Job summary
We are looking for a new Assistant Psychologist to join our team of Clinical and Forensic Psychologists at Mersey Forensic Psychology Service. We work with adults who are considered to pose a risk of violent or sexual offending or re-offending, both in the community and in prisons.
The post will be centred on assisting the team with psychological assessments and interventions. This will involve observation and team discussion, support and co-facilitation of group interventions, carrying out formal assessments with the guidance of qualified staff and scoring and organising psychometric assessment tools.
The role also involves service development activities, including literature searches, audit, data management and assisting with primary research, including evaluation of developing therapies. You will be a part of various newly developing innovative services and interventions.
You will have the opportunity to acquire knowledge in the application of psychological interventions to the reduction of criminal behaviours and develop your understanding of a range of mental health difficulties and therapeutic models.
Main duties of the job
To support and enhance the professional psychological care of service users within the service, across all relevant sectors; providing psychological assessment and psychological interventions under the supervision of a qualified professional psychologist, working independently according to a plan agreed with the supervising qualified psychologist and within the overall framework of the team's policies and procedures.
About us
Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.
We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.
At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.
Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post holder will work with adults who are considered to pose a risk of serious re-offending as well as people who are seeking help to prevent first time offending. The post involves some time working at HMP Wymott and some time in the community arm of the service.
You will assist with the day to day delivery of the service, supporting the qualified psychologists in various ways and join team meetings and discussions.
You will administer and score psychometric questionnaires and manage the database, producing reports on individual outcomes and service performance.
You will observe and co-facilitate group interventions and 1-1 assessments at HMP Wymott and in the community service.
You will undertake literature searches/reviews, assist with primary research, service development and evaluation.
Person Specification
QUALIFICATIONS:
Essential
1. An upper second-class honours degree in psychology (or psychology as a main subject) or lower second with the addition of a higher degree in psychology
2. Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Societ
Desirable
3. Further post-graduate training in relevant areas of professional psychology, mental health practice and/or research design and analysis
KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE:
Essential
4. A minimum of 12 months previous experience of work with people with mental health needs and/or other disabilities
5. Demonstrated high level ability to communicate sensitively and succinctly to service users, carers and colleagues in a way that facilitates engagement.
6. To have a significant degree of flexibility and adaptability within the therapeutic context
7. The ability to work with an appropriate level of autonomy within agreed boundaries directed by supervising psychologist.
8. The ability to accept and use supervision appropriately and effectively.
9. An empathic approach to working with people with mental health needs
10. Experience using computers for databases or data analysis
Desirable
11. Experience of paid work in direct care provision
12. Previous experience as an assistant in an NHS or forensic setting
13. Experience of interacting effectively within an MDT context
14. Experience of research evaluation and audit of the application of psychological principles
15. Experience of teaching and training in the application of psychological principles to mental health needs
16. An interest in working with people with mental health needs.
17. A desire to explore a career in clinical psychology.
Skills
Essential
18. An ability to interact and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive.
19. High-level communication skills (written and verbal) including report-writing.
20. An understanding of the needs of people with mental health difficulties including those associated with personality disorder and/or other psychological/physical disabilities.
21. An ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a mental health context
Desirable
22. Skills in word processing and SPSS for Windows
23. Undertaking further relevant post-graduate study leading to recognised qualification