Assistant Psychologist – ASPIRE / Widening Access

East London NHS Foundation Trust; City Of London; On-site; GBP 23,000 - 28,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in London is seeking an Assistant Psychologist to support mental health services. The successful candidate will assist in assessments and interventions, contributing to service improvements and engaging with diverse communities. Ideal applicants should have a psychology degree (2:2 or above) and relevant lived experience. This role promotes an inclusive workforce and offers a unique opportunity to impact mental health positively.

Qualifications

• Experience of person-facing work, either paid or voluntary.
• Lived experience of factors associated with health, social and economic inequalities.
• Graduate level knowledge of psychological theory.

Responsibilities

• Assist in structured assessments and interventions under supervision.
• Support psychological services through data collection and analysis.
• Engage with service users and maintain rapport.

Skills

Ability to create and maintain positive relationships

High level verbal and written communication skills

IT literacy, including Microsoft Office

Education

Undergraduate psychology degree (2:2 or higher)

Eligible for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership

Job description

Assistant Psychologist – ASPIRE / Widening Access

We have an exciting paid opportunity within secondary care community mental health services in City & Hackney in ELFT for those Aspiring to become a Psychological Professional. The Aspire Programme funded by NHS England (NHSE), aims to support and development a more inclusive and diverse workforce, 'widening access' to those who may have previously experienced barriers. This initiative is part of a larger plan to improve diversity within Psychological Professions and for our workforce in ELFT to more accurately reflect the people we serve in our communities. You are welcome and encouraged to apply if you meet the following criteria:

Have a psychology undergraduate degree (2:2 OR above) OR have completed a Masters conversion courseAND

You have NOT completed a Masters degree or post-graduate diploma after your undergraduate degree AND

NOT had prior experience as an Assistant Psychologist, PWP, High Intensity Therapist or similarAND

You have NOT previously been employed under this or a similar scheme AND

Evidence you have lived experience associated with health, social, class, race, ethnicity, disability or economic inequalities, such as:

o Coming from a low socioeconomic background (family or candidate in receipt of benefits, low achieving school, free school meals, living in a deprived area)

o Caring responsibilities (in childhood or later)

o Being a looked after child/care leaver

o Coming from a minoritised community

Main duties of the job

Assistant Psychologists provide structured assessments and manualised treatments (individual and group) under the supervision of a qualified Psychologist. The successful candidate will also support the work of psychological therapies in services by involvement in file/case review, audit, and service evaluation and/or research for the improvement of services. The post holder will support trainee clinical psychologists in their placement work, both directly through assisting in clinical areas, and indirectly through collection of placement data with oversight and direction from the Psychology Workforce Development Lead. The post holder would be expected to work closely from a co-production and collaborative stance with experts-by-experience and local communities.

Further specific duties will be determined on the basis of skills and experience and operational service requirements, and may vary according to service needs/priorities change.

1. To work under the supervision of a qualified psychologist to undertake structured assessments and interventions

2. To support the work of psychological services through collection, collation and analysis of measures for evaluation and improvement of services

3. To work collaboratively in the spirit of co-production with service users, families/carers, colleagues and partners to develop and improve services in line with national policy and evidence-based care, meeting the needs of the local population.

About us

Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Job responsibilities

Clinical

All clinical duties will be carried out under the direction of a qualified Psychologist. The Assistant Psychologist has a responsibility to perform all tasks within the spirit and the policies of the East London NHS Foundation Trust. Under such direction and with these conditions the duties will be:

To establish and maintain rapport with clients to enable the arrangement of meetings and engagement in the group activities of the service.

To carry out or assist in carrying out specified assessments, including standardised psychometric tests and the scoring, analysis and initial preparation of formal reports.

To deliver standardised individual and group psychological interventions under the supervision of a qualified member of staff.

To be responsible for providing verbal and written feedback regarding assessments and psychological interventions to clients, multidisciplinary team members, families and carers of patients, some of which may be sensitive in nature.

To undertake file/case reviews to support clinical decision making of the psychology and multidisciplinary staff.

To attend relevant clinical meetings about clients to share and obtain information, disseminate report findings and convey opinion and analyses.

• To contribute to risk assessment and management of service users, and to immediately report any instances of harm or suspected harm/risk to a service user or others to qualified members of the team in line with safeguarding and risk management policies and protocols.

Administrative

• To maintain clear records of all client work carried out in Trust client case notes.
• To maintain high standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording and report writing and responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of conduct and practice of the BPS/HPC and Trust policies and procedures.
• To maintain a high level of written and verbal communication with multidisciplinary colleagues, GPs, service users, carers.

Human Resources, Management and Development

• 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 post-holders professional and team/operational manager(s).
• To develop knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to adult and older adult mental health.
• To undergo regular performance appraisal and review.
• To receive regular clinical professional supervision from a Psychologist in accordance with good practice guidance from the BPS. To participate in CPD/Reflection Group with other assistant psychologists within East London ELFT.
• To keep abreast of developments in psychological assessment and treatment of people with mental health difficulties through self-directed reading, attendance at CPD events, and through own supervision.
• To contribute to the development of colleagues understanding of psychological aspects of care through informal and formal discussion/presentation.
• To undertake mandatory training in line with Trust requirements.

Performance & Quality

• To contribute to departmental/team audits carried out as part of routine service review and evaluation, and specific audits as required, under supervision.
• To participate in carrying out service orientated and clinically relevant research (as agreed by the Trust, Locality Director and Professional Psychology Lead).
• To utilize theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
• To design databases, undertake data collection, analysis, the production of reports and summaries, using IT and statistical programmes as required.
• To contribute to Quality Improvement projects as required

Financial and Physical Resources

• Contribute to the responsible management of equipment and resources required for the ongoing provision of a high standard of psychological service to the directorate.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Undergraduate psychology degree (2:2 or higher) OR psychology conversion masters
• Eligible for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership with the British Psychological Society

Experience

• Experience of person-facing work, either paid or voluntary
• Previous work experience Previous experience with people with mental health or social care needs or as a carer.
• Lived experience of factors associated with health, social and economic inequalities.
• To be able to reflect on the experiences above, in relation to contributing to your understanding on marginalised groups and improving access to services.
• Experience in communicating sensitive information to service users, carers and colleagues.

Knowledge

• An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with mental health problems and/or other disabilities
• Graduate level knowledge of psychological theory and research design and methodology

Skills

• Ability to create and maintain positive relationships with a wide range of people with respect for diversity and encouraging inclusion.
• Potential to work psychologically with diverse groups within the populations we serve
• Able to be flexible and cope with multiple demands, working effectively as part of a team and contributing to team goals and targets
• Ability to work independently, within agreed time frames, and using supervision appropriately within limits of competence
• High level verbal and written communication skills including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive
• IT literate including expertise in using Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) to a good standard and using statistical packages for evaluation and research.

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.

Deputy Lead for Psychology, City & Hackney