Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Assistant Psychologist

This job is now closed

Job summary

The CEN pathway is an innovative multidisciplinary team for individuals who require secondary care community mental health support across the boroughs of Greenwich, Bexley, and Bromley.

The CEN service provides focused, therapeutic interventions to adults who require enhanced care and treatment for Complex Emotional Needs.

The service is for people diagnosed with personality disorder and/or complex trauma and who are often referred to specialist inpatient services.

The focus is on taking a trauma informed approach to supporting service-users to achieve stability and wellbeing in the community and to re-engage with ADAPT services.

The CEN service forms part of a planned and integrated whole system approach to service users' care, delivered in conjunction with Acute and Crisis, Secondary Care Mental Health Services, and other specialist services.

Main duties of the job

To support and enhance the psychological care of clients within the Complex emotional needs team; providing psychological assessment and psychological interventions under the supervision of a qualified professional psychological therapist, working independently according to a plan agreed with a qualified psychologist and within the overall framework of the team's policies and procedures.

To assist in clinically related administration, conducts of audits, collection of statistics, and development of audit and/or research projects, teaching and project work.

About us

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children's centres, schools and people's homes.We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

We're Kind
We're Fair
We Listen
We Care

Date posted

18 August 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£32,199 to £34,876 a year pa inc

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

277-7344248-CMH

Job locations

Memorial Hospital

Shooters Hill

London

SE18 3RZ

Job description

Job responsibilities

To undertake psychological assessments of clients applying psychological theory, including neuropsychological tests; risk assessment; self-report measures; rating scales; direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the clients care, under the supervision of a qualified clinical psychologist.

To develop formulations and deliver therapeutic interventions involving the psychological treatment and/or management of a clients problems as part of a care plan, under the supervision of a qualified professional psychologist.

To work with other staff to assess or support service users and contribute to multi-disciplinary discussions or care guidelines as agreed with the clinical psychologist providing supervision.

To assist in the development of a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings where care takes place.

Educate and involve carers, family members and others in treatment and interventions as necessary.

Adhere to an agreed activity contract relating to the number of client contacts offered, and clinical sessions carried out per week.

To create graphs or charts to collate or summarise data.

To update the RIO and/or any other patient records database in relation to contact with clients.

In common with all clinical psychologists, to receive regular clinical supervision in accordance with professional practice guidelines.

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

To contribute to the training and support of other staff in provision of psychological care.

To exercise good personal time management, punctuality, and consistent reliable attendance.

-You will be accountable to the lead Psychological therapist and Team Manager

Clinical

To undertake protocol based psychological assessments applying psychological theory, including self-report measures, rating scales, direct scales, direct and indirect, structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the clients care, under the supervision of a qualified professional psychologist.

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 qualified professional psychologist, in the community.

To assist in the co-ordination and running of therapeutic groups or clinical projects.

To work with other staff to assess or support service users in the community as agreed with the clinical psychologist providing supervision.

To assist in the development of a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings where care takes place.

To frequently exercise mental effort daily during assessment and treatment.

To effectively manage frequent distressing or emotional circumstances.

To be able to cope with occasional, potential stressful, upsetting, or emotional situations in an empathetic manner, such as service users suffering from illnesses or emotional states that may lead to anxiety and aggressive behaviour.

To work in an environment where the work patterns may be disrupted by frequent demands from service users, clinical staff, students, and administrative support staff and respond to any emergency situations arising.

To assist in the design and implementation of service evaluation and development projects as required.

To attend meetings in which service developments are planned and discussed.

To assist in the design and implementation of audit and research projects.

To undertake data collection, analysis, the production of reports and summaries, using IT and statistical programmes.

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

To utilise a comprehensive set of skills to effectively communicate and engage patients, their families, and the MDT, to formulate individual`s strengths and barriers.

To promote awareness of the team within the care homes and across the service.

To maintain effective joint working with others, developing positive working relationships and clear communications with MDT and other professionals.

To liaise with other professionals in relation to service user care, actively participating in care planning and review meetings and attending case conferences required.

To accurately record all contacts with service users in the appropriate system in line with the relevant record keeping policy.

To ensure that all communication takes place in a manner that is consistent with legislation, policies, and procedures.

This post does not require on call or unsocial hours working but may require some flexible working around the needs of service users, families, and carers.

Other

To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through (1) active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the post holders professional and team/operational manager(s), and (2) adherence to any local specialty standards.

To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing in accordance with professional codes of practice of the Health Professions Council, British Psychological Society and Trust policies and procedures.

To prepare test materials and visual aids as required.

To undertake specific administrative duties as required.

To perform other duties of a similar kind appropriate to the grade, which may be required from time to time by their Psychology Manager and Team Clinical Leader (if this is not the Psychology Manager).