Introduction
As consultant psychologist, you will be a leader, for example lead for learning disability psychology across a whole NHS trust, although in some cases a consultant psychologist may cover one geographical or specialist area.
There is not always a clear delineation between 8c and 8d consultant psychologists, as this varies across employers, although all have a strong leadership component in common. Consultant psychologists may hold a small, very complex caseload, but will definitely be responsible for the supervision, leadership, and co-ordination of more junior clinical psychologists and the psychology provision within a service.
Salary, hours and benefits
| Average salary |
|
| Typical hours | Standard hours are usually around 37.5 hours a week. There are often opportunities for part-time working and job shares, depending on the employer. |
| You could work | – |
| Benefits |
|
| Career Framework level | 8 |
What you’ll do
Day-to-day tasks
Your day-to-day duties may include:
- offering supervision to less experienced qualified or unqualified psychologists,
- establishing and maintaining effective relationships with colleagues, other agencies, people who use services, and their families,
- promoting the undertaking of clinical audit and research, and maintaining current knowledge of research findings and development within the learning disability field,
- facilitating service development activities, in line with government priorities,
- promoting psychology in different forums,
- managing operational aspects such as dealing with complaints, recruiting staff, and managing resources,
Working environment
The majority of Consultant clinical and forensic psychologists work in the NHS, with some opportunities in private healthcare providers.
Characteristics and skills required
You’ll need:
- to be committed to supporting change,
- to be aware of leadership theory and practice and have leadership experience,
- experience in providing supervision,
- to facilitate organisational change,
- to understand government requirements and apply these to your setting,
- to be an excellent communicator,
- to share your knowledge and experience through teaching and consultation,
- to keep calm under pressure and enable others to do the same.
Restrictions and requirements
You’ll need to pass enhanced background checks and be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council.
Career path and progression
There are a limited number of consultant posts and, as 8c and 8d positions can look similar, there is not necessarily a straightforward path from 8c to 8d and beyond. Consultants may want to broaden into wider leadership posts, such as clinical director.
| Career Framework level | Role | Degree? |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Assistant Psychologist An assistant psychologist seeks to improve lives and promote health and independence for people with learning disabilities by providing psychological assessment and psychological interventions, and assisting in clinically related administration, the conduct of audits, the collection of outcome statistics, and/or other project work as appropriate under the supervision of a qualified clinical psychologist working within the service. | Yes |
| 5 | Trainee Clinical Psychologist Trainee clinical psychologists work with people of all ages and in a variety of settings in physical and mental healthcare. The role contributes to the core work of clinical psychologists, and provides a training ground with regular supervision in which to practice and develop skills as a clinician and researcher. | Yes |
| 6 | Specialist Clinical Psychologist Working as a band 7 clinical psychologist within a learning disability service is a varied role that involves working both with adults diagnosed with learning disabilities (defined as a reduced intellectual ability that impacts the person’s ability to complete everyday activities) and the systems around them. This could include families, carers, and staff teams, in addition to other health professionals. | Yes |
| 7 | Highly Specialist Clinical/Counselling/Forensic Psychologist Qualified psychologists apply psychological knowledge and skills to help individuals and those who support them to have a good quality of life. Psychologists working in the field of learning disability use a wide range of clinical skills, including formal assessment, formulation, therapeutic interventions, teaching, and consultation. | Yes |
| 8 | Consultant Clinical/Counselling/Forensic Psychologist As consultant psychologist, you will be a leader, for example lead for learning disability psychology across a whole NHS trust, although in some cases a consultant psychologist may cover one geographical or specialist area. | Yes |
| 8 and 9 | Head / Director of Psychological Therapies As head/director of psychological therapies, you will be the lead for all the psychological therapies across all care groups within the organisation. You will work closely with the chief executive/chief operational officer, medical and nursing leads, and the chief finance officer to ensure the delivery of safe and effective psychological therapies in the organisation. | Yes |
How to become a Consultant Clinical/Counselling/Forensic Psychologist
To become a consultant psychologist you will need a degree in psychology (usually at 2.1 and above), following relevant work experience, the completion of a doctorate or significant experience undertaking work as a qualified psychologist in learning disability settings.
From within health and social care
If you are already working in the health and social care sector and you are looking for a new challenge, then you can change career to become a psychologist within learning disability and autism support and care. To qualify, you will need a degree in psychology (usually at 2.1 and above), which gives you Graduate Basis for Registration with the BPS.
From outside health and social care
If you want to work in health and social care and you are looking for a new challenge, then you can change career to become a psychologist within learning disability and autism support and care. To qualify, you will need a degree in psychology (usually at 2.1 and above), which gives you Graduate Basis for Registration with the BPS.
Current opportunities
Jobs in the UK
The NHS jobs service can help you with your search for jobs and send you alerts when new jobs become available. Current available jobs can be found at NHS jobs.
Some posts may be in social care settings and available through community care or local authority websites. Other roles can be found through job boards, including the British Psychological Society.