Senior Practitioner Psychologist
Clinical Psychologist – Band 8a (0\.8 WTE / 4 Days per Week including Wednesdays)
The Lighthouse: Complex Emotional Needs / Personality Disorder Service
Permanent \| Brighton \& Hove
A partnership between Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Southdown
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and compassionate Clinical Psychologist to join The Lighthouse, a specialist service for people with complex emotional needs and personality disorder.
The Lighthouse provides an intensive therapeutic community model across three days each week, offering Mentalization\-Based Treatment (MBT), a structured groups programme, and meaningful peer involvement. Our work is grounded in trauma‑informed principles, supporting people who have often experienced significant abuse, rejection, neglect and relational difficulties.
About the Role
As part of our multidisciplinary team, you will:
Deliver specialist psychological assessment, formulation and intervention, with a strong emphasis on Mentalization\-Based Treatment (MBT) and group‑based approaches for people with complex emotional needs and personality disorder.
Provide expert consultation and psychological guidance to colleagues and partner services involved in clients’ care.
Offer clinical supervision to team members, psychology trainees and others delivering psychologically informed interventions within the service.
Contribute to service development, audit and research, shaping the ongoing evolution of the Lighthouse model.
Work autonomously within professional frameworks while contributing actively to the wider therapeutic community.
About You
We are looking for a Clinical Psychologist who:
Has experience or a strong interest in MBT, complex emotional needs, and personality disorder.
Values collaborative, trauma‑informed, community‑based approaches.
Is reflective, compassionate and able to work effectively with complexity and risk.
Enjoys multidisciplinary work and contributes positively to team culture.
Is committed to ongoing learning, supervision and professional growth.
Working for Our Organisation
We are a friendly, compassionate multidisciplinary team committed to supporting the wellbeing of the people who use our service—and each other. As a partnership between Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Southdown, we provide specialist support for people with complex emotional needs and personality disorder through an intensive therapeutic community model.
Sussex Partnership is one of the UK’s largest mental health and learning disability Trusts, with a strong focus on high‑quality, trauma‑informed, person‑centred care. Staff wellbeing is central to our approach, and we aim to ensure that our support, rewards and development opportunities reflect the value of the work our teams do.
You can expect access to psychological and wellbeing support, specialist supervision including MBT and reflective practice, flexible working options, a wide range of staff discounts, generous annual leave (27 days \+ bank holidays), and an excellent NHS pension scheme.
Flexible Working
We encourage flexible working because a positive work/life balance supports wellbeing and strengthens the care we provide. Options may include part‑time hours, home‑working for suitable duties, flexible start/finish times and adjusted working patterns. If it works for you and for the role, we will do our best to make it happen.
Person Specification – Brief Summary (Essential Criteria, MBT‑Aligned)
Qualifications (Essential)
Doctoral‑level qualification in Clinical or Counselling Psychology, or equivalent, enabling relevant professional registration .
Formal training covering psychopathology, psychometrics, lifespan development , and evidence‑based therapeutic models.
Relevant professional registration (e.g., HCPC or equivalent regulatory body).
Commitment to completing (or already having) Mentalization‑Based Treatment (MBT) training.
Knowledge \& Experience (Essential)
Post‑qualification experience delivering specialist psychological assessment, formulation and intervention for people with complex emotional needs and personality disorder.
Experience working in emotionally demanding settings requiring a mentalizing, relational and trauma‑informed approach .
Experience facilitating psychologically informed therapeutic groups , ideally within structured models such as MBT.
Experience providing consultation to multidisciplinary teams, supporting formulation, treatment planning and mentalizing practice.
Experience delivering clinical supervision to trainees or MDT colleagues within a psychological or mentalizing framework.
Skills (Essential)
Advanced skills in complex psychological assessment and formulation , integrating developmental, attachment and interpersonal factors that influence mentalizing capacity.
Ability to communicate highly sensitive, complex information clearly and collaboratively while maintaining a mentalizing stance .
Capacity to remain curious, open and reflective when working with interpersonal challenges, emotional intensity and risk.
Skills in (or willingness to develop skills in) MBT‑informed interventions , including group facilitation and here‑and‑now mentalizing techniques.
Strong formulation‑led risk assessment and risk management abilities.
Ability to teach, present and support others in mentalizing‑based practice .
Values \& Behaviours (Essential)
Commitment to core MBT values : curiosity, collaboration, non‑judgement and a “not‑knowing” stance.
Belief in the capacity for growth, learning and meaningful recovery for people with complex emotional needs.
Commitment to trauma‑informed, relational, co‑produced and person‑centred practice .
Dedication to reflective practice, supervision and supporting a psychologically safe, mentalizing team culture .
Strong commitment to equity, diversity and anti‑discriminatory practice .
Ability to remain steady, compassionate and reflective when working with distress and interpersonal intensity.
SPFT is committed to building a workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We particularly welcome applications from people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds and from disabled candidates , as these groups are currently underrepresented.
Successful candidates are normally appointed to the bottom of the pay scale unless previous NHS experience in a similar role can be evidenced.
SPFT takes its responsibilities for safeguarding children, young people and adults at risk very seriously. We expect all staff and bank workers to share this commitment and complete the relevant safeguarding training for their role.
If you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date, please assume your application has been unsuccessful. However, we’ll always do our best to keep you informed as we know how much time and care goes into applying for a role.
In the event of a high number of applications, we may close this vacancy early.
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