Assistant Psychologist

Job summary

Our Community Mental Health Team in Bridgwater, Somerset are looking for an enthusiastic Assistant Psychologist!

This is a full-time (37.5 hours) permanent role, with some flexibility around hours and days worked. You will be joining a friendly, multi-professional Community Mental Health Service that works in partnership with service users, the voluntary sector, and community enterprises to challenge the traditional boundaries between primary and secondary care.

Working within a psychology-led, trauma-informed service provision model, you will help deliver compassionate, strengths-based, person-centred care. You will be supervised by an HCPC-registered Clinical or Counselling Psychologist and encouraged to develop your skills and knowledge to support your career progression within psychology.

The post holder must have a full driving licence and permanent access to their own transport with appropriate business insurance.

Main duties, tasks & skills required

• Assist in the provision of psychological assessments and evidence-based interventions for people with mental health difficulties.

• Support qualified psychologists in administering psychological measures, risk assessments, self-report measures, and semi-structured interviews.

• Develop and maintain therapeutic relationships with service users, families, and carers within professional boundaries.

• Undertake data collection, analysis, and produce reports and summaries to support service delivery and development.

• Contribute to staff training, service development, and audit or research projects as required.

• Communicate effectively and empathetically with service users, families, carers, and multi-agency colleagues.

• Keep accurate clinical records in line with professional and Trust guidelines.

About us

As an organisation, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust offers employees a wide range of benefits including flexible working, NHS pension scheme, generous annual leave allowance and a commitment to career development.

You will be eligible for our Blue Light Card and a wide range of NHS exclusive shopping & leisure discounts.

We are proud of our skilled, diverse workforce and as an inclusive employer we welcome applications from all backgrounds.

Working in Somerset enables you to enjoy the idyllic countryside, areas of outstanding beauty and stunning coastlines whilst still only being a stone's throw away from bustling city centres like Bristol, Bath and Exeter and only two hours away from London.

There are excellent educational facilities in the area and, when compared to other regions, house prices are reasonable.

Somerset offers the countryside and the cosmopolitan - there is truly something for everyone!

Job description

As an Assistant Psychologist in our Community Mental Health Team, you will:

• Work alongside psychologists and other health professionals to assist in the delivery of psychological care, including formulation, brief interventions, and follow-up work under supervision.

• Contribute to psychological assessments by gathering and synthesising information from service users, families, carers, and clinical records.

• Administer and score psychological measures, rating scales, and other assessment tools.

• Undertake evidence-based literature reviews and support the application of research findings to clinical practice.

• Participate in service development projects, including improving access to psychological care, developing group interventions, or evaluating service outcomes.

• Provide input into training for staff and carers to enhance psychological understanding and skills.

• Use supervision to reflect on and develop clinical practice, ensuring adherence to HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics, and BPS Practice Guidelines.

• Contribute to maintaining a safe, supportive, and recovery-focused service environment.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential

First degree in psychology.

Eligibility for Graduate Membership of the BPS.

Desirable

A further qualification in an appropriate subject.

Experience

Essential

Experience of working in community settings.

Demonstrable experience of working directly with a vulnerable client group, including experience of working psychologically with people with mental health problems.

Desirable

Experience of developing therapeutic relationships with people who can be hard to engage.

Experience of undertaking planned psychological interventions with adults who are experiencing mental health problems.

Additional Criteria

Essential

Excellent organisational skills, ability to manage own time and plan timed activities.

Evidence of ability to recognise and manage challenging situations in a calm and professional manner.

Able to take instruction and direction and work effectively as part of a team.

Able to demonstrate cultural competency and awareness of power and identity issues in relation to clinical practice.

Evidence of a good standard of Literacy / English language skills

Ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing clinically sensitive information to service users, their families, carers and other professional colleagues, both within and outside the NHS.

To be able to recognise the impact that frequent exposure to distressing circumstances has on care and compassion.

Desirable

An ability to deal sensitively with distress, disturbance and unpredictability.

Evidence of reflective approach and use of supervision to support this.

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.

For help with your application, contact:

Samantha Francis

samantha.francis@somersetft.nhs.uk