Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust

Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist

The closing date is 19 November 2025

We have an exciting opportunity for a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist looking for a post to join our friendly, dynamic team. The successful candidate will be based at the pioneering Chitra Sethia Autism Centre in Fulbourn, Cambridge.

You will be part of a Multi-disciplinary Team led by a Consultant Clinical Psychologist; the team comprises a core group of Practitioner Psychologists, including a Principal Clinical Psychologist, Highly Specialist Psychologists and Assistant Psychologists as well as Occupational Therapists, a Speech and Language Therapist, a Nurse and Consultant Psychiatrist, with a strong, supportive administrative and management team.

This is an exciting opportunity to become part of a dedicated growing team that makes a difference to service users, families and carers and the wider services and partner organisations with whom you will work. The role is varied and will comprise clinical diagnostic assessments, report writing, contributing to post-diagnostic psychoeducation, clinical audit and patient and public involvement. Depending on the interests of the post-holder there are excellent opportunities to carry out service evaluation, training, service innovation and improvement, and to develop links with partner organisations.

Main duties of the job

As a Specialist Clinical Psychologist in the team, you will contribute to the clinical work of the Adult Autism diagnostic and post-diagnostic pathway. As a growing service we will support you with development opportunities in this exciting dynamic field. You will receive regular professional leadership support, clinical supervision and line management from within a friendly and innovative team and the opportunity to attend Trust CPD activities.

CLASS is a research-based service that has contributed significantly to the development of screening and assessment tools in adult autism over the last 25 years and continues to offer research and service development opportunities, including work with researchers and clinical academics in several universities.

Please note for this role you will be required to travel independently around the county meeting strict time deadlines.

About us

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health and social care organisation dedicated to providing high-quality care with compassion to improve the health and wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting and empowering them to lead a fulfilling life.

Our clinical teams deliver many NHS services, not only via inpatient and primary care settings, but also within the community. These services include children's, adult and older people's mental health, forensic and specialist mental health, learning disabilities, primary care and liaison psychiatry, substance misuse, social care, research and development.

To achieve our goal, we look to recruit high-calibre candidates who share our vision and values. As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all sectors of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including people with long term conditions and members of our ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ communities.

Please be advised we reserve the right to close adverts earlier than the closing date should we receive sufficient applications.

Regrettably, we cannot offer sponsorship for all our job roles. If you apply for a role that we cannot offer sponsorship for, unfortunately, your application form will be rejected from the process.

For further information on CPFT, please visit our website at www.cpft.nhs.uk

Job responsibilities

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities

- To be skilled and proficient in undertaking diagnostic assessment by applying psychological and cognitive tests, self‑report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi‑structured interviews with service users, family members and others involved in the service‑users care.

- To base assessment and intervention on the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex psychological, social, cultural and biological data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self‑report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observational methods and semi‑structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the clients care.

- To be skilled and proficient in the assessment of service users with complex presentations and co‑occurring conditions, including occasionally assessing clients on inpatient wards or in their homes.

- In addition to diagnosis, to be skilled and proficient in assessing risk and mental health conditions and to liaise with other services and/or GP to ensure client safety and appropriate support.

- To contribute to the screening of referrals to the service and help with prioritisation and responses to clinical queries to the service.

- To produce diagnostic reports in a timely manner with recommendations for further advice, support, and information.

- To contribute to the development and delivery of a programme of psychoeducation for individuals recently diagnosed with autism.

- To liaise and communicate effectively and sensitively with other professionals in the team and CPFT and external agencies e.g., Adult Social Care and third sector organisations supporting autistic people.

Person Specification

Education/Qualifications

- Doctoral level training in Clinical Psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996), or Counselling Psychology, as accredited by the BPS, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan development psychology

- Evidence of post‑doctoral training (e.g., ADOS‑2, ADIR, AAA or DISCO) or willingness to undertake Practitioner Psychologist

- Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) (or eligibility for registration, if not yet qualified)

Experience

- Experience of specialist psychological assessment, formulation, and treatment of service users across the full range of care settings including service‑users in community, primary care and inpatient settings.

- Experience of working therapeutically with people with a diagnosis of autism or waiting for assessment who have mental health difficulties.

- Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for service users' psychological care and treatment within the context of a multidisciplinary team setting.

- Experience of delivering therapeutic or psychoeducational groups (not necessarily autism)

- Experience of developing and facilitating group‑based interventions with individuals and families attending neurodevelopmental services (including children and young people and adults)

- Record of having published in either peer reviewed or academic or professional journals and/or books

- Experience of developing service user and carer involvement

Knowledge and Skills

- Doctoral level knowledge of clinical psychology including knowledge of lifespan developmental psychology, models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, and two or more distinct psychological therapies.

- Knowledge of autism, principles of identification, assessment and care. Able to demonstrate commitment to high quality care and service provision.

- Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complete multivariate data analysis as practised within the field of clinical psychology.

- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration requiring the use of highly developed analytical and judgement skills.

- Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance, including regular supervision, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and behaviour that challenges.

- Knowledge and skills in providing consultation, teaching and supervision to other professionals and non‑professional groups

- Interest, enthusiasm and commitment in relation to working in the field of autism in adulthood

- Motivation to work collaboratively with people with lived experience to improve services

Other

- Able to sit for long periods

- Ability to travel

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.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust

Address

£55,690 to £62,682 a year per annum pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

310-ASMH-7512027

Job locations

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