Senior Assistant Psychologist

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust; London; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in London is seeking experienced Assistant Psychologists to join their team. The role involves supporting psychological care for young people in crisis, conducting assessments, and assisting with data collection and research projects. Candidates should have a psychology degree and strong communication skills. This position offers an opportunity to work within an integrated mental health service across multiple London boroughs.

Benefits

Robust induction program

Collaboration with skilled clinicians

Qualifications

• Experience working with children and young people with emotional/behavioral problems.
• Desirable: Experience in direct care provision.

Responsibilities

• Support psychological care for young people and families.
• Assist in audits, data collection, and research projects.
• Conduct psychological assessments under supervision.

Skills

High level communication skills

Ability to communicate sensitive information

Understanding of needs and difficulties of individuals with mental health problems

Ability to apply psychological knowledge

Education

Upper second-class honours degree in psychology

Tools

SPSS for Windows

Job description

Job Overview

We are looking for two experienced Assistant Psychologists to join our lovely team!

The Adolescent Community Treatment Service (ACTS) provides intensive community care (home treatment) to young people aged 13-18 in crisis experiencing acute mental health conditions from the boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon.

The service is part of an integrated Tier 4 pathway alongside Lavender Walk Adolescent Unit and works in close collaboration with community CAMHS teams and other statutory and non-statutory services.

ACTS is a team with a strong commitment to offering a less restrictive service to young people who would otherwise be admitted to hospital. We have the privilege of no waiting lists for treatment and we offer individualised care. This requires creativity and flexibility in thinking and responding from all team members. We are an outreach service across five London boroughs so we have a capped caseload.

We provide a robust induction and you will have the opportunity to work and learn alongside highly skilled clinicians from different disciplines. The role is a combination of intensive clinical work and building on the data collection and research started by previous assistant psychologists.

Main duties of the job

Your role will be to support and enhance the professional psychological care offered by ACTS to young people and their families/carers across the boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon. You will receive direct supervision from a qualified Clinical Psychologist.

Your responsibilities and duties may include:

To assist in clinically related administration, conduct of audits, collection of statistics, development of audit and/or research projects and teaching and project work.

To support clinicians to collect, enter into electronic records and analyse clinically relevant data.

To provide psychological assessment and psychological interventions, where appropriate, under the supervision and guidance of a qualified Clinical Psychologist.

To support service user participation and collaborate with young people and their families/carers to inform service delivery and development.

To liaise and develop working relationships with other services and agencies involved with young people and their families.

To work independently according to a plan agreed with your supervisor and within the overall framework of the team’s policies and procedures.

Working for our organisation

The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

If you have any questions about what it means to work in ACTS, please call and request to speak with one of the current Assistant Psychologists in the team.

Please see the job description for more information. The main responsibilities for this post include but are not limited to:

Research and service evaluation:

• To assist in the implementation of Routine Outcome Measures (ROMS), audits and research projects.
• 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 qualified clinical psychologists in evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
  
  

Information Technology:

• To use computer and computer software to prepare reports and documents relevant to working duties.
• When required, to enter data into Trusts patient administration systems and to make use of data bases in the course of clinical duties.
  
  

Clinical:

• To undertake protocol based psychological assessments of clients including neuropsychological 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.
• To assist in the formulation and delivery of care plans involving the psychological treatment and/or management of a client’s problems, under the supervision of a qualified professional psychologist.
• To assist in the coordination and running of therapeutic groups.
  
  

Person specification

Training And Qualifications

Essential criteria

• An upper second-class honours degree or higher in psychology. Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Further post graduate training in relevant areas of professional psychology, mental health practice and/or research design and analysis.
  
  

Experience

Essential criteria

• Work with children and young people with emotional and/or behavioural problems; neurological conditions and developmental delay/disorders and/or other disabilities
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Experience of paid work in direct care provision.
  
  

Knowledge and Skills

Essential criteria

• High level communication skills (written and verbal) including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive
• Ability to communicate sensitive information to patients, carers and colleagues in a way that addresses psychological resistance
• An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with mental health problems or other disabilities.
• An ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a mental health context
• An understanding of psychology applied to health care
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Experience using microcomputers for databases or data analysis, especially SPSS for Windows
• High standard of report writing
  
  

Personal

Essential criteria

• An ability to interact with people with mental health problems disabilities
• An ability to interact effectively with staff from all disciplines.
• Ability to work independently, reliably and consistently with work agreed and managed at regular intervals.
• An interest in working with people with mental health problems or other disabilities.
  
  

Other

Essential criteria

• Ability to accept and use supervision appropriately and effectively
  
  

Desirable criteria

• A desire to explore a career in Professional Psychology