Assistant Psychologist United Kingdom
Job description
Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust provides child and adult mental health services, learning disability, wellbeing, older people's and eating disorder services across Norfolk and Suffolk.
At any one time, around 23,000 people in Norfolk and Suffolk are receiving care and attention from the Trust. We believe in whole life care - seeing people in the context of their whole lives, understanding the importance of good physical health, friends, family, spirituality, culture, home, work, education and a sense of purpose and achievement to experience good mental health.
Nearly 3,200 full and part-time practitioners care for our service users in hospitals, in the community and in their own homes, whilst an additional 900+ staff provide non-clinical support, including cleaning, delivering supplies, ward administration, information technology, human resources and financial services.
We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and want to reflect the diversity of our local communities within our teams. We welcome applications from all talented individuals with the relevant qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience.
We are committed to delivering quality driven mental health services. Every individual makes a valuable contribution. We are proud of our staff who have been commended for the care they provide. Do you value working positively, respectfully and together? If so, we’d love you to join us!
We will consider flexible working arrangements for our roles, please indicate in your application if this is something you require
JOB DESCRIPTION/PERSON SPECIFICATION
Please read the job description/person specification carefully and ensure your application reflects the knowledge, skills and experience needed.
YOUR APPLICATION
It is important that you complete a formal application form as CV’s alone will not be accepted.
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Job overview
We are looking for an Assistant Psychologist with a keen interest & experience of working with people with learning disabilities and or/ autism to join our passionate community team working across Suffolk, for a fixed term of 12 months.
This is an exciting opportunity to work with and learn from a range of experienced clinicians as you will be an integral part of a multidisciplinary team which includes nurses, psychiatrists, occupational therapists, assistant practitioners, art psychotherapists, clinical psychologists and social care colleagues, who are committed to providing a high-quality service to people with learning disabilities and autism.
You will also be part of a friendly and supportive clinical psychology and psychological therapies team. We have close relationships with the training course at the University of East Anglia, offering placements and teaching on the course. We also have an excellent research department in the Trust.
Main duties of the job
You will be involved in supporting the delivery of psychological services to people with learning disabilities and/or autism who present with a mental health difficulty or behaviour that challenges.
The main duties are to support the delivery of psychologically informed assessments, formulations and interventions to service users alongside psychologists and other colleagues under the close supervision of an experienced Clinical Psychologist. You will work with individuals, families, support services and a range of other professionals and good communication skills are essential.
You will also have a role in contributing to service development projects. A good understanding of psychological models and their application, as well as data analysis and report writing skills is desirable.
Working for our organisation
Within NSFT, the way we care for people with Learning Disabilities in Suffolk is changing as we have recently benefitted from a £1.3 million investment in our Acute services and the role out of a new Learning Disability and Autism Specialist Service. The development is fully driven by the national Transforming Care Agenda.
The Learning Disability and Autism Specialist Service is not only being invested in financially, with a fresh approach to ideas and service delivery being supported by the Trust, we are confident our new model of care is the very best for the people we care for.
Please note that this vacancy may close ahead of the published expiry date so an early application will ensure that you don’t miss out on this opportunity.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Main responsibilities to include:
- Psychological assessment, formulation and intervention as appropriate under close supervision of a clinical psychologist
- Co-facilitating psychologically informed groups
- Contributing to the practice of psychologically informed interventions within the team via teaching and developing resources
- Contributing to service development projects
- Evaluating outcomes and writing reports
You will have:
- A BPS Accredited degree in Psychology
- Experience of working with people with learning disabilities and/or autism
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- BPS Accredited degree in Psychology
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of quantitative research
Desirable criteria
- Experience of research in the NHS
Skills
Essential criteria
- Skills using microcomputers for databases or date analysis
Desirable criteria
- Ability to communicate sensitive information to patients and colleagues. Presentation skills.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Knowledge of Mental Health & quantitative research. High standard of report writing. An understanding of psychology applied to health care.
Desirable criteria
- An understanding of the needs & difficulties of people with mental health problems or other disabilities. An ability to apply existing knowledge to a mental health context.
Other
Essential criteria
- An ability to interact effectively with staff from all disciplines. An ability to interact with clients with mental health problems. Ability to work independently, reliably and consistently with work agreed and managed at regular intervals. Ability to accept and use supervision appropriately & effectively. Ability to travel independently.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
Apart from its legal duties in relation to equality and diversity, the Trust recognises and actively promotes the benefits of a diverse workforce and is committed to treating all employees with dignity and respect regardless of race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief.
Additionally, people with disabilities that fall under the Two Ticks - Guaranteed Interview Scheme will be offered an interview providing they meet the minimum criteria for the post (outlined in the Person Specification).
DISCLOSURE AND BARRING SERVICE CHECK (formerly CRB)
FOR POSTS WITH DIRECT SERVICE USER CONTACT - Please be advised that due to recent changes in the DBS Service, organisations no longer receive copies of DBS Disclosures – these are sent directly to candidates only. Therefore, it will be your responsibility, if successful, to ensure that this is taken to the appointing officer as soon as you receive it.
Alternatively, if you have subscribed to the update service, we will be able to check your status once we have your authority to do so.
The Trust has now introduced a DBS Update Service which is a contractual requirement. You need to subscribe when you have applied for your DBS clearance and there is a time limit to subscribe of 19 days after receipt of your DBS disclosure. Please ensure that this is completed within the set time scale.
This update service is an annual subscription at a cost of £13 to you. This will enable the Trust to have instant online access to your DBS record, with your consent, and so will remove the need for you to have to apply for this repeat check again.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
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.
