Clinical / Health Psychologist - Diabetes

Location: Wellington Regional Hospital, Kenepuru Hospital, Kapiti Health Centre and Hutt Hospital

Contract: Permanent, Part Time (0.8 FTE / 32 hours per week)

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is firmly grounded in the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is dedicated to serving all New Zealanders. Through integration and collaboration, we’re building a health system underpinned by partnership, equity, sustainability, whānau-centred care, and excellence. 

About the Role 

Diabetes is a complex chronic health condition that requires ongoing self-management and significant day-to-day decision making. The demands of living with diabetes can increase vulnerability to a range of mental health difficulties, including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, PTSD, OCD, and clinical perfectionism.

There is a strong bidirectional relationship between diabetes and mental health. Psychological distress can make diabetes management more challenging, while difficulties managing diabetes can negatively impact psychological wellbeing. As a result, people living with diabetes may experience both poorer mental health outcomes and more significant physical health consequences as a result of those outcomes. Clinical/Health Psychologists are therefore highly valued members of our Endocrine and Diabetes Service, playing a key role in supporting people to improve both their psychological wellbeing and diabetes self-management.

This is an exciting opportunity to join our team and make a meaningful difference in the lives of people living with diabetes. In this role, you will provide specialist psychological assessment and evidence-based interventions for individuals experiencing mental health difficulties that either contribute to, or arise from, the challenges of living with diabetes.

You will work with people presenting with a wide range of concerns, including common mental health difficulties, adjustment to diagnosis and treatment, diabetes distress and burnout, medical trauma, specific phobias, and neurodevelopmental or neuropsychological factors that impact diabetes management. You will also support referral triage and waitlist management, helping ensure patients receive timely and appropriate care.

The work is varied, collaborative, and highly rewarding. You will work across the lifespan, supporting young children and their whānau through to older adults, and will have opportunities to work across multiple sites within our district.

About the Team/Service Location 

You will be joining a highly experienced and supportive multidisciplinary team committed to delivering equitable, person-centred, and holistic care. We value collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning, and we are committed to supporting your professional development and career growth.

This role offers the opportunity to contribute specialist psychological expertise within an integrated medical setting, work alongside dedicated colleagues, and make a real difference to health outcomes for people living with diabetes.

If you are passionate about improving both mental and physical health outcomes, enjoy working in a variety of settings, and thrive in a collaborative team environment, we would love to hear from you.

About you 

We are looking for a Clinical/Health Psychologist who is passionate about improving both the psychological wellbeing and physical health outcomes of people living with long-term health conditions.

You will have:

• A Master's degree in Psychology and a Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology (or equivalent).
• Registration with the New Zealand Psychologists Board – Clinical Psychology as vocational scope advantageous.
• Strong knowledge of biopsychosocial models of mental distress and resilience.
• Skilled in psychological assessment and evidence-based therapeutic interventions.
• Experience working with individuals experiencing a range of mental health difficulties, including anxiety, depression, trauma-related difficulties, and adjustment challenges.
• Experience working as part of a multidisciplinary team in a health or mental health setting.
• Ability to assess clinical priority and contribute to referral triage and caseload management.
• A current full New Zealand driver's licence.

The following would be advantageous but are not essential:

• Experience working with people living with diabetes or other long-term physical health conditions.
• Experience providing consultation and support to other health professionals.
• Experience working at a senior clinician level, including leadership, service development, supervision, teaching, or quality improvement activities.
• Experience working across the lifespan (children, adolescents and families; young adults; adults; older adults).
• Expertise in neuropsychological assessment. 

You will bring:

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build effective therapeutic relationships with people from diverse backgrounds.
• The ability to undertake complex psychological formulation and adapt interventions to meet individual needs.
• A commitment to working in partnership with patients, whānau, and healthcare teams.
• A strong commitment to health equity and culturally responsive practice.
• An interest in supporting people to develop resilience, self-management skills, and confidence in living well with a long-term health condition.
• A collaborative, flexible, and solutions-focused approach to teamwork.
• Enthusiasm for ongoing learning, professional development, and contributing to service improvement.

Working at Health New Zealand 

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is ‘the weaving of wellness’. We're dedicated to ensuring excellent healthcare for the people of Aotearoa/New Zealand. 

Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Health New Zealand are committed to being good employers and honouring our equal employment opportunity obligations. We embrace diversity and welcome application from all people, including all gender identities, ages, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and disability. A workforce that is diverse and inclusive means that we are better positioned to understand and service our community. We are pro-equity health organisation, with a particular focus on Māori, Pacific Peoples, and the Disability Community. 

How to Apply 

To apply please click “apply now.” All applications must be submitted through our online careers’ portal.

If you have any questions about the role, please contact Philip.Adamson@tewhatuora.govt.nz

We will review applications as received and may proceed with the recruitment process, before the closing date of this advertisement.

Position description Apply now

Share