Band 5 Apprentice Clinical Associate Psychologist - Bath

Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust; Bath; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading mental health organization is looking for a Clinical Associate Psychologist (CAP) apprentice to join their efforts in supporting individuals with severe mental health issues. The role offers the chance to engage in comprehensive training while working closely with experienced professionals in a multidisciplinary team. Candidates will benefit from a structured learning program and hands-on experience in a community setting.

Benefits

Supportive training program

Supervision from qualified Clinical Psychologist

Diversity and inclusion initiatives

Qualifications

• 2 years or more experience working with complex clients.
• Experience in NHS or outreach work.
• Previous supervision by clinical psychologist and ability to cope with clinical stress.

Responsibilities

• Undertake structured interviews and psychological assessments.
• Assist in development of psychological formulations and care plans.
• Carry out psychological tests and interventions under supervision.

Skills

Understanding of mental health issues

Ability to apply formulations to problems

Education

2:1 or 2.2 Honours degree in Psychology

Level 2 Maths and English equivalent to GCSE

Job description

Job overview

We are recruiting a Clinical Associate Psychologist (CAP) apprentice in BANES Recovery Team and Intensive Team. This apprentice programme allows talented psychology graduates to access clinical roles where they can be trained on-the-job in psychological interventions. These highly competitive posts are a new initiative to England, and AWP has played a leading role in developing them in the south west. These roles create an opportunity to work psychologically with people suffering from severe and enduring mental health difficulties in a community setting.

You will be part of a multidisciplinary team, and will have support and direct supervision from a Clinical Psychologist. You will join University of Bath CAP training programme (MSc Level) and on successful completion of the CAP Apprenticeship become a band 6 CAP.

This advert will close early once 100 applicants is reached

Main duties of the job

To undertake a structured programme of learning including personal study, academic work, placement learning and assessment leading to the award of an MSc in Clinical Associate Psychology and employment as Clinical Associate Psychologist (Band 6).
To undertake specialised psychological assessments, treatments and other types of clinical intervention appropriate to this level of training with individual & groups of service users.
The trainee will receive supervision within the job role to ensure that they meet the required levels of competence to complete the MSc course and the end point assessment.
To become able to work independently, initially under supervision, on a day-to-day basis. This work will be supervised and reviewed regularly with supervision usually being offered by a qualified Clinical Psychologist.

Working for our organisation

We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust): a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.

We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.

Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.

At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

1. To undertake structured interviews, psychological assessments and observations of individuals and groups.
2. To assist in the development of psychological formulations of complex clinical problems and the development and delivery of care plans, which include psychological treatment and/or management of the service user problems including risk assessments.
3. To determine appropriate psychological intervention, taking into account a range of potentially conflicting clinical information and dynamics under the supervision of a clinical psychologist.
4. To carry out psychological and psychometric tests, to develop interview and observation skills and to assess service user/patient needs.
5. To design, implement, modify an appropriate, bespoke psychological interventions with service users and groups under the supervision of a clinical psychologist.
6. To communicate confidential and personal information concerning psychological needs, obtained through assessments and interventions, to colleagues within and outside of the Trust
and to the service user and their families/carers.
7. To assist in the coordination and running of therapeutic groups.
8. To provide emotional support to service users and carers/family members.
9. To keep appropriate records of work and inform relevant others through letters or reports defined within the polices for AWP
10. To work as a member of a multidisciplinary ward /or community team.
11. To follow a person-focused and evidence based approach with service users and their families/carers.
12. To work in a partnership with service users.
13. To work in accordance with National NHS and placement providers' policies and regulations, as well as those of relevant professional bodies.
14. The post holder will be required to work in situations where there are barriers to acceptance and exposure to aggression.

Person specification

Essential

Essential criteria

• Previous experience of working in mental health
• 2 years or more experience of working with complex clients, either NHS or third party organisations

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• 2:1 or 2.2 Honours degree in Psychology
• Attained at least Level 2 Maths and English (equivalent to GCSE grade 9-4 (A*-C))

Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience of work in the NHS or outreach work, or local engagement work , experience of working in voluntary sector, working in community groups.
• Work with client groups with serious mental health problems
• Experience of working with adults with complex emotional needs or psychosis
• Previous experience being supervised by clinical or counselling psychologist, ability to cope with clinical/academic stress

Skills

Essential criteria

• Good understanding and ability to apply formulations to presenting problems
• Basic understanding of mental health issues and approaches to treatment and intervention
• Basic understanding of health care systems and structures: staffing, roles and responsibilities, the role of hospitals, primary care and community care
• Graduate level knowledge of research design and methodology
• Able to work seamlessly with other professional groups

We are proud to be fostering a diverse workforce that reflects our communities. A key commitment to this is improving staff representation from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, those from the LGBTQ+ communities, people with 'lived-experience' of mental health conditions and people living with disabilities,- we are a 'Disability Confident Employer' offering a guaranteed interview to Disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. This includes people with a variety of disabilities and neurodivergent conditions (for example autism, ADHD, sensory, physical and learning disabilities).

We encourage applications from people who wish to work on a flexible basis, recognising that flexibility may mean a range of different working patterns and hours, we do our utmost to work with our staff to meet their needs and the needs of our service users.

Click here to view our applicant guidance

Please apply to join us, we would love to hear from you. Any personal details you supply to us are kept safe in line with the General Data Protection Regulations.

Adverts normally close for application a few minutes before midnight on the closing date and we will let you know if we are offering you an interview by email via our recruitment system 'TRAC'. We contact all applicants within 4 weeks after the closing date, so please check your emails regularly once you have submitted your application; you are welcome to contact us, via the TRAC system, if you have any queries about your application.

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Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Application numbers

This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. Please complete and submit your application in good time to avoid disappointment.
Documents to download

• Apprentice Clinical Associate Psychologist JD (PDF, 614.9KB)
• Local info sheet for new adult clinical (PDF, 648.3KB)
• Inclusive Top 50 UK Employers List (PDF, 78.9KB)
• Value of the NHS Pension Scheme (PDF, 279.0KB)