Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an Assistant Psychologist to join the Mental Health Network, Pennine Locality inpatient psychology team.
The post will primarily be based at the Pendleview Unit, Royal Blackburn Hospital, although there may be requirement to cover at the newly opened Woodview Unit based at our Whalley In-Patient site. Within the current Inpatient Unit there are male and female assessment and treatment wards, as well as a male Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).
The role of the post holder will be to contribute to the psychological care of service users on the inpatient wards. The post will require liaison and joint working with multidisciplinary colleagues and agencies, and the ability to communicate complex and highly sensitive information, using well developed interpersonal and team working skills.
The post holder will be provided with professional support and weekly supervision from senior clinical psychology colleagues, and there are opportunities to develop special interests through continuing professional development.
Interested applicants must be dedicated to working within this environment and have a special interest and/or experience of working within acute mental health care and treatment settings.
Main duties of the job
* Under supervision, assist qualified clinical staff to undertake protocol-based psychological assessments of clients applying psychological (including neuropsychological) tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations, and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members, and others involved in the client's care.
* Under supervision and management, undertake clinical interventions with qualified staff and evaluate interventions as required.
* Assist in the delivery of care plans involving the psychological treatment and/or management of a client's problems, under the supervision of a qualified clinical psychologist.
* Assist and support the delivery of specific group interventions.
* Attend and contribute to appropriate multi-disciplinary meetings.
* Assist in the preparation of reports and letters regarding clinical activity with clients.
Job responsibilities
Please see Job Description and Person Specification attached to this vacancy for the full responsibilities of this role.
Person Specification
Qualifications
* An upper second class honours degree or higher in psychology or equivalent.
* Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society.
Knowledge
* Ability to demonstrate a good knowledge of lifespan psychology applied to health care.
* Ability to demonstrate an understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with psychological/mental health difficulties or other disabilities.
Experience
* Experience of contact with people with mental health difficulties and/or other disabilities.
* Experience of working as part of a team within a statutory or voluntary care setting.
Skills
* Ability to undertake psychologically informed research projects under supervision.
* Evidence of good communication skills (written and verbal) including an ability to communicate and work across a number of different settings.
* Experience using computers for databases or data-analysis.
* Ability to work with people from different backgrounds and of different ages.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Employer name
Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust
Contract
Fixed term
Duration
12 months
Working pattern
Part-time
Reference number
351-PEN916-GT
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