Principal Clinical Psychologist/MHTR Clinical Lead

An amazing opportunity has arisen for a permanent, full-time 8b Clinical Psychologist with experience of clinical/forensic settings. The post is permanent and will have its base in the Forensic Community Service (FCS) at Guild Park, just outside Preston. As a service and a trust we are committed to flexible working and some home/ remote working is also possible. We welcome interested candidates to contact us and discuss this role informally or alternatively visit our service.

What is MHTR?

The post holder will work in the Mental Health Treatment Requirement (MHTR) team. A MHTR is designed to meet a gap in provision for adults with lower level mental health and dual diagnosis issues in the community who have been charged with the type of offence that is eligible for a community or suspended sentence. The aim of the MHTR programme is to provide an effective alternative to custodial sentences for vulnerable individuals. The MHTR team provide a psychological approach to individuals mental health difficulties with clinical staff who screen, assess and provide psychological interventions. This friendly, psychologically minded team are part of the Community Sentence Treatment Requirement (CSTR) programme, which is a partnership between the National Probation Service, NHS England and other external agencies.

The post holder will be the Clinical Lead for the team providing opportunities to develop leadership skills, pathway development work, supervisory skills as well as their own therapeutic skills.

As the Clinical Lead, the post holder will provide clinical oversight and supervision of a team of at least eight Mental Health Practitioners whose role is to provide psychological interventions for individuals referred through the court who have been identified as suitable to benefit from a therapeutic intervention as part of their community sentence. The post holder will be supported by supervision from a Consultant Psychologist as well as joining a team of friendly, motivated and experienced psychology and MDT colleagues, a team leader and admin support. This post offers a real opportunity to make a difference for individuals and develop professionally by gaining experience of leadership, consultation, supervision and pathway development alongside further developing therapeutic skills with a small caseload.

As this team is based on partnership working, an important part of the post holder’s role will be to engage with and maintain relationships with relevant partner agencies. They will also oversee and evaluate the team’s screening, assessment and formulation processes and model(s) of intervention (in accordance with the existing CSTR Programme Operating Framework). The Clinical Lead will also provide treatment for more complex cases.

LSCFT values diversity and inclusion, recognising that talent from varied backgrounds creates a flexible, creative, and effective workforce. We actively challenge discrimination and welcome applications from all, regardless of age, disability (including those with experience of accessing or caring for someone who has accessed mental health or learning disability services), ethnicity, gender, religion, belief, or sexual orientation.

Our aim is to reflect the communities we serve, so we particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups. If you’d like to discuss your application, please ask.

We also welcome individuals with lived experience relevant to the role or service area, as your insight brings authenticity to our services.

LSCFT support flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as term time, part time, compressed hours and flexi-time.

The wellbeing of our people is at the heart of everything we do. We offer a wide range of resources, tools and support to help you thrive both in and out of work.

Explore our full wellbeing offer here: Keeping our workforce well

For further details / informal visits contact: Name: Dr Rebecca Brockhouse Job title: Consultant Clinical Psychologist Email address: rebecca.brockhouse@lscft.nhs.uk