Assistant Psychologist

The Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust

The closing date is 20 December 2024

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Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an Assistant Psychologist to join the MY Psychological Services Department hosted by The Mid Yorkshire Teaching Hospital NHS Trust. You will join a psychological professions team comprising Practitioner Psychologists, Counsellors and Psychological Therapists. The post will sit within an innovative and growing Clinical Health Psychology Department within a large acute hospital trust, which comprises a strong team of Psychological professions working into a range of specialities.

We actively encourage and support supervision, CPD and service-related research. As a department we take trainees from several local training courses in Clinical Psychology and have good academic links to the local training courses. Clinical supervision and support will be provided by a Clinical Psychologist within the MY Psychological Services Department.

To ensure our team is representative of those we support, we particularly welcome applications from Disabled, BAME and LGBT+ Communities.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will provide input to two specialties with the department:

- The Long-Term Physical Health Conditions Pathway in collaboration with local NHS Talking Therapies services. The post holder will provide support to the Team, predominantly through undertaking comprehensive psychological assessment with patients referred into the service. The post-holder will also be involved in the evaluation of this novel pathway, through data collection, data analysis, write-up, and dissemination (locally and national publications).

- The Paediatric Psychology Specialty

your work would be assisting Clinical Psychologists in the delivery of psychological services within the Paediatric Psychology Specialty. This would include resource development, undertaking audit / service evaluation / research, and undertaking pieces of clinical work under the supervision of a qualified clinician.

The successful candidate will have an honours degree in Psychology (at 2:1 or higher) and have clinical experience in support roles, as well as an enthusiasm for working with people with physical and mental health difficulties.

About us

We are an acute trust caring for over half a million people in Wakefield and Kirklees. Our 10,000 staff work in patients homes, the community, and our three hospitals in Pontefract, Dewsbury, and Pinderfields (Wakefield). We prioritise our people and values so we can deliver the best possible care to patients. Our team is friendly, passionate, and innovative, always seeking better ways to work.

We support work-life balance and foster a diverse, inclusive environment where everyone belongs. Our staff networks offer safe spaces to share ideas and concerns so we can increase awareness and appreciation of equality, diversity, and inclusion. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and especially encourage members of the LGBTQ+ community, ethnic minority groups, and people with disabilities or neurodivergence to apply, as they are currently underrepresented in the Trust.

If you value caring, high standards, improvement, and respect, join the MY team to make a difference every day.

Application guidance: We understand that more applicants are using AI technology to help with their applications. While these tools can be useful, they cannot fully capture your skills, knowledge, and experience. Its important that you personalise your application. Relying solely on AI is not recommended, as it may reduce your chances of success. Our screening process is thorough, so if you have used AI, please make sure to disclose this on your application form.

Job description

Job responsibilities

To support and enhance the professional psychological care of patients within agreed service areas.

To be compassionate in meeting the needs of clients, their carers and families.

To support the team in the collection and collation of key routine clinical information, conducting periodic audits of data, and to disseminate results.

To support the team with service-based research projects and service evaluation projects

To provide psychological assessment / triage, screening and treatment under the supervision of qualified clinical psychologists.

To assist in coordination and running of therapeutic groups.

To assist in delivery of teaching and training of other professionals.

To plan and organise therapeutic activities for individual clients or groups in accordance with care needs.

To work independently according to a plan agreed with qualified clinical psychologists and within the overall framework of the Trust and team policies and procedures.

To undertake searches of evidence-based literature and research to assist qualified clinical psychologists in evidence based practice and individual work and work with other team members.

The post holder will provide and receive complex and sensitive information to staff, patients, carers and families whilst being mindful that there may be barriers to understanding if English is not the first language.

The post holder will assist in the development of a psychological based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all users of the service, across all settings where care takes place.

Person Specification

Skills and Abilities

Essential

• High level communication skills (written and verbal) including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive.
• Identifies the range of people likely to be involved in the communication, any potential communication differences and relevant contextual factors.
• Communicates with people in a form and manner that is consistent with their level of understanding, culture, background and preferred ways of communicating.
• Recognises and reflects on barriers to effective communication and modifies communication in response.
• Provides feedback to other workers on their communication at appropriate times.
• High level of report writing.
• Ability to show initiative when required and a willingness to share ideas with others.
• Use psychometric measures/ standardised assessments competently.
• Plans and organises therapeutic activities for individual clients or groups in accordance with care needs.
• Plan and organise effectively to meet required timescales.
• Contribute to developing, testing and reviewing new concepts, models, methods, practices, products and equipment.

Experience

Essential

• Paid or voluntary experience of working as an Assistant Psychologist or alongside a Clinical Psychologist.
• Experience of conducting literature searches and reviews.
• Previous experience of involvement in clinical research, audit, or service evaluation.
• Experience of working with people with mental health problems and/or other disabilities in a healthcare setting.
• Experience of working with multi-disciplinary team and ability to work flexibly and cooperatively as part of a team.
• Evidence of continued professional development.

Desirable

• Experience of working with patient groups with physical health problems.
• Experience working with children and young people, and their carers.

Qualifications

Essential

• Obtained an honours degree in Psychology, 2.1 or above.

Desirable

• Further post graduate training or experience in relevant areas of professional psychology, mental health practice and/or research design and analysis.

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Ability to accept and use supervision appropriately and effectively, including the ability to work independently, recognise own limits and to seek advice/support when necessary
• Ability to cope with and maintain professionalism in highly emotive or potentially upsetting circumstances around serious illness, impending death of a patient or bereavement issues.
• Self-aware and committed to continual personal development. Able to accept and respond positively to feedback from clinical supervision.
• Compassionate in meeting needs of vulnerable people and their families and carers.
• Committed to continual quality and service improvement.
• Ability to meet the travel requirements of the post.

Desirable

• A desire to explore a career in professional psychology.

Knowledge

Essential

• An understanding of the needs of patients and families with physical health problems and/or other disabilities.
• Demonstrates understanding of issues relating to confidentiality and adheres to Trust policy.
• An understanding of and ability to apply psychological theory to a physical and mental health context.
• Knowledge and awareness of own limitations.
• An aptitude for developing creative and adaptive ways of engaging service users.
• Supports learning of others. Reflects on and evaluates the effectiveness of learning and development using feedback from learners.

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.