Principal Clinical Psychologist OR Psychotherapist

Are you an experienced Psychotherapist or

Clinical/Counselling Psychologist with a passion for improving care for people

with complex emotional needs?

We are looking for a skilled and compassionate clinician to

join the Exeter Core Teams within Devon Partnership NHS Trust.

This Band 8a, 0.8 WTE role offers an exciting opportunity to

provide highly specialist psychological assessment and intervention, with a

particular focus on Mentalisation-Based Treatment (MBT). You will hold a specialist

caseload, support the delivery and clinical oversight of the Exeter MBT

programme, and help develop a coherent pathway for people with complex

emotional needs across the Eastern locality.

Working closely with community mental health teams,

Psychology and Psychological Therapies, inpatient and community services, you

will provide expert consultation, supervision, teaching and leadership to support wider workforce capability and psychologically informed care.

You will practise autonomously within professional and Trust

governance frameworks while contributing to service development and

high-quality, evidence-based care.

Applicants must hold an appropriate

professional qualification and registration, alongside MBT Practitioner-level

training and experience of working with people with complex emotional needs.

Main duties of the job

You will undertake highly specialist psychological and

psychotherapeutic assessments, develop complex formulations and deliver

individual and group interventions, principally Mentalisation-Based Treatment.

You will manage a specialist caseload and work sensitively with people,

families and carers where communication, risk and emotional needs may be

complex.

As a locality link clinician for complex emotional needs, you

will provide expert advice, consultation and guidance to multidisciplinary

colleagues across community and inpatient services. You will support teams with

care planning, engagement, and promote

psychologically informed and reflective practice.

You will provide clinical oversight to the Exeter MBT programme,

support fidelity to the model and contribute to provision across the wider

locality. The role includes supervising and developing staff, trainees and

volunteers; delivering teaching and training; and contributing to service

redesign, audit, research and evaluation. You will maintain accurate clinical

records, collect outcome data and work collaboratively with senior leaders and

partner services to strengthen an integrated, evidence-based pathway across

Devon.

About us

About Devon Partnership Trust

We provide mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity services, as well as a range of specialist & secure services for the wider south west region & nationally. We are passionate about promoting good mental health & wellbeing. We strive to use the expertise & resources within our organisation, and through our partnerships, to deliver high quality services that are safe & focused on people's recovery.

We are committed to developing a culture of coproduction, involving patients, families & carers in everything we do

Our values

We not only recruit based on qualifications & experience - we recruit individuals who possess & demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. These include such attributes as showing a commitment to quality of care, improving lives of others, giving respect, dignity & compassion. We can bring those values to life in our everyday tasks by giving a smile; making time for people; challenging ourselves & others, & being open to new ideas.

Details

Date posted

12 October 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8a

Salary

£57,528 to £64,750 a year

pro rata (30 hours per week)

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time,

Flexible working

Reference number

C9369-26-0815

Job locations

Wonford House

Dryden Road

Exeter

Devon

EX2 5AF

United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification which will provide further information on this role

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification which will provide further information on this role

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Qualified Clinical / Counselling Psychologist (D.Clin.Psychol. or equivalent) or Qualified Psychodynamic / Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist.
• Additional specialist experience and/or training working with people who have complex emotional needs including personality disorder diagnoses.
• Recognised mentalization based Treatment: Practitioner Level Qualification
• Registration with BPC/ UKCP/ HCPC or other regulatory/professional body for psychological therapy consistent with NHSE recognised registers guidance.

Desirable

• Further Qualification/ training in a relevant clinical specialism such as: Adaptive Mentalisation Based Integrative Treatment (AMBIT)
• Supervisors Qualification in MBT and or other
• Reflective Practice training

Skills and abilities

Essential

• Excellent verbal, nonverbal and written communication skills.
• Strong leadership qualities, resilience and ability to handle ambiguity and uncertainty.
• Skills in managing conflict, negotiation and achieving consensus in complex situations in the pursuit of agreed strategic aims.
• Competent IT skills
• Ability to integrate complex data, make highly skilled evaluations and decisions and take a long-term perspective.
• Proven organisational, planning and time management skills.
• Ability to understand flow of patients and forward planning of service to prevent unnecessary gaps in provision
• Ability to work under pressure and cope with deadlines.
• Clear telephone voice
• Calm, methodical approach, friendly but concise
• Good communication skills when presenting/facilitating to varying groups of people

Desirable

• Project management skills/ experience.

Knowledge

Essential

• Broad knowledge of specialist services and of the services in the NHS where psychotherapy /psychological therapy is commonly applied.
• Extensive knowledge of the skills, practice and knowledge base of psychotherapy /psychological therapy.
• Knowledge of the policy context of specialist psychotherapy / psychological services within the organisation and of clinical leadership arrangements in this setting.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working with services users who present with Complex Emotional Needs / personality disorders and complex lives in a range of settings
• Experience of delivering teaching/ training and supervision.
• Experience and/or training in diversity awareness and social inequality.

Desirable

• Experience of undertaking leadership roles within psychotherapy services in the NHS and in contributing to the development, implementation and evaluation of strategies and clinical policies in multi disciplinary, multi agency contexts.

Other

Essential

• Highly skilled in specialist interventions with the client group.
• Advanced psychotherapeutic assessment and formulation skills including risk assessment.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Qualified Clinical / Counselling Psychologist (D.Clin.Psychol. or equivalent) or Qualified Psychodynamic / Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist.
• Additional specialist experience and/or training working with people who have complex emotional needs including personality disorder diagnoses.
• Recognised mentalization based Treatment: Practitioner Level Qualification
• Registration with BPC/ UKCP/ HCPC or other regulatory/professional body for psychological therapy consistent with NHSE recognised registers guidance.

Desirable

• Further Qualification/ training in a relevant clinical specialism such as: Adaptive Mentalisation Based Integrative Treatment (AMBIT)
• Supervisors Qualification in MBT and or other
• Reflective Practice training

Skills and abilities

Essential

• Excellent verbal, nonverbal and written communication skills.
• Strong leadership qualities, resilience and ability to handle ambiguity and uncertainty.
• Skills in managing conflict, negotiation and achieving consensus in complex situations in the pursuit of agreed strategic aims.
• Competent IT skills
• Ability to integrate complex data, make highly skilled evaluations and decisions and take a long-term perspective.
• Proven organisational, planning and time management skills.
• Ability to understand flow of patients and forward planning of service to prevent unnecessary gaps in provision
• Ability to work under pressure and cope with deadlines.
• Clear telephone voice
• Calm, methodical approach, friendly but concise
• Good communication skills when presenting/facilitating to varying groups of people

Desirable

• Project management skills/ experience.

Knowledge

Essential

• Broad knowledge of specialist services and of the services in the NHS where psychotherapy /psychological therapy is commonly applied.
• Extensive knowledge of the skills, practice and knowledge base of psychotherapy /psychological therapy.
• Knowledge of the policy context of specialist psychotherapy / psychological services within the organisation and of clinical leadership arrangements in this setting.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working with services users who present with Complex Emotional Needs / personality disorders and complex lives in a range of settings
• Experience of delivering teaching/ training and supervision.
• Experience and/or training in diversity awareness and social inequality.

Desirable

• Experience of undertaking leadership roles within psychotherapy services in the NHS and in contributing to the development, implementation and evaluation of strategies and clinical policies in multi disciplinary, multi agency contexts.

Other

Essential

• Highly skilled in specialist interventions with the client group.
• Advanced psychotherapeutic assessment and formulation skills including risk assessment.

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 .

Additional information

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 .

Employer details

Employer name

Devon Partnership NHS Trust

Address

Wonford House

Dryden Road

Exeter

Devon

EX2 5AF

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.dpt.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Devon Partnership NHS Trust

Address

Wonford House

Dryden Road

Exeter

Devon

EX2 5AF

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.dpt.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification which will provide further information on this role

Qualifications

Essential

• Qualified Clinical / Counselling Psychologist (D.Clin.Psychol. or equivalent) or Qualified Psychodynamic / Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist.
• Additional specialist experience and/or training working with people who have complex emotional needs including personality disorder diagnoses.
• Recognised mentalization based Treatment: Practitioner Level Qualification
• Registration with BPC/ UKCP/ HCPC or other regulatory/professional body for psychological therapy consistent with NHSE recognised registers guidance.

Desirable

• Further Qualification/ training in a relevant clinical specialism such as: Adaptive Mentalisation Based Integrative Treatment (AMBIT)
• Supervisors Qualification in MBT and or other
• Reflective Practice training

Skills and abilities

Essential

• Excellent verbal, nonverbal and written communication skills.
• Strong leadership qualities, resilience and ability to handle ambiguity and uncertainty.
• Skills in managing conflict, negotiation and achieving consensus in complex situations in the pursuit of agreed strategic aims.
• Competent IT skills
• Ability to integrate complex data, make highly skilled evaluations and decisions and take a long-term perspective.
• Proven organisational, planning and time management skills.
• Ability to understand flow of patients and forward planning of service to prevent unnecessary gaps in provision
• Ability to work under pressure and cope with deadlines.
• Clear telephone voice
• Calm, methodical approach, friendly but concise
• Good communication skills when presenting/facilitating to varying groups of people

Desirable

• Project management skills/ experience.

Knowledge

Essential

• Broad knowledge of specialist services and of the services in the NHS where psychotherapy /psychological therapy is commonly applied.
• Extensive knowledge of the skills, practice and knowledge base of psychotherapy /psychological therapy.
• Knowledge of the policy context of specialist psychotherapy / psychological services within the organisation and of clinical leadership arrangements in this setting.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working with services users who present with Complex Emotional Needs / personality disorders and complex lives in a range of settings
• Experience of delivering teaching/ training and supervision.
• Experience and/or training in diversity awareness and social inequality.

Desirable

• Experience of undertaking leadership roles within psychotherapy services in the NHS and in contributing to the development, implementation and evaluation of strategies and clinical policies in multi disciplinary, multi agency contexts.

Other

Essential

• Highly skilled in specialist interventions with the client group.
• Advanced psychotherapeutic assessment and formulation skills including risk assessment.