Assistant Psychologist - Eating Disorder Team

Alder Hey Children's Nhs Foundation Trust; Liverpool; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare organization in Liverpool is seeking a role to support psychological care of children and families within a multidisciplinary team. The position requires assisting in psychological assessments and treatments under supervision, maintaining clinical records, and developing skills in psychological care. Candidates should have a commitment to safeguarding children's welfare, as well as a collaborative spirit to work within the community and hospital settings.

Qualifications

• Support and enhance professional psychological care of children and families.
• Conduct protocol-based psychological assessments under supervision.
• Assist in psychological treatment and management of client's problems.

Responsibilities

• Undertake psychological assessments including psychometric tests.
• Coordinate therapeutic groups under supervision.
• Maintain comprehensive clinical notes and consultation records.

Job description

Job Overview

The post holder will support and enhance the professional psychological care of children, young people and families within the specialised eating disorder team at Alder Hey, under the direction and supervision of a qualified Clinical Psychologist. The role involves working in the community, at Alder Hey Hospital and at our day unit in Waterloo, as part of the Community and Mental Health Division in collaboration with other clinical psychology and multidisciplinary team members.

Key Responsibilities

• Follow appropriate induction and, under direction and supervision, undertake protocol-based psychological assessments of clients, including standard psychometric tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations, and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the client's care.
• Assist in the delivery of care plans involving the psychological treatment and / or management of a client's problems, under the supervision of a qualified professional psychologist, maintaining professionalism in a highly emotive atmosphere.
• Assist in the co‑ordination and running of therapeutic groups.
• Work with other staff to assess outpatients, inpatients and residents and review their care in preparation for multi‑disciplinary reviews.
• Assist in the development of a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all care settings.
• Attend and contribute to clinical psychology meetings and appropriate multi‑disciplinary meetings, as directed by qualified clinical psychologists.
• Prepare test materials and visual aids as required and maintain their stock.
• Receive regular clinical supervision in accordance with professional practice guidelines and Trust policy; work is directed, managed and supervised with goal setting and regular review.
• Develop skills and competencies that assist in the delivery of current duties.
• Where appropriate, and under supervision of qualified staff, contribute to the training and support of other staff in psychological care.
• Assist in the design and implementation of audit and research projects.
• Develop a skill base in the administration and analysis of a range of psychometric packages.
• Maintain comprehensive clinical notes and consultation records as defined in operational policy, countersigned by the supervising Clinical Psychologist, including case files and the service’s electronic record system.
• Be responsible for the prudent use of equipment and resources.
• Assist in the design and implementation of service development projects within the service.
• Attend meetings required for the planning and discussion of service developments.
• Be competent in the use of basic IT packages such as Microsoft Word and utilize electronic patient records for audit and service delivery purposes to inform service developments.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We are committed to creating a well‑managed, flexible working environment that supports staff and promotes their welfare and development. We actively promote equality and diversity and operate a Zero Tolerance policy to aggression, violence, bullying and harassment.