Clinical Associate in Psychology

Job overview

The Clinical Associate in Psychology (CAP) is a new addition to the Psychological workforce and supports the wider NHS agenda to develop and expand the psychological provision. CAP’s fill an identified skills gap between assistant psychologist and qualified clinical psychologists. They are able to practice autonomously with appropriate support, working within their scope of practice, under the supervision of a registered clinical psychologist.

CAPs are scientist practitioners who utilise psychological knowledge, research and theory to reduce psychological distress and to enhance psychological wellbeing in the clients they work with. They work with specific client groups in a range of services, acting as a resource of psychological skill and competence to a team of healthcare practitioners.

As a qualified CAP the post holder will provide effective evidence based care to National and local guidelines and will manage a caseload and take responsibility for proactive care delivery decisions, within their scope of practice and under the supervision of a registered clinical psychologist. The post holder will plan, assess, implement and evaluate programmes of care. CAPs are expected to maintain a compassionate, caring and safe care environment.

The broad purpose of the occupation is to provide high quality, evidence-based psychological interventions, to inform practice with formulations derived from specialist psychological assessment, to work effectively with populations from different backgrounds, cultures and beliefs, and to draw on an understanding of applied service-related research to support service evaluation and improvement.

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will:

• Communicate constructively with a range of healthcare professionals in a variety of services including nurses, social workers, allied health professionals (AHPs) and medical colleagues as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Link directly with the psychology team, alongside assistant psychologists and trainee clinical psychologists, while reporting to a Clinical Psychologist regarding psychological assessment, formulation and intervention.
• Build relationships with other professionals, depending upon the appropriate training and supervised clinical practice delivered as part of their apprenticeship.
• Work as part of a multidisciplinary team in a specialised clinical setting and liaise with relevant external agencies to facilitate and enable psychological interventions.
• Communicate new learning approaches and provide constructive feedback to challenge and overcome barriers to implementation of best psychological practice.
• Communicate to others the core concepts of psychological theory, research and practice in order to enhance their delivery of psychological interventions.
• Provide training for others to inform and support psychological models of change and interventions.
• Provide training within teams to enhance delivery of clinical and research practice interventions appropriate to the health and psychological needs of patients across a range of service settings.
• Effectively communicate decision making processes which have informed the psychological management of risk; implement and respond appropriately to risk, using appropriate guidance and support, maintaining compliance with service policy and values.
• Understand impact of multiple perspectives within the context of multidisciplinary teams.
• Explain the rationales to individuals, groups and other healthcare colleagues, for evidence-based psychological treatment models and protocols.

In return, we can offer you:

• development and training opportunities
• regular supervision
• 5% on top of basic salary high cost allowance supplement (subject to a minimum and a maximum payment pro rata)
• 27 days holiday rising to 33 days (depending on NHS Trust service) plus bank holidays (pro rata where applicable)
• One of the UK's best pension schemes
• Free Pilates lessons
• Comprehensive health and wellbeing programme
• Special leave for family and personal reasons
• NHS Car Lease Scheme (for substantive staff)
• Employee Assistance Programme

Our staff survey results tell a story of highly engaged, motivated, passionate people working at HPFT. The survey has shown that staff overwhelmingly believe that their role makes a difference to service users, to the extent that HPFT had the best score nationally for this question.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Communicate constructively with a range of healthcare professionals in a variety of services including nurses, social workers, allied health professionals (AHPs) and medical colleagues as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Link directly with the psychology team, alongside assistant psychologists and trainee clinical psychologists, while reporting to a Clinical Psychologist regarding psychological assessment, formulation and intervention.
• Build relationships with other professionals, depending upon the appropriate training and supervised clinical practice delivered as part of their apprenticeship.
• Work as part of a multidisciplinary team in a specialised clinical setting and liaise with relevant external agencies to facilitate and enable psychological interventions.
• Communicate new learning approaches and provide constructive feedback to challenge and overcome barriers to implementation of best psychological practice.
• Communicate to others the core concepts of psychological theory, research and practice in order to enhance their delivery of psychological interventions.
• Provide training for others to inform and support psychological models of change and interventions.
• Provide training within teams to enhance delivery of clinical and research practice interventions appropriate to the health and psychological needs of patients across a range of service settings.
• Effectively communicate decision making processes which have informed the psychological management of risk; implement and respond appropriately to risk, using appropriate guidance and support, maintaining compliance with service policy and values.
• Understand impact of multiple perspectives within the context of multidisciplinary teams.
• Explain the rationales to individuals, groups and other healthcare colleagues, for evidence-based psychological treatment models and protocols.

For full details of the role and responsibilities for this vacancy please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification documents attached.