Job summary
The Care Home Team is a psychology led service to support care homes Bromley in providing the best possible care and support for older adults and their families residing in care homes who are experiencing behavioural and psychological symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) and severe mental illness (SMI).
The Assistant Psychologist will work as part of a small multi-disciplinary team under the supervision of the clinical psychologist. As a member of the Care Home Team, you will be providing training and on-going support to nurses and carers in residential and nursing homes across Bromley.
The training and support focuses' upon BPSD and severe mental illness (SMI) and promotes non-drug person centred ways of understanding and delivering care. The team will manage referrals, complete specialist assessments and offer time limited inventions to individual care homes to reduce levels BPSD, reduce the use of anti-psychotic medications and admissions to hospital. This will require you to provide case management to individual clients as well as offer psychological input as part of the MDT to other clients.
Main duties of the job
- 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 client's 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 client's problems as part of a care plan, under the supervision of a qualified professional psychologist.
- To assist in the coordination and running of therapeutic and/or psycho educational groups, training or clinical projects.
- To work with other staff to assess or support service users in care homes and other community settings 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.
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
- We Listen
- We Care
Job description
Job responsibilities
- Provide a range of information and support for evidence based low intensity psychological treatments and indirect interventions, including psycho-social interventions for dementia. This work may be face to face, telephone or via other media.
- 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 assist in producing visual material or user friendly information for interventions with clients.
- 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.
For more information, please see the job description attached.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- Provide a range of information and support for evidence based low intensity psychological treatments and indirect interventions, including psycho-social interventions for dementia. This work may be face to face, telephone or via other media.
- 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 assist in producing visual material or user friendly information for interventions with clients.
- 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.
For more information, please see the job description attached.
Person Specification
Academic qualification
Essential
- An honours degree in psychology. Entitlement to graduate basis for registration of the British Psychological Society
Desirable
- Further post-graduate experience in relevant areas of professional psychology, mental health practice and/or research design and analysis.
Experience
Essential
- Minimum 1 year experience of working with people with mental health problems and/or learning disabilities and/or psychological/behavioural problems.
Abilities and Skills
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.
- Ability to communicate sensitive, complex or contentious information to patients, carers and colleagues in a way that addresses psychological resistance.
- An understanding of the needs and difficulties of older people, people with dementia, people with mental health problems, learning disabilities and/or other disabilities.
Person Specification
Academic qualification
Essential
- An honours degree in psychology. Entitlement to graduate basis for registration of the British Psychological Society
Desirable
- Further post-graduate experience in relevant areas of professional psychology, mental health practice and/or research design and analysis.
Experience
Essential
- Minimum 1 year experience of working with people with mental health problems and/or learning disabilities and/or psychological/behavioural problems.
Abilities and Skills
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.
- Ability to communicate sensitive, complex or contentious information to patients, carers and colleagues in a way that addresses psychological resistance.
- An understanding of the needs and difficulties of older people, people with dementia, people with mental health problems, learning disabilities and/or other disabilities.
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Employer details
Employer name
Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Bromley OPMH CMHT, Memory Service & Care Home Support Team
Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust Bridgeways
Turpington Lane Bromley
BR2 8JA
Employer's website
http://oxleas.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)
