Specialist Practitioner – Inpatient Psychological Services Band 7/8a

We are looking to recruit a Practitioner Psychologist to Inpatient Mental Health Services for Older People. Due to ongoing opportunities within the specialty there could be opportunities to combine this post with a post in community mental health services and/or working across, offering great opportunities for professional development.

This is an exciting time to join Mental Health Services for Older People in Cardiff & Vale University Health Board. The service is developing new multi-disciplinary models of working. There is a wealth of support (both formal and informal). There is access to an array of CPD opportunities in high intensity psychological therapies, and expertise available. Cardiff and Vale UHB are involved in a pilot delivering training to clinical staff in the latest evidence-based principles and best practice in suicide awareness and suicide mitigation, designed for real impact in delivering collaborative, client centred practice. Supervision can be provided across a range of therapeutic models (e.g. CBT, ACT and DBT informed approaches, CAT and systemic approaches).

You will be joining a well-established and highly motivated Older Adult Psychology Speciality, working closely with other Practitioner Psychologists, Counsellors, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Trainee Clinical Associates in Applied Psychology and Specialist Practitioners. The Older Adult speciality provides services into a number of physical and mental health settings, including Stroke services, Young Onset Dementia Services, Mental Health Services for Older People, Dementia services and a memory team, Liaison Services and Medical Rehabilitation. The role will provide you with wide ranging experiences, supporting and enabling your professional development across a range of mental health settings.

The Speciality is part of a large and progressive Health Board Wide Directorate of Psychology and Psychological Therapies. We encourage and support Continued Professional Development and offer excellent opportunities for professional development, consultation and supervision. We actively encourage post qualification training in highly specialist psychological therapeutic interventions.

Full clinical and management professional support and supervision will be available from within the specialty and we support and encourage research and audit opportunities

The ability to speak Welsh is desirable for this post; Welsh and/or English speakers are equally welcome to apply.

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board is one of the largest Integrated Health Boards in the UK, employing over 15,000 staff, providing over 100 specialist services. Working across 6 hospital sites, we have a diverse range of career opportunities to offer. Serving around 500,000 people living in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, we are focussed on the health and care needs of our local population whilst working with our partners to develop regional services.

Our mission is “Caring for People, Keeping People Well”, and our vision is that every person’s chance of leading a healthy life should be equal. As an organisation we are unashamedly ambitious for our population’s health, rising to the challenges of today and tomorrow through our 10-year strategy, Shaping our Future Wellbeing. We are contributing to a healthier Wales with great emphasis placed on innovation and improvement, learning from around the world and leading the way in clinical research. Partnership working is strong at Cardiff and Vale, and we work closely with our staff and our community.

Cardiff, the thriving Welsh capital, is a fantastic city to live and work in with an abundance of sports, arts and cultural attractions. Situated to the west of Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan offers a combination of beautiful Welsh countryside and a dramatic natural coastline. Whether city life or rural living, Cardiff and the Vale offers the best of both worlds.

You will be able to find a full Job description and Person Specification attached within the supporting documents or please click “Apply now” to view in Trac.

We are in the position to recruit Psychologists who already have the competence and experience relevant to an 8a position, or Psychologists who meet the qualification, training and competence for a band 7 post. In the case of the latter, we are able to offer a professional knowledge and skills-based development programme that will provide you with the opportunity to acquire the appropriate skills and competencies to enable your progression into the 8a role within an appropriate timescale.

Newly qualified practitioner psychologists who will be qualifying and achieving HCPC status on qualification in 2022 are also invited to apply for the post. Successful applicants will remain on a band 6 banding until confirmation that they have met the requirements for Doctorate status and HCPC registration is received.