Clinical Psychologist CV Example & Template
A complete clinical psychologist CV for a UK adult community mental health psychologist, followed by what shortlisters in NHS psychology services check first. Copy the structure, swap in your own client group, models and numbers, and state your HCPC registration and doctoral training exactly as the job advert asks.
Last reviewed September 2026
Example Clinical Psychologist CV
Emily Foster
Clinical Psychologist — Adult Community Mental Health
Bristol, UK
Profile
HCPC-registered clinical psychologist with a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy) and four years post-qualification in NHS adult community mental health. I formulate complex presentations across mood, personality and trauma difficulties, deliver CBT, ACT and compassion-focused therapy, and supervise trainee and assistant psychologists. Experienced in neuropsychological screening and service evaluation using routine outcome measures.
Experience
Clinical Psychologist, Adult Community Mental Health Team
Sep 2022 – Present
Kingswell NHS Foundation Trust · Bristol, UK
- Hold a caseload of around 18 clients with complex presentations including personality difficulties, trauma and treatment-resistant depression, delivering individual CBT, ACT and compassion-focused therapy.
- Provide formulation-led consultation at weekly multidisciplinary team meetings, supporting care planning for a further 40 clients without direct psychology input.
- Supervise two trainee clinical psychologists and one assistant psychologist, signing off case reports and competency logs toward their doctoral requirements.
- Led a service evaluation of the team's use of routine outcome measures, raising PHQ-9 and GAD-7 completion at review from 61% to 92% over one year.
Trainee Clinical Psychologist (DClinPsy placements)
Sep 2019 – Jul 2022
Westmoor NHS Foundation Trust (DClinPsy trainee post) · Exeter, UK
- Completed six clinical placements across adult mental health, older adult, child and family, learning disability, neuropsychology and health psychology services as part of doctoral training.
- Carried out neuropsychological assessment, including WAIS-IV and memory testing, for eight adults referred for suspected early-onset cognitive impairment, contributing to differential diagnosis reports.
- Delivered a 12-week DBT skills group co-facilitated with a specialist nurse, with 7 of 9 participants completing the full programme.
- Wrote a doctoral thesis on parental emotion regulation and adolescent self-harm, using mixed-methods analysis of 60 clinical records and 12 qualitative interviews.
Assistant Psychologist
Sep 2017 – Aug 2019
Millbrook Mental Health Trust · Bath, UK
- Ran structured psychometric assessments and co-facilitated a CBT-based anxiety management group for adult outpatients, supporting a caseload of 15 clients under weekly supervision.
- Collated audit data on waiting times for the primary care psychology service, presenting findings to the service lead that informed a change in referral triage.
- Supported two research projects on treatment outcomes, including data entry, literature searching and drafting sections of a conference poster.
- Shadowed and co-worked initial assessments with senior clinicians, building the assessment and formulation experience required for doctoral training applications.
Education
Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy)
2019 – 2022
University of Exeter
Thesis on parental emotion regulation and adolescent self-harm; HCPC-approved and British Psychological Society accredited programme.
BSc (Hons) Psychology, British Psychological Society accredited, 1st
2014 – 2017
University of Bristol
Skills
HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist · Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) · Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) · Compassion-focused therapy · Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) skills groups · Psychological formulation · Neuropsychological assessment (WAIS-IV) · Risk assessment and safety planning · Clinical supervision · Routine outcome measurement (PHQ-9, GAD-7) · Service evaluation and audit · Multidisciplinary team consultation
Registration and membership
- HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist, since 2022
- Chartered Member, British Psychological Society (BPS)
Checks
- Enhanced DBS check, 2025
Why this Clinical Psychologist CV works: what shortlisters check first
HCPC registration as a practitioner psychologist
The title clinical psychologist is protected in the UK, and NHS posts require current HCPC registration as a practitioner psychologist. State your registration status and year in your profile, and if you are pre-qualification, be clear about your assistant or trainee status instead of implying full registration.
A formulation, not just a diagnosis
Shortlisters look for evidence that you formulate presentations psychologically rather than only applying a diagnostic label and a manualised protocol. One brief example of how a formulation shaped your treatment approach shows the clinical reasoning a person specification is testing for.
Named therapeutic models and the client group they were used with
CBT, ACT, DBT, CAT and compassion-focused therapy are different models for different presentations. Name the model, the client group, and roughly how many clients or sessions, rather than a general line about delivering therapeutic interventions.
Supervision given as well as received
Posts above assistant or newly qualified level expect you to supervise trainees, assistants or other staff. State how many people you supervise and what you sign off, since this is what separates a qualified applicant from a senior one on paper.
Service-level contribution: audit, evaluation and outcome data
NHS psychology services are increasingly asked to demonstrate outcomes using routine measures such as PHQ-9, GAD-7 or CORE-OM. A service evaluation or audit with a measured before-and-after result shows you can contribute beyond your own caseload.
Key skills recruiters look for
How to write each section of a Clinical Psychologist CV
Profile
Three or four sentences: your registration status, your client group and setting, one or two named models you use, and one supervision or service result. Write the client group and setting to match the post, since adult, older adult, child and forensic services all look for different evidence.
Experience
Start each bullet with the clinical or service activity and end with a measured result: caseload size, group completion rate, an outcome measure change, or a service change you contributed to. Keep placement-by-placement detail from training only where it is directly relevant to the post.
Doctoral training and thesis
Name the doctoral programme, the accrediting body, and give a one-line thesis topic. List your placements only where the client group matches the job, rather than every placement in equal detail.
Skills
Group them: registration and models, assessment, supervision, and service or audit skills. Use the job advert's own wording for models and client groups, since panels and NHS application forms both score against that wording.
Supporting statement
NHS psychology posts are usually shortlisted against a person specification using a supporting statement as well as a CV. Answer each essential criterion with a specific clinical example, and keep the wording consistent with your CV so the two documents reinforce each other.
More example bullet points
Strong Clinical Psychologist CVs lead with measurable impact. Here are examples of the kind of bullets that make recruiters stop scrolling:
Delivered CBT intervention to a caseload of 25+ complex patients presenting with co-morbid PTSD and personality disorder, achieving 70% clinically significant improvement at discharge
Designed and led group DBT skills program for 12 patients with emotionally unstable personality disorder, reducing crisis presentations to acute services by 45%
Published peer-reviewed paper on trauma-focused CBT outcomes and supervised 3 trainee clinical psychologists to doctoral completion
Relevant certifications
Common Clinical Psychologist CV mistakes
- Implying full HCPC registration as a practitioner psychologist while still an assistant or trainee.
- Naming a therapeutic model without saying which client group or presentation it was used for.
- Listing every doctoral placement in equal detail instead of leading with the one closest to the job.
- Describing formulation and risk work in general terms with no example of the reasoning used.
- Leaving out supervision given to trainees or assistants when applying for a senior or specialist post.
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How to tailor your Clinical Psychologist CV for each application
Every Clinical Psychologist job posting is different. The skills they prioritize, the seniority they expect, the setting — all of it shapes what your CV should emphasize. A CV that gets an interview at one employer can miss at another, even for the same job title.
The fastest way to tailor your CV is to paste the job description into NextCV. The AI reads the posting, maps it to your experience, and rewrites your bullets to match what the employer is scanning for. 1 free preview, no signup required — you only pay when you want a clean PDF download. Sign up free for 3 more.
Clinical Psychologist CV FAQ
Do you need a doctorate to be a clinical psychologist in the UK?
Yes. Practising with the protected title clinical psychologist and registering with the HCPC as a practitioner psychologist requires an HCPC-approved Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (UK programmes are also accredited by the British Psychological Society), or an equivalent recognised qualification. Assistant psychologist roles do not require the doctorate and are a common route into training.
What is the difference between a clinical psychologist and a counselling psychologist?
Both are protected titles requiring HCPC registration as a practitioner psychologist, but they come from different doctoral training routes: clinical psychology emphasises a broad range of presentations and settings, while counselling psychology emphasises the therapeutic relationship and often includes more counselling-based models. Employers may specify which they want.
How long should a clinical psychologist CV be?
Two to three pages is typical for NHS posts, with more detail acceptable once you are listing supervision, service evaluation and publications alongside clinical work. Keep training placements to a summary once you are more than a couple of years post-qualification.
Should assistant psychologists list every research task on their CV?
List the research and audit work that shows transferable skills, such as data collection, literature searching or writing up findings, but keep it brief and put clinical and assessment experience first, since that is usually weighted more heavily for both assistant posts and doctoral training applications.
What should go in a clinical psychologist's personal statement?
Your registration status, client group and setting, the therapeutic models you use, one supervision or service result, and a one-line note on your approach to formulation. Keep it specific to the post rather than a general statement about wanting to help people.