Senior Assistant Psychologist

Job overview

We are seeking an empathic and enthusiastic assistant psychologist to join our welcoming staff support psychology and counselling service. The vacancy has arisen because the current postholder has successfully gained a clinical psychology training place.

In this role, you will deliver the triage function of our service, offering a supportive initial phone call and assessing whether in-house psychology or counselling, or an external referral, is most appropriate. Full training will be provided.

You will also be involved in the wider work of the service, including co-facilitation of groups and events, and service evaluation.

Main duties of the job

To support & enhance the professional psychological care of people referred to the service; providing psychological assessment and psychological interventions under the supervision of a qualified professional psychologist, working independently according to a plan agreed with a qualified psychologist and within the overall framework of the team's policies and procedures.

To utilise research skills for audit, service development and improvement and other research initiatives within the service.

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

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To support & enhance the professional psychological care of people referred to the service;

providing psychological assessment and psychological interventions under the supervision of a qualified professional psychologist, working independently according to a plan agreed with a qualified psychologist and within the overall framework of the team's policies and procedures.

To utilise research skills for audit, service development and improvement and other research initiatives within the service.

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

Key responsibilities

Clinical

Direct clinical work under supervision: To undertake protocol based psychological assessments of clients applying psychological, , self-report measures, rating scales, and semi-structured interviews with staff members; writing of comprehensive reports following assessment.

To assist in the formulation and delivery of care plans involving the psychological treatment and/or management of staff members’ problems, under the supervision of a qualified professional psychologist.

To assist in the co-ordination and running of therapeutic groups and/or psychoeducational groups under the supervision of a qualified professional psychologist.

To work with other staff to assess clients and review their care in preparation for reviews by the clinical team.

To attend and contribute to appropriate multi-disciplinary clinical team meetings. Support the development of self-help and other educative material. Teaching/Training In common with all applied psychologists, to receive regular clinical supervision in accordance with professional practice guidelines. To gain wider experience of professional psychology within the NHS over and above that provided within the principal service area where the post holder is employed. To develop skills and competencies that assist in the delivery of current duties. To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the post holder's professional and service manager. To contribute to the training and support of other staff in psychological care, as appropriate. Management, Policy & service development. To assist in the design and implementation of service development and improvement projects within the service as required. To attend meetings in which service developments are planned and discussed. Research & service evaluation. To assist in the design and implementation of audit and research projects. To undertake data collection, analysis, the production of reports and summaries, using IT and statistical programmes. To attend relevant meetings 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.