Practitioner Assistant Psychologist

NHS; Bury St Edmunds; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare organization in Bury St Edmunds is looking for a compassionate Assistant Psychologist to provide psychological interventions on Adult Acute Inpatient Wards. The ideal candidate will have a BPS accredited psychology degree and experience in psychological assessments and therapy, particularly DBT. You will support patients through individual and group interventions, engaging in audits and research projects. This role is perfect for those aspiring to a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, with mentorship opportunities available.

Benefits

Ongoing training and development opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience with psychological assessments and interventions in inpatient settings.
• Understanding of psychological models like DBT.
• Strong report-writing skills are highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Provide psychologically informed interventions to patients and their carers.
• Develop collaborative formulations with patients to understand distress.
• Support patients in completing guided self-help workbooks.
• Facilitate CBT- and DBT-informed therapeutic groups.

Skills

Skills using software for statistical analysis

High standard of report writing

Ability to communicate sensitive information

Education

A BPS accredited degree in Psychology

Job description

We are seeking a compassionate, reflective, and recovery-focused Assistant Psychologist to support the delivery of evidence-based psychological interventions for individuals on the Adult Acute Inpatient Wards at Wedgwood House, Bury St Edmunds.

Preference will be given to candidates with a strong understanding of psychological models of therapy and recovery, particularly Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) approaches within inpatient settings. Confidence in facilitating therapeutic groups, alongside knowledge and skills in collaboratively developing and disseminating psychological formulations, are essential attributes for the successful post holder.

The successful candidate will contribute to the team's work by providing psychological assessments, as well as individual and group interventions, under the supervision of a qualified Clinical Psychologist. There will also be opportunities to participate in audit, service evaluation, and research projects within the ward environment. Strong report-writing skills are highly desirable.

This post is ideally suited to those considering applying for the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, and there is a strong commitment from the supervising Clinical Psychologist to support applicants in their preparation for this training route.

Please note that AI generated applications are unlikely to be effective in this process. We value personal views reflections and aspirations which AI historically is less effective at conveying effectively.

Main duties of the job

• Provide psychologically informed interventions to patients and their carerso
• Develop collaborative formulations with patients to understand their psychological distress and the reasons for their admissiono
• Support patients in completing guided self-help workbookso
• Participate in MDT meetings to share clinical work and contribute psychological perspectiveso
• Develop support plans and safety plans to assist with dischargeo
• Facilitate CBT- and DBT-informed therapeutic groups on the wardo
• Complete contemporaneous clinical notes to support MDT communicationo
• Write therapeutic letters to patients

About us

Here at NSFT we pride ourselves on being a welcoming, talented, friendly and supportive team who like nothing better than sharing experiences and learning from each other. In addition to ongoing training and development opportunities, we are committed to providing an environment in which you can thrive.

Why work for us? We have challenges as a Trust, but we have ambitious aspirations, are pushing ahead with exciting transformation work and we need dedicated individuals to support us on our journey. We have strong, established professional networks coupled with an exceptional leadership team who will ensure you are truly cared for and cared about.

Why Norfolk and Suffolk? The people here are warm and welcoming, you'll never be far from the beautiful coastline or Broads National Park. We're an hour and a half away from London and have an international airport in Norwich too. Our villages, towns and cities are packed full of history, independent cafes, shops and theatres. We have excellent shopping, eating out, top ranking schooling and affordable house prices too.

Job responsibilities

Please find attached our Job Description and Person Specification for more detail on your Key Accountabilities, then if you feel you have what it takes to make a difference in your local communities, click APPLY!

Person Specification

Qualifications

• A BPS accredited degree in Psychology

Skills

• Skills using software for statistical analysis
• High standard of report writing
• Ability to communicate sensitive information to service users and colleagues

Knowledge

• Knowledge of quantitative research
• An understanding of psychology applied to health care
• An ability to apply existing knowledge to a mental health context

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.