equivalent level of substantial experience.
• Training and/or proven ability in providing effective education, consultation, and coaching to develop and support others.

Previous Experience - Clinical Provision

• Extensive experience working as a qualified (Principal) clinical/counselling psychologist/psychotherapist, including demonstrable post-qualification experience at a highly specialist level in the area of specialization and particularly with people with Personality Disorder.
• Substantial experience of working in evidence-based ways with service users (and their carers and families) presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the range of care settings, maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems and threatening behaviour.
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