Assistant Psychologist

Job description

Job responsibilities

Role Purpose

To support and enhance the provision of psychologically-informed care of clients within Vias Greenwich service, particularly with those who are experiencing homelessness, criminality, and those most disaffected.

To work directly with individuals and groups who are seeking support for substance use, providing flexible delivery of psychological assessment, including reports and psychological interventions under the supervision of a registered psychologist and within Vias policies and procedures.

To assist with clinically related administration, development and implementation of audit/research/service development projects, teaching and other project work.

Key duties and activities of the role

To support the team in applying psychological principles in their care, using theory, evidence based literature and research, to the benefit of all clients of the service.

To provide psychological assessments, using interview, formal psychometric and other assessment methods as appropriate, with clients and people involved in the clients care.

To assist in the formulation and delivery of care plans involving the psychological treatment and/or management of a clients problems, under the supervision of a registered psychologist.

To work collaboratively with partner agencies, bridging clients into services, as well as joint working where appropriate.

To support with outreach work and deliver psychological ways of working flexibly where service users are struggling to engage.

To promote community and recovery-based interventions, working alongside volunteers, peer mentors and service user representatives.

To identify risks and take appropriate action in accordance with local, national and organisational Safeguarding policies.

To facilitate effective implementation of contingency management in the service through the Capital Card scheme.

To co-facilitate and assist in the coordination, development and evaluation of Greenwichs group programme.

To utilise agreed outcome measures and service user feedback.

To contribute to research projects/audit/service evaluation projects, assisting with design and implementation, undertaking data collection and analysis, as well as preparing and disseminating reports.

To undertake literature searches, summarise papers and create /maintain databases to assist the team in the delivery of evidence-based practice and service developments.

To attend and contribute to appropriate multi-disciplinary/project meetings, commenting on issues of service and policy development for the psychological care of service users, and developing an awareness of wider operational and strategic issues.

To support the service in the delivery of training initiatives.

To maintain awareness of local resources/services and self-help materials and how service users and colleagues can access them.

To be able to cope with the emotional demands of working with individuals with complex needs, including challenging behaviours and forensic needs.

To record, monitor and report on clinical work and communicate, in compliance with Via Information Governance policies and procedures, in a skilled and sensitive manner, clinical information, including assessment, formulation, treatment plans and progress to a variety of recipients, e.g. service users, carers, other professionals, formal panels, statutory and voluntary organisations orally, in writing and electronically.

To develop skills and competencies that assist in the delivery of current duties.

Work flexibly, including across multiple sites and peripatetically when required.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• 2:1 - Hons or First in Psychology honours degree in psychology, or a masters degree in applied psychology or a further period of academic study at a commensurate level.
• Eligibility for graduate membership of British Psychological Society.

Experience

Essential

• Experience working with people with a history of substance use and, or mental health problems
• Experience co-facilitating group psychological interventions.
• Experience managing research projects
• High level communication skills - written and verbal - including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive.
• Ability to communicate sensitive information to patients, carers and colleagues.
• Proven ability to meet deadlines, work independently, record information accurately and in a timely way and to work calmly under pressure.
• An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people seeking support for substance use, including experiences of co-occurring poor mental health
• An ability to interact with people who are using substances and are experiencing complex health needs.
• An ability to apply existing psychological knowledge in the context of a substance misuse service
• Great team working, communication and interpersonal skills, demonstrating a highly cooperative approach to supporting colleagues and the whole team to deliver service objectives, as well as in working directly with service users and their significant others.
• Ability to accept and use supervision appropriately and effectively.
• Good IT skills including use of Microsoft Office programs, digital meeting platforms and Case Management Systems like Nebula, System One or Theseus.
• Understanding of and ability to apply excellent Safeguarding and risk management practices and a demonstrable understanding of the Health and Social Care regulatory requirements of the Care Quality Commission - CQC, National Institute for Clinical Excellence standards for Health and Social Care and the GDPR confidentiality and privacy regulations.

Desirable

• Further post graduate training in relevant areas of psychology, mental health practice and, or research design and analysis.
• Experience of paid work in direct care provision.
• Experience using computers for databases or data-analysis, e.g. SPSS for Windows.
• Experience with service evaluation
• Experience of working with individuals with complex mental health needs.
• Experience working as an assistant psychologist.

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 details

Employer name

Via

Address

Via

821 Woolwich Road

London

SE7 8LJ

Employer's website

https://via.ciphr-irecruit.com/Applicants/vacancy (Opens in a new tab)