Assistant Psychologist

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic and compassionate Assistant Psychologist to work within our Primary Care Mental Health Treatment Requirement (PC-MHTR) Teams across Hampshire. This post will predominantly be based in Portsmouth, however there may be a requirement to travel within the wider Hampshire area/Isle of Wight depending on service needs and also a requirement to travel for training.  If you are seeking a new challenge, and have a keen interest in the criminal justice services, we encourage you to apply and join our supportive and welcoming team! The Mental Health Treatment Requirement (MHTR) Team are part of MPFT’s Health and Justice Service. The PC-MHTR team provide psychological assessments and interventions to people with mental health difficulties who have come into contact with criminal justice services and whose offences may attract a community or suspended sentence order. The team aims to prevent short term custodial sentences and reduce reoffending by improving access to psychological interventions and addressing underlying mental health problems, thereby improving health and social outcomes for the individual and their family.

MPFT deliver services across England. We are experienced in working across a wide geographical area and there is no necessity to travel to headquarters, training and IT support is virtual.

Main duties of the job

This post will predominantly be based in Portsmouth. There may be a requirement to travel within the wider Hampshire area/Isle of Wight depending on service needs.

You will: • Be responsible for supporting a Practitioner Psychologist in the development and evaluation of new service delivery models for people with severe and enduring mental health difficulties. • Undertake protocol based psychological assessments of service users including self-report measures, rating scales and semi-structured interviews. • Assist in the formulation and delivery of care plans involving the psychological treatment of a service user’s problems, including simple procedures and techniques related to psychological therapies. • Communicate and liaise with other disciplines involved in the service user’s care. • Assist in the development of a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all service users. • Attend and contribute to appropriate multi-disciplinary meetings.

• Provide advice, guidance and support to service users to enhance awareness of their psychological needs.
• Prepare assessment/service evaluation reports. • Undertake literature reviews and audits.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further information on the Job Description, main responsibilities and Person Specification to ensure you have the relevant skills for the post, please see the attached documents. As a member of the team you will be responsible for undertaking assessments, formulating service users’ needs and delivering psychological interventions, under the supervision of a qualified Practitioner Psychologist. An understanding of the needs of people with a diagnosis of personality disorder, mental illness, and/or learning disabilities/neurodiversity is needed in this role, with the ability to communicate sensitive information to the patient, carer and colleagues in a way that addresses psychological resistance. We are seeking somebody who will confidently develop and support the involvement of service users and carers in all aspects of the Health and Justice Service, from individual care planning to the design and evaluation of the overall service. We look forward to receiving your application. If you have any questions regarding the role, do not hesitate to contact us in advance of submitting your application.