Principal Psychologist in Cancer

We are delighted to offer an exciting opportunity for an experienced, compassionate, and motivated Clinical or Counselling Psychologist to join our friendly, innovative, and highly valued Clinical Health Psychology Service within Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Our Clinical Health Psychology Service supports individuals in adapting to and managing the psychological impact of physical health conditions, helping people to develop meaningful and creative ways of living well alongside illness. The service currently operates across Dudley, Wolverhampton, and Sandwell & West Birmingham, delivering a range of specialist psychological services across the Black Country. This post is based within the Wolverhampton Cancer Service and offers an excellent opportunity to work within a compassionate, psychologically informed, and highly collaborative multidisciplinary cancer pathway. The successful applicant will provide highly specialist psychological assessment, formulation, and evidence based therapeutic interventions for people affected by cancer, alongside support for families, carers, and wider systems where appropriate., The service works closely with Macmillan Services, Living With and Beyond Cancer Services, oncology, haematology, palliative care, specialist nursing teams, and wider multidisciplinary colleagues, supporting patients throughout all stages of their cancer journey, including diagnosis, active treatment, survivorship, recurrence, palliative care, and end-of-life care. The post holder will work with individuals presenting with a broad range of highly complex psychological and emotional difficulties associated with cancer and physical illness, including adjustment difficulties, anxiety, depression, trauma responses, fear of recurrence, existential distress, complex grief, relationship challenges, and co-morbid mental and physical health presentations. Psychology is highly valued within the cancer multidisciplinary teams, with psychologists contributing through regular MDT attendance, psychologically informed consultation, reflective practice, formulation, clinical supervision, staff support, and teaching. The successful applicant will play a key role in strengthening psychologically informed approaches across cancer services and supporting the ongoing integration of psychology within physical healthcare pathways., The service places strong emphasis on high quality clinical supervision, reflective practice, leadership development, and workforce development. Applicants must hold, or be eligible to work towards, BPS Register of Applied Psychology Practice Supervisors (RAPPS) accreditation and demonstrate substantial experience in providing clinical supervision, consultation, and support to trainee and qualified psychological professionals in line with HCPC and BPS standards.,

• Working as a qualified applied psychologist within the designated service including a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and a range of clinical severity across a range of care settings.
  
  We are seeking an experienced psychologist with excellent leadership, communication, consultation, and interpersonal skills, who is able to work autonomously whilst contributing effectively within complex multidisciplinary healthcare systems.
Applicants should be able to demonstrate:
• Doctoral level training in Clinical or Counselling Psychology recognised by the BPS
• HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist
• A minimum of five years post qualification experience working as a qualified psychologist
• Significant experience of working with complex psychological presentations within multidisciplinary healthcare settings
• Experience of service development, leadership, and psychologically informed system working
• Experience of providing clinical supervision, consultation, teaching, and reflective practice
• Experience of supporting and developing psychologically informed care within multidisciplinary teams
• Strong formulation, risk assessment, and therapeutic intervention skills
• Excellent communication and collaborative working skills
• Commitment to professional leadership, reflective practice, and ongoing service innovation
Direct experience of working within cancer and palliative care services is highly desirable, although applications are welcomed from experienced psychologists working in related physical health specialties who can demonstrate transferable leadership and clinical skills relevant to complex healthcare environments. The post holder will benefit from joining a supportive and enthusiastic team of practitioner psychologists and psychological professionals who utilise a broad range of therapeutic approaches, including CBT, ACT, Compassion Focused Therapy, systemic approaches, and trauma informed models of care.,
• Post-graduate doctoral level training in applied Psychology (or its equivalent) as accredited by the BPS including models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
• HCPC registration as an Applied Psychologist with Chartered Status
• Trained in clinical supervision and the supervision of doctoral trainees
  
  Employees, workers, and / or contractors will be expected to uphold the values of the Trust and exhibit the expected Trust behaviours aligned to the Trust's values. Individuals have a responsibility to ensure that they display the Trust values and behaviours in carrying out their job and that individuals feel able to challenge (or raise a challenge) when other colleagues' behaviours breach the spirit of Trust values.
The post holder will benefit from joining a supportive and enthusiastic team of practitioner psychologists and psychological professionals who utilise a broad range of therapeutic approaches, including CBT, ACT, Compassion Focused Therapy, systemic approaches, and trauma informed models of care. The successful applicant will work alongside other Principal Psychologists and applied psychologists, with support from a Consultant Clinical Psychologist within a robust leadership, supervision, and governance structure. The wider psychology network provides excellent opportunities for collaborative working, innovation, peer support, and professional development across physical health services.

Band 8b | 0.68 WTE (25.5 hours per week. Compressed hours over 3 days is available)