Principal Clinical Psychologist - Perinatal Service inStafford inStafford PUBLISHED THU 9 JAN 2025

The South Staffordshire Perinatal and Maternal Mental Service deliver care to expectant and new mothers who are experiencing moderate to severe and complex mental health problems within the perinatal period, or families who have mental health needs associated with loss and trauma occurring in the maternity and neonatal context. The Service is a part of MPFT Perinatal Services which includes Brockington Parent and Baby Unit and Shropshire Community Perinatal Mental Health Team.

We are seeking an experienced Clinical Psychologist to join our service to help shape the future of the service for families during this transitional time. If you are creative, motivated, with strong leadership skills, we would love to hear from you.

You will be closely integrated into and meet regularly with the multi-disciplinary teams across both the Perinatal and Lotus Maternal Mental Health pathways and will be joining a supportive and engaged Psychology team. You will receive regular supervision and CPD as well as informal support. Across MPFT Perinatal Services there is a strong psychological structure in place comprising of qualified clinical psychologists, psychological therapists and assistant psychologists, all supported by a Consultant Clinical Psychologist.

As the Principal Clinical Psychologist, you will be responsible for the systemic provision of high quality highly specialist perinatal clinical psychology service to women, babies and families of the service teams, within the Perinatal and Lotus Maternal Mental Health Service. You will clinically lead psychological provision and contribute to the further development of the clinical psychology service. You will provide specialist assessment, treatment and consultancy services for individuals and their families with moderate to severe mental health difficulties during the perinatal period or because of their maternity experience.

A key part of your role will be to supervise and support the psychological assessment and therapy provided by other psychologists and other clinical members of the team who provide psychologically based care and treatment. You will work autonomously within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systemic governance of psychological practice within the service/team.

The psychology team have close connections with other psychologists within the Children and Families Care Group, the Maternal Mental Health Service within the Shropshire care group, and perinatal services in North Staffordshire, alongside the local DClinPsy courses offering regular trainee placements, research opportunities and perinatal course teaching.

About us

The service covers the entire South Staffordshire geographical region. There is an expectation for the successful post holder to be able to travel to meet the service need. The team continue to have a base at Brockington Parent and Baby Unit on the St Georges Hospital site, however we have adapted to new ways of working following the COVID-19 pandemic, and blended working developments continue to be in place. We welcome applications for flexible and hybrid working.

Clinical Psychologists play an integrative role in the MDT and are valued and well supported by colleagues. While this post will be primarily focused on the leadership of the psychological care within the service and the direct delivery of psychological support to individual families (both directly and by supervising and supporting MDT colleagues), there will also be scope for delivering training and consultation to partner agencies and being involved with service development.

For further information please contact Fiona Lovell, Team Leader or Dr Chris Faram, Consultant Clinical Psychologist/Professional lead