Featured job: Clinical and Counselling Psychologists, Hertfordshire Partnership University Foundation Trust

'We don't see what we do as jobs. They're more like vocations,' says Sharon Ackers, Clinical Lead for Acute Services (Adult Mental Health), one of the three people I spoke to from the Trust. They explained why this is the case.

Anna Paradowska, Principal Clinical Psychologist, told me more about the trauma-informed approaches which feature so heavily in their advertisement.

'The NHS emphasises this approach to working with vulnerable people. Put simply, we recognise the effect that adverse experiences at any stage of life can have on service users' conditions. We concentrate on the person, their story, and their experiences rather than initial diagnostic label. This means we look at people who might be described as challenging in different ways: we are more empathetic, more curious about their lives.

In this way, we aim to create emotionally and physically safe environments for them and treat them in individual ways.' Sharon added, 'It empowers choice and requires genuine honesty in discussion with service users.' The approach is being implemented at all levels of the Trust; Anna describes it as a fundamental cultural change in which 'every person is involved in creating new sorts of relationships. To do this requires a lot of training.'

Sharon stressed that the Trust's concern for the patient is mirrored in its relations with its over 4500 staff. Jenny Routh, the Trust's recruitment partner picks up this theme. 'To give you concrete examples: we have a 24-hour employee assistance programme offering advice on anything from debt to bereavement; we have a great pension scheme, a cycle-to-work scheme and online Pilates and Yoga, which I love.' Sharon comments that there's a genuine commitment to work-life balance and work flexibility, 'which helped me as a working Mum.'

All three interviewees stress the advantages of working in Hertfordshire. It has huge numbers of green spaces, all the advantages of country life while being within easy distance of London attractions. Journey times to work are much shorter than in big cities. 'We have our own university, we're close to airports, museums and a wildlife park and there's no congestion zone.'

I asked Sharon what sort of candidates she was looking for. 'It might sound a cliché but this is a genuinely multi-disciplinary environment, so team-working and clear communication are essential. Successful candidates will enjoy acute and crisis work but must understand the wider system within which they work – community services for instance – rather than being completely focused on what their particular service needs. They need to be inclusive.' Anna adds, 'and they must enjoy variety. Every day is different.'

Sharon stresses support within the psychology team. 'We have regular debriefs and team meetings. We all know each other and offer support. It's a very friendly place.' She is clear about how she would convince a good candidate that Hertfordshire is a wonderful place to work. 'The way we treat your application will reflect our values. The interview will be a genuine conversation not an interrogation. And first and foremost, we'll react quickly. You won't hang about waiting to hear from us.'

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