Assistant Psychologist

Job overview

Assistant Psychologist Band 4

3 x Permanent Full-Time Posts (37.5 hours per week)

Acute & Urgent Care Directorate, Harplands Hospital, Stoke-on-Trent

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen for three permanent full-time Assistant Psychologists (1.0 WTE each) to join the Psychology Team within the Acute & Urgent Care (A&UC) Directorate at Harplands Hospital, Stoke-on-Trent.

The successful applicants will be appointed to one of three posts:

• 1 WTE Assistant Psychologist based within the Crisis Care Centre (CCC),
• 1 WTE Assistant Psychologist based on Ward 3, with one day per week providing clinical input to the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).
• 1 WTE Assistant Psychologist based on Ward 1&2

Applicants will have the opportunity to express a preference for posts at interview, although appointments will be made according to service needs & candidate strengths.

This is an excellent opportunity for aspiring psychologists seeking to develop their assessment, formulation & intervention skills within dynamic acute mental health services. The posts offer a broad range of experiences across crisis & inpatient settings, including opportunities for direct clinical work, group facilitation, service development, audit & research activity.

The successful applicants will work under the supervision of qualified Psychologists & as part of multidisciplinary teams including Assistant & Trainee Psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses, occupational therapists, peers & support workers.

Main duties of the job

To support and enhance the professional psychological care of clients within the Specialty, across all sectors of care; providing psychological assessment and psychological interventions under the supervision of a qualified professional psychologist, working independently according to a plan agreed with the qualified psychologist and within the overall framework of the team’s policies and procedures. To assist in clinically related administration, conduct of audits, collection of statistics, development of audit and/or research projects, teaching and project work.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post holder will provide supervised psychological assessment, intervention and support as part of a multidisciplinary team, working within their level of competence and under the direction of qualified psychologists.

Key responsibilities include:

• Clinical support: Conducts protocol-based assessments, gathers information, assists with psychological formulations, scoring and interpretation of assessments, and delivers supervised psychological interventions such as CBT.
• Patient communication and care: Handles complex and sensitive clinical information, contributes to care planning and maintains high standards of clinical documentation and reporting.
• MDT working: Works collaboratively with psychologists and other professionals, attends MDT meetings and contributes psychological information to support patient care.
• Teaching and consultation: Assists qualified psychologists with staff training, workshops and presentations, and provides psychologically informed advice to other MDT members under supervision.
• Service development: Supports service improvement projects, attends relevant meetings, assists with coordination of volunteers and manages allocated psychological resources and equipment.
• Research and audit: Undertakes literature reviews, collects and analyses research data, supports audit and research projects, and contributes to evidence-based practice using statistical and IT software.
• IT and administration: Uses a range of IT systems for clinical records, data analysis, reports, presentations, psychometric testing and communication, alongside general administrative duties.
• Professional development: Works in accordance with BPS, HCPC and Trust requirements, receives regular clinical supervision, participates in appraisal and CPD, and maintains professional competence.
• Other duties: Prepares clinical and educational materials and undertakes other duties appropriate to the grade as required.

The role is a broad Assistant Psychologist position combining supervised clinical work, psychological assessment and intervention, MDT support, teaching, research/audit, service development, administration and ongoing professional development.

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.