Clinical Psychologist in Integrated Pain Management

Job summary

We are excited to offer an opportunity to join our Integrated Pain Management Service as a Clinical Psychologist. This role provides specialist psychological and neuropsychological assessment, intervention, consultation, and leadership to support patients with chronic pain management.

The role is integrated within the multidisciplinary rehabilitation team and contributes to holistic, patient-centred care across the pain pathway.

The postholder works with adults who present with Cognitive impairment, Emotional and psychological adjustment difficulties, Behavioural changes, Anxiety and depression, Trauma-related responses and Communication and functional challenges following stroke.The psychologist supports by helping patients maximise engagement, independence, emotional wellbeing, and quality of life.

Main duties of the job Undertake comprehensive psychological and neuropsychological assessments of patients with chronic pain, including cognition, mood, behaviour, risk, and capacity Formulate complex clinical presentations to inform individualised care and rehabilitation planning Deliver evidence-based psychological interventions to support adjustment, emotional wellbeing, and engagement in rehabilitation Provide interventions for common mental health difficulties, including anxiety, depression, trauma, and distress Contribute to the management of cognitive impairment, advising on strategies to support memory, attention, executive functioning, and behaviour Support rehabilitation planning, goal setting, safe discharge, and community reintegration Work as an integral member of the multidisciplinary team, contributing to MDT discussions, care planning, and decision-making Provide specialist psychological consultation and promote psychologically informed approaches to care Offer psychoeducation and emotional support to families and carers, supporting adjustment and management of complex needs Provide training, consultation, and reflective practice to MDT colleagues to support delivery of high-quality care Participate in clinical audit, service evaluation, and quality improvement initiatives Maintain accurate and timely clinical records in line with professional and organisational standards Work in accordance with relevant professional, ethical, and governance frameworks About us #BeKnown at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust.

By us. By our patients. By our community We are a busy, friendly, rural NHS Trust providing high-quality care and compassion to more than a quarter of a million people across west Suffolk.

We care for, treat and support people in hospital, at home and in various community settings. The West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds provides acute and secondary care services (emergency department, maternity and neonatal services, day surgery unit, eye treatment centre, Macmillan unit and children's ward).

It has 500+ beds and is a partner teaching hospital of the University of Cambridge. Adult and paediatric community services, provided in collaboration with West Suffolk Alliance partners, include a range of nursing, therapy, specialist, and ongoing temporary care and rehabilitation, some at our Newmarket Community Hospital.

We do our utmost to achieve outstanding clinical outcomes for patients and our values of fairness, inclusivity, respect, safety and team work guide how we work and behave as a team. With nearly 5,000 staff, from all over the world, we strive to make our organisation a great place to work.

Whatever your role or ambition, we want to help you be the best you can be. We promote a diverse and inclusive community where everyones voice counts and you can #BeKnown for whoever you are. Join us.

What will you #BeKnown for?

Job description

Job

responsibilities

Please see attached the full job description to see the full job details and responsibilities for this job role.

Person Specification

Education & Qualifications Essential Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology, or a BPS Statement of Equivalence Registered with the Health and Care Professions Council Desirable Undertaken post-doctoral training in one or more relevant additional specialised areas of psychological practice such as ACT, EMDR or Health Psychology Other relevant academic qualifications to Master's or doctoral level.

Undertaken training in the supervision of trainee clinical psychologists.

Experience & Knowledge Essential Significant assessed experience of working as a qualified clinical psychologist Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity and maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems.

Expirence of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment Experience of the application of psychology in different contexts. Experience working in a multi- disciplinary setting. Experience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision.

High level of knowledge of health psychology or adult mental health services Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and setting, and its implication for both clinical practice and professional management.

Evidence of Continuing Professional Development. Desirable Experience working in a hospital/community or physical health setting. Experience of assessing and treating clients across the full range of care settings.

Experience of working within a multicultural framework. Experience of managing staff. Experience of working across the lifespan.

Knowledge of the theory and practice of highly specialised psychological therapies and assessment methodologies. High level knowledge and skills in working with staff groups and organisations.

Skills & Abilities Essential 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 analytic skills Skills in individual and group work and programme planning.

Excellent communication skills, able to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing to convey complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information including contentious and highly distressing information to clients or other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, enabling formation of networks with professionals within the Trust and from other agencies to promote effective team working with clients.

IT skills to fulfil the duties of the job description. Able to contain and work with high levels of distress from clients.

Able to sit for prolonged periods in a constrained position, including delivery of virtual sessions Desirable Experience of providing training or therapy via an online platform such as Microsoft Teams Personal Qualities Essential Interpersonally calm and able to defuse difficult, volatile situations.

Able to tolerate ambiguity and to take decisions in situations of incomplete information.

Proactive, can-do attitude and responsive to the needs of staff support team members and other staff Ability to exercise appropriate levels of self-care and to monitor own state, recognising when it is necessary to take active steps to maintain fitness to practice.

Good organisational skills Motivated towards personal and professional development with a strong CPD record. Ability to identify provide and promote appropriate means of support to staff exposed to highly distressing situations and severely challenging behaviours.

Ability to develop and use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings.

Desirable Knowledge and understanding of local adult mental health services and the referral pathways for those patients presenting with a significant mental health risk 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.

Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab) .

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement.

Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab) .