Job summary
12-month Fixed Term Contract
**Please note - this vacancy will close once sufficient applications have been received. This may be BEFORE the advertised date**
We have an exciting opportunity for a Band 5 Higher Assistant Psychologist, to join our enhanced and developing Forensic Psychiatry Community Service.
CPFT are one of six providers of specialist mental health and learning disability care in the East of England, working collaboratively to ensure there is a seamless pathway of care, that is closer to home for the communities that we serve. The Provider Collaborative also works closely with independent sector partners to make improvements to our services and the ways we deliver them.
This enhanced specialist service consists of 2 multi-disciplinary teams, based in Cambridge and Peterborough, which cover the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough population. The service works with adults diagnosed with a mental health condition and/or learning disability who present with a risk of significant harm to others, to achieve optimal management of risk and minimize re-offending.
Working closely with the individual, we produce a tailored care package together that is focused around their personal needs. The service adopts a compassionate and trauma informed approach to promote relapse prevention and recovery, so enabling individuals to realise their full potential whilst supporting them to continue to build and live meaningful lives in the community.
Main duties of the job
The post-holder will be supervised to support the development of psychological case formulations (, CFT, CBT, DBT, Trauma focused therapies, Relapse Prevention) and enhanced risk assessment tools (, HCR20-v 3, SAPROF etc.).
There will also be the opportunity to provide psycho-education sessions for service users (1:1 and groups) and provide supportive activities for staff team ( training, supervision). This role offers further opportunities to gain insight into multi-agency risk management processes ( MAPPA), as well as gaining a wider perspective of services for this client group; through attendance at CPA reviews and ward rounds in open, low and medium secure hospitals.
In addition, there are a number of clinically related administration and audit tasks attached to the post. The post-holder will be required to work independently according to a plan agreed with a qualified psychologist and within the overall framework of the team's policies and procedures.
The service aims to :
1. Ensure the shortest inpatient to community journey
2. Provide a robust discharge via the collaborative wrap around service
3. Deliver a seamless pathway of care that is centred around the individuals needs
You will be joining an experienced multidisciplinary team of professionals including psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, support workers and administrators who all share a passion and drive for delivering high quality care and treatment to service users with forensic histories.
About us
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health and social care organisation dedicated to providing high-quality care with compassion to improve the health and wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting andempowering them to lead a fulfilling life.
Our clinical teams deliver many NHS services, not only via inpatient and primary care settings, but also within the community. These services include children's, adult and older people's mental health, forensic and specialist mental health, learning disabilities, primary care and liaison psychiatry, substance misuse, social care, research and development.
To achieve our goal, we look to recruit high-calibre candidates who share our vision and values. As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all sectors of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including disabled people and members of ourethnic minority andLGBTQ+ communities.
For further information on CPFT, please visit our website at
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities
To assist the Senior Psychologists with assessments, the development of formulations and the planning and delivery of psychological interventions.
To provide direct psychological interventions to service users under the supervision of the Senior Psychologists.
To review and audit notes, summarising essential information.
To contribute to gathering information, as part of risk assessments undertaken within the service in line with Trust and inter-agency policies/procedures
To attend and contribute to appropriate multi-disciplinary meetings, CPA reviews and ward rounds, including team meetings, team supervisions.
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 assist and develop research and service evaluations of a continuously developing service.
Person Specification
Education / Quailifications
Essential
4. An upper second-class honours degree or higher in psychology.
5. Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society.
Desirable
6. Further post graduate training in relevant areas of professional psychology, mental health practice and/or research design and analysis.
Experience
Essential
7. Experience of working with people with serious mental disorders, learning disability and complex presentations/ challenging behaviours.
8. Experience of completing specialised psychological assessments.
9. Experience of Psychological Structured Professional (SPJ) Judgement or Psychometric assessment tools.
Desirable
10. Previous experience of an assistant psychologist post or equivalent.
11. Experience of working with people with forensic histories.
12. Lived experience of mental health.
13. Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team in a community setting.
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
14. High level communication skills (written and verbal) including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive and distressing and to be balanced with robust risk management.
15. Ability to communicate sensitive information to patients, carers and colleagues in a way that addresses psychological resistance.
16. Competent in the use of software programmes such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint
17. Experience of developing and maintaining databases for the purposes of data-analysis, use of Excel or SPSS for Windows.
18. An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with enduring mental health problems, personality disorders and learning disability.
19. An ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to the context of people with mental disorders.
20. Good organisational and time managements skills.
21. Possess sufficient knowledge of research methods and techniques to work within and implement research/service evaluations within the service.
22. Ability to recognise limits of competence and seek support and supervision when needed.
Desirable
23. An understanding of psychological interventions as applied to clients with forensic histories.
24. Experience of working with structured risk assessment tools such as the HCR20/SAPROF
25. A clear understanding of the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach to risk management within forensic services.
Physical Requirements
Essential
26. Ability to travel independently across the service area (Peterborough, Huntingdon & Cambridge)
27. Ability to work from home as required.