Assistant Psychologist

Sheffield Health Partnership University NHS Foundation; Sheffield; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 34,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading health service provider in Sheffield is seeking an Assistant Psychologist to join their Structured Clinical Management team. This full-time position involves supporting assessments and direct clinical work with individuals experiencing complex emotional needs. Ideal candidates will be passionate about service evaluation and possess a relevant psychology degree. Regular clinical supervision will be provided. Join us to make a meaningful impact in mental health care.

Qualifications

• Eligibility for graduate membership in British Psychological Society.
• Passion for working with individuals with complex emotional needs.
• Experience in research or service evaluation.

Responsibilities

• Support Structured Clinical Management interventions.
• Assist in screening and assessing service users.
• Conduct clinical work under supervision of a clinical psychologist.

Skills

Graduate membership in British Psychological Society

Experience with complex emotional needs

Research and service evaluation skills

Education

Relevant Psychology degree

Job description

About the role

This full‑time and permanent post offers an exciting opportunity to work as an Assistant Psychologist within our Structured Clinical Management (SCM) team. SCM is an evidence based intervention consisting of both individual and group work offered within the Community Mental Health Teams to individuals with Complex Emotional Needs. The successful applicant will benefit from being part of a small, supportive SCM team but also being situated within the wider Community Mental Health Teams for both North and South Sheffield with all of the Multi‑Disciplinary team working and interest that comes with this. They would receive regular clinical supervision from a clinical psychologist. We are looking for a motivated and thoughtful individual who is eligible for graduate membership of British Psychological Society. You will be passionate about working with service users with complex emotional needs and able to use your skills and experience to work with individuals in a trauma informed way. You will have knowledge and skills in completing research or service evaluation and will be excited about the idea of coproducing service evaluation and service improvements alongside individuals with lived experience. This job role offers excellent experience for those looking to work towards a career in clinical psychology. Please be aware that applications may close early if we receive a large numbers of applications.

Responsibilities and Duties

In this role you will support and develop the offer of Structured Clinical Management as an intervention within the Community Mental Health Teams. This will involve supporting in the screening and assessment of service users and carrying out direct clinical work under the supervision of a clinical psychologist. You will also support the running and facilitation of SCM groups alongside colleagues. A key part of your role will be to organise and complete the service evaluation, gathering and analysing both quantitative and qualitative data and preparing this to be shared with the purpose of working on service improvement and assessing the efficacy of our intervention for service users. We are keen to ensure that our future service evaluation work is co‑produced alongside individuals with lived experience of using our service and so part of the role would be developing coproduction within our service evaluation and service improvement work.

You will have access to regular group and individual clinical supervision and have opportunities to contribute to multi-disciplinary team meetings and reviews. You will be expected to work into both Community Mental Health Teams in Sheffield and so this job will be split across two bases.

To be required to work on a frequent basis with people with serious mental illness. In particular, under supervision, to deliver supportive work with service users following the SCM clinical model. To undertake protocol based psychological assessments of service users, including the use of self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with service users and others involved in the person's care under the supervision of a Clinical Psychologist. To assist in the formulation and delivery of SCM care plans involving the psychological treatment and/or management of a service user's problems, under the supervision of the Clinical Psychologist, in the CMHT. To assist in the coordination and running of SCM 1:1 sessions and SCM therapeutic groups. To undertake, under supervision, additional pieces of low-intensity non-SCM clinical work. To work with other staff to assess service users and review their care in preparation for multi-disciplinary reviews. Where required, to attend and contribute to appropriate multi-disciplinary and care planning meetings. To assist in the development of a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all users of the service, across all settings where the care takes place. Teaching, training and supervision. To receive regular clinical supervision in accordance with professional practice guidelines. To develop skills and competencies that assist in the delivery of current duties. To contribute to the training and support of other staff in psychological care.

Service Development To assist in the design and implementation of service development projects within the service as required To attend meetings in which service developments are planned and discussed. To support the team in setting up coproduction as a core part of their service evaluation and development. Research and service evaluation To assist in the design and implementation of the SCM service evaluation To undertake data collection, analysis, the production of reports and summaries, using IT and statistical programmes To undertake searches of evidence-based literature and research to assist in evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members.

Working Environment Frequent requirement to travel around to community bases and other trust buildings. The role is split across two CMHTs and requires the post holder to work from both sites. The job role will involve working in situations where there may be occasional verbal abuse from service users, carers and the general public.

General requirements To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the post-holder's professional and service managers. To contribute to the development and articulation of best practice in psychology across the service, by continuing to develop the skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist and practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervision and appraisal, and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the field of clinical psychology and related disciplines. To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry, recoding and report writing in accordance with professional codes of practice of the BPS and Trust policies and procedures. To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues. To attend and contribute to relevant professional meetings. To develop and maintain good working relationships with colleagues within Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust and in the statutory and voluntary services with the aim of promoting high standards of care and clinical practice. We aim to be an organisation that is diverse and inclusive and to meet this aim we welcome applications from people with a wide range of life experience and whose diversity echoes the diversity of Sheffield, that of the people who use our services, and that of the people who may need to use our services but face barriers to access. Please think about your personal values and how these align with our Values when you are applying. Find out more about our organisation through our website. We are a Disability Confident employer. We offer a guaranteed interview to disabled applicants who meet all of the essential criteria for a role. When you apply you will have the opportunity to let us know if you require adjustments to be made, please contact us if you are not sure or if you require adjustments to the application process itself. We will always aim to accommodate requests, wherever possible. The Trust is committed to safeguarding adults and children and as part of our safe recruitment practice the successful applicant(s) will be subject to a check with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) if it is deemed appropriate for the role. The cost of the DBS check must be met by the successful applicant(s). At SHPU, we prioritise the well‑being and safety of both our service users and employees. It is our policy and a condition of employment that all employees must join the DBS Update Service. This service carries an annual fee, which employees are responsible for paying up front. However, employees may claim this cost back through the Trust's Employee Expenses Reimbursement Policy. For those requiring a Basic DBS check, it is necessary to register for a DBS Online Account. When applying for this post you will redirected to complete your application in our preferred applicant management system, Trac. If you are successfully offered a role, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system. In addition, in submitting an application, you authorise our Trust to confirm any previous NHS service details via the ESR IAT process should you be appointed. Please note, all communication regarding your application will be made via email, please ensure you check your junk/spam folders as emails are sometimes filtered there. Sheffield Health & Social Care Foundation Trust is currently unable to provide sponsorship for this role. This is in accordance with UKVI guidelines and legislation, as these roles do not meet the skill nor salary threshold for sponsorship. If you hold a visa which allows you to work in the UK, you are welcome to apply for this role however it is important to note that SHSC will be unable to offer sponsorship after your visa expires. You must also have at least 12 months on your visa at the start of your employment for training and operational reasons.