Principal Clinical/Counselling/Forensic Psychologist
Job summary
Are you a dedicated, compassionate mental health professional committed to providing great care? Do you want the chance to help shape a new and genuinely innovative service for the women of Kent and Medway?
We're creating Kent and Medway's first, and only, NHS Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) for women, and are seeking a talented Principal Psychologist to help us deliver this vital service.
Please note that the start date for this post will be January 2026, to allow for sufficient time for onboarding, induction, and training before the anticipated arrival of the first patient in April 2026.
We are looking for an enthusiastic Clinical/Forensic/Counselling Psychologist with clinical and managerial leadership experience to provide specialist clinical input to the Female PICU. You will have an important strategic and liaison function to support the transition of patients between services. You will offer clinical supervision and have managerial responsibility for a number of Psychological Therapists and Applied Psychologists.
If this sounds like the opportunity you have been waiting for, come and join our diverse and compassionate team committed to delivering excellent care and support for service users and their loved ones.
This role comes with a High Cost Area Supplement: 5% of basic salary, subject to a min. of £1303 per year and a max. of £2198 per year (divided into 12 equal amounts and paid monthly). The salary listed is inclusive of the High-Cost Area Allowance.
Main duties of the job
- The systematic provision of Specialist Psychological Therapy to the patients in PICU.
- To undertake high quality direct (assessment and therapeutic) and indirect (consultative, advisory and evaluative) specialist psychology interventions.
- To ensure the clinical effectiveness of the service, taking on a leadership and service development role within the PICU service.
- To be regularly responsible for providing training to the MDT and providing professional support, guidance and supervision to psychological therapists in the service.
A PICU is a dynamic environment and there will be the expectation that the candidate is able to take substantial professional responsibility and work autonomously providing high quality direct work which will include psychological assessments, formulations and brief therapeutic work, groups, family and individual work as well as assisting with positive behaviour support plans. The indirect (consultative, advisory and evaluative) work includes systemic work with staff, reflective case discussions and Serious Incident debriefs.
About us
Working in a PICU is very rewarding but we want to be honest and share that it is demanding too. It is likely to be needed by people with severe and complex mental health conditions (e.g. Schizophrenia andBipolar Disorder and may be associated with Personality Disorder, Substance Misuse and PTSD).
While emotionally challenging, the opportunity to support critically unwell women back to their communities, ensuring 'right care, in the right place, at the right time', is immense, and your skilled, multidisciplinary, team will be there to support you.
You would be working as part of a team of mental health experts, dedicated to making sure the most unwell women in our communities have the same access to specialist care as men.
We are recruiting now to make sure our new female PICU team is in place with enough time to train, form team bonds and prepare. So you can all make a profound difference to patient outcomes from day one.
We also offer ongoing professional development to help you adapt and progress your career, including bespoke training and a comprehensive induction program.
At KMPT, we are serious about diversity and inclusion, and we are working hard to build this into our DNA. We warmly welcome applications for any of our roles from people from diverse backgrounds, and we are proactively encouraging applications from under-represented communities for our more senior roles, like this one.
Details
Date posted
12 September 2025
Pay scheme
Agenda for change
Band
Band 8b
Salary
£66,653 to £77,094 a year per annum, inclusive of High Cost Area allowance, pro rata
Contract
Permanent
Working pattern
Part-time
Reference number
380-AC0743
Job locations
Littlebrook Hospital
Bow Arrow Lane, Littlebrook Hospital, Dartford DA2 6PB
Dartford
DA2 6PB
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please refer to the attached job description for full details and main responsibilities of the role.
Job descriptionJob responsibilities
Please refer to the attached job description for full details and main responsibilities of the role.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- HCPC registered Clinical/Counselling/Forensic psychologist
Desirable
- Additional training in DBT, Autism, ASD & PBS
Skills and experience
Essential
- Experience of working as a qualified specialist clinical psychologist for a minimum of four years.
Desirable
- Experience of having worked with females in acute distress and/or in a PICU
Qualifications
Essential
- HCPC registered Clinical/Counselling/Forensic psychologist
Desirable
- Additional training in DBT, Autism, ASD & PBS
Skills and experience
Essential
- Experience of working as a qualified specialist clinical psychologist for a minimum of four years.
Desirable
- Experience of having worked with females in acute distress and/or in a PICU
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.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional informationDisclosure 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.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details
Employer name
Kent & Medway NHS & Social Care Partnership Trust
Address
Littlebrook Hospital
Bow Arrow Lane, Littlebrook Hospital, Dartford DA2 6PB
Dartford
DA2 6PB
Employer's website
https://www.kmpt.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)
Employer details
Employer name
Kent & Medway NHS & Social Care Partnership Trust
Address
Littlebrook Hospital
Bow Arrow Lane, Littlebrook Hospital, Dartford DA2 6PB
Dartford
DA2 6PB
Employer's website
Salary range
- £66,653 - £77,094 per year