Assistant psychologist

Due to service expansion, an exciting opportunity has arisen within the Suffolk Stroke Early Supported Discharge Team for a new 0.8wte Band 4 Assistant Psychologist role for a fixed term contract until March 2026.

The Early Supported Discharge Team provides specialist individualised stroke rehabilitation in order to support stroke patients and their carers in the first 6 weeks of discharge from hospital to home.

The Assistant Psychologist post is designed to support the provision of the Clinical Psychology element within the Early Supported Discharge (ESD) multidisciplinary team. ESD provides 6 weeks of neuro specialist rehabilitation to patients following a diagnosed stroke.

Main duties of the job

To assist in the formulation and delivery of care plans involving the psychological treatment and/or management of a client's problems, under the supervision of a qualified professional psychologist.

The post holder will develop their knowledge of a wide range of assessment skills and psychometric tools appropriate to the client group.

Assessment and intervention work will involve communication of complex information which requires handling in a confidential manner.

The post holder will be expected to attend and contribute to a range of multidisciplinary meetings.

The post holder will be required to join other members of the MDT where necessary on clinical visits for purposes of performing joint care plans.

The post holder will be required to travel between a range of appointment venues in both rural and urban locations.

The post holder will frequently be required to work with individuals who have experienced or may experience emotional distress. At times this may be displayed through aggressive behaviour. A high degree of professionalism at all times must be maintained.

Patients can deteriorate in their physical and mental health in the community; the post holder will be expected to follow pathways to escalate concerns and respond to need where necessary.

The post holder will be expected to visit patients in their own home and follow lone working arrangements in place for the team.

About us

#BeKnown at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. By us. By our patients. By our community.

We are a busy, friendly, rural NHS Trust providing high-quality care and compassion to more than a quarter of a million people across west Suffolk. We care for, treat and support people in hospital, at home and in various community settings.

The West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds provides acute and secondary care services (emergency department, maternity and neonatal services, day surgery unit, eye treatment centre, Macmillan unit and children's ward). It has 500+ beds and is a partner teaching hospital of the University of Cambridge.

Adult and paediatric community services, provided in collaboration with West Suffolk Alliance partners, include a range of nursing, therapy, specialist, and ongoing temporary care and rehabilitation, some at our Newmarket Community Hospital.

We do our utmost to achieve outstanding clinical outcomes for patients, and our values of fairness, inclusivity, respect, safety, and teamwork guide how we work and behave as a team.

With nearly 5,000 staff from all over the world, we strive to make our organisation a great place to work. Whatever your role or ambition, we want to help you be the best you can be.

We promote a diverse and inclusive community where everyone's voice counts, and you can #BeKnown for whoever you are.

Join us. What will you #BeKnown for?

Job responsibilities

Please see the full job description for further information.

The Assistant Psychologist post is designed to support the provision of the Clinical Psychology element within the Early Supported Discharge (ESD) multidisciplinary team. ESD provides 6 weeks of neuro specialist rehabilitation to patients following a diagnosed stroke.

Key tasks include:

1. Providing brief, individual psychological interventions (e.g., CBT; behavioural activation, motivational interviewing; ACT; etc) under the supervision of a Clinical Psychologist.
2. Assisting in the delivery of a stepped care approach to psychological care within the ESD stroke pathway under the supervision of a Clinical Psychologist.
3. Undertaking R&D activities under the supervision of a Clinical Psychologist including service evaluations.
4. Working jointly with other professionals using a multi-disciplinary and evidence-based approach.
5. Where resources allow: Planning and organising a variety of psycho-educational and therapy groups (e.g., psychological wellbeing group, carers group etc) under the supervision of a Clinical Psychologist.
6. Research via literature searches and audit of team data.

Person Specification

Education and qualifications

• An upper second-class honours degree or higher in psychology. Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society.
• Further postgraduate training in relevant areas of professional psychology, mental health practice, and/or research design and analysis.

Experience and knowledge

• Knowledge of applying psychological principles in a clinical setting, either through research or clinical experience.
• Experience working with adults or families or working in medical settings.

Skills and abilities

• High level communication skills (written and verbal), including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive.
• An understanding of the needs of people receiving hospital care and their families and an understanding of the principles of motivation enhancement therapy.
• An ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to this context.
• An understanding of psychology applied to health care.
• Experience using computers for databases or data-analysis, especially SPSS for Windows and Excel.
• An ability to interact effectively with staff from all disciplines.
• An ability to interact with people with mental health problems and/or disabilities.
• Ability to work independently and consistently with work agreed and managed at regular intervals.
• Ability to accept and use supervision appropriately and effectively.
• Ability to adapt communication style for patients unable to communicate verbally.
• A desire to explore a career in Clinical Psychology.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

£26,530 to £29,114 a year pro rata per annum.