Job summary
- Main area
- Op Courage
- Grade
- Band 7
- Contract
- 12 months (Fixed term end date will be determined after pre-employment checks have been completed)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 371-MHS1022-A
- Employer
- Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Op Courage, University of Reading Earley Gate Whiteknights Campus Reading Berkshire RG6 6BZ
- Town
- Reading
- Salary
- £51,657 - £58,785 per annum (incl. of HCAS)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 30/04/2026 23:59
- Interview date
- 19/05/2026
Employer heading
Psychological Therapist - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Band 7
Job overview
Are you an enthusiastic & motivated Clinical or Counselling Psychologist / CBT therapist looking for an opportunity to hone your clinical skills within a specialist service?
Op Courage is the NHS Veterans Mental Health & Wellbeing Service. Our service covers the central area of Southern England & is led by Dr Deborah Lee.You will work remotely for a 1 year, fixed-term contract, carrying out assessment, formulation, & evidence-based psychological therapy.
A passion for supporting our ex Armed Forces community is essential. As part of a multi-disciplinary team, you will provide assessment & psychological treatment for veterans with complex mental health issues, including Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, depression, anxiety disorders, substance misuse & anger issues. You will be fully supported, with training where needed, to offer evidence-based treatment following NICE guidance to meet the needs of our clients, including CBT and TF-CBT, EMDR, NET & Compassion Focused Therapy.
This role can be filled by either a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist or a Psychological Therapist - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).If you are a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist ,please use this link to apply: https://www.berkshirehealthcare.nhs.uk/work-for-us/our-vacancies/#!/job/v7959636If you are an Psychological Therapist - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), please use this link to apply: https://www.berkshirehealthcare.nhs.uk/work-for-us/our-vacancies/#!/job/v7959809
Main duties of the job
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Provide specialist psychological assessments of clients based upon the appropriate use, interpretation, and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the client’s care.
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Formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of our veterans' mental health issues based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the client’s problems, and employing methods anchored in evidence-based practice.
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Evaluate and make decisions about treatment options considering both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual’s presentation.
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Undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professionals on the psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
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Remotely attend regular multi-disciplinary meetings to help facilitate the smooth running of the service and build relationships and shared learning between staff members across the wider team.
Working for our organisation
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated ‘outstanding’ by the CQC, we’re committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we’re committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.
Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are:
- Caring for and about you is our top priority
- Committed to providing good quality, safe services
- Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions
Your wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:
- Flexible working options to support work-life balance
- 27 days’ annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
- Generous NHS pension scheme
- Excellent learning and career development opportunities
- ‘Cycle to Work’ and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
- Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
- Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
- Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality
- Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave
- Free parking across Trust sites
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The “must haves” for this role:
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Holder of an HCPC regulated Clinical/Counselling Psychology qualification OR
Post graduate certificate in evidence-based psychological treatments and eligible for BABCP accreditation
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Training in evidence-based psychological therapy for PTSD
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Evidence of working with people who have experienced common mental health problems, across the lifespan and from different cultures.
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Evidence of experience of working with adults presenting with complex mental health difficulties.
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Evidence of experience of working with traumatised people including those with PTSD and/or C-PTSD
Our OpCourage Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service covers the area of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Hampshire including the Isle of Wight.
You will be joining a multi-disciplinary team. The service operational administrative base is in Reading, Berkshire. The team come together once monthly for a business meeting, and on other specified occasions as necessary. Whilst the post holder will be welcome to join in person there is no obligation to do so, however you will be expected to join online. There are opportunities for flexible working.
Berkshire Healthcare has a record of achievement and success that places us as one of the best performing Trusts in the country. We are rated ‘Outstanding’ by the CQC, we have a history of strong financial performance, and we have a highly skilled and engaged workforce. We aspire to be an outstanding organisation for everyone: our people, our patients, their families, and their carers. We want Berkshire Healthcare to be a great place to work where everyone can thrive and grow.
For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.
We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted.
We’re committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed.
We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please don’t hesitate to call: Mark Bruce at 01189047222 or [email protected] who’ll be delighted to help.
Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible.
Person specification
Education/Qualifications/Training
Essential criteria
- Graduate qualification and professional registration/accreditation in a core profession as defined by BABCP (e.g. Practitioner Psychologist registered with HCPC, Registered Mental Health Nurse, registered with NMC, Occupational Therapist registered with HCPC, or Social Worker registered with Social Work England). Please see the Core Professions List – BABCP website for more detail of the core professions list and required professional registration/accreditation • OR Evidence of having achieved and completed the Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes (KSA) Knowledge, Skills & Attitudes – BABCP portfolio route to BABCP Accreditation
- Post graduate Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Accreditation with British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy (BABCP)
Continuous Professional Development
Essential criteria
- Commitment to ongoing professional development as recommended by the BABCP and staying up to date with advancements in CBT related therapy
- Evidence of specific training, experience and/or interest and knowledge relevant to service area, e.g. service users with significant and severe mental health difficulties/ children and adolescents
Desirable criteria
- Evidence of post qualification training in clinical supervision
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of completing CBT assessments, formulations and interventions and autonomously managing a caseload in a specialist healthcare setting relevant to the service area
- Experience of providing, and adapting where necessary, CBT assessments, formulations and interventions with service users relevant to the service area
- Experience of delivering CBT with services users (and their carers/families) presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the range of settings, maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse
- Experience of dealing with highly distressing or emotional circumstances, such as serious mental illness, child and sexual abuse, exploitation, and complex family dynamics
- Experience of working effectively in a multi-disciplinary team and multi-agency environment
- Experience of service development and carrying out clinical audit and evaluative research and applying the findings
- Experience of working with, and addressing issues of, diversity, including experience of working with multiculturalism, and equality of access
Desirable criteria
- Experience of delivering teaching and training to staff
- Experience of providing clinical supervision, mentoring and structured guidance to other staff
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
Essential criteria
- Demonstrable knowledge of CBT theory, models and principles, and techniques, as well as evidence-based practice, relevant to the service area
- Knowledge and understanding of service evaluation, audit and research and of completing this in the NHS
- Awareness of other therapeutic modalities and their integration with CBT for comprehensive treatment planning
- Skills in delivering individual and group therapy sessions using CBT techniques to address diverse mental health needs
- Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, technical and/or sensitive information to service users, their carers/families and professional colleagues, both within and outside the NHS
- Well-developed interpersonal skills, with the ability to support, influence and engage with clinicians, stakeholders and service users to enable changes and improvements
- The ability and skills to act as an advocate for the service, to engage and foster good professional relationships with all health professionals in promoting the good integration of this service with the wider health care system
- Advanced IT skills and ability to navigate various systems and software packages (e.g. RiO, Outlook, databases, MS office/Teams, One Consultation and the internet)
Additional Requirements
Essential criteria
- Able to work flexibly around working patterns as required
- Ability to travel independently between locations in Berkshire to fulfil the requirements and duties of the position
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Mark Bruce
- Job title
- Principal Clinical Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01189047222
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