Assistant Psychologist: OPD and IIRMS pathways Leicestershire

Job description

Job responsibilities

As a member of the team you will be responsible for:

- undertaking assessments, formulating service users needs, providing case consultations, and writing reports, under the supervision of a qualified psychologist

- delivering trauma and DBT informed psychological interventions and enrichment activities to individuals in the IIRMS pathway of the service

- developing strong working relationships with colleagues in your immediate and larger team

- preparing and submitting regular data returns

- supporting the training and development of colleagues within Probation service

- delivering joint work sessions with Probation colleagues and their clients

- ensure that robust procedures are maintained for gaining and recording service users informed consent

- keep up with continued professional development and implementation of best practice.

Qualifications and training - essential

• A First or Upper Second honours degree in psychology or a lower Second degree with a post-graduate qualification (e.g. Masters degree)
• Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society

Experience - essential

You will have experience of

• Face-to-face work (in a previous assistant psychologist post) with people with mental health problems (including mental illness and personality difficulties), learning disabilities and/or offending behaviour
• Working in a healthcare setting
• Using psychological assessments, formulations, evidence-based risk assessments (e.g., HCR20v3) and care planning
• Working in a Multidisciplinary Team

Knowledge - essential

You will have

• High level communication skills (written and verbal)
• An understanding of the needs of people with complex personality difficulties/mental illness/learning disability
• Ability to communicate sensitive information to service users in a way that addresses psychological resistance
• An understanding of psychology applied to healthcare
• An understanding of the impact of trauma and the label of personality disorder
• Experience using computers for compiling databases or data-analysis (SPSS)
• Training and experience of audit, evaluation and research methods.

Person Specification

essential

Essential

• Has significant experience, as an assistant psychologist, of face-to-face work with people with complex psychological problems (including people diagnosed with personality difficulties or other mental health diagnoses), learning disabilities and/or offending behaviour. High level communication skills (written and verbal) including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive, service users may show hostile or severely challenging behaviour and may be verbally abusive or physically violent. Ability to communicate sensitive information to patients, carers and colleagues in a way that addresses psychological resistance. An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with mental health problems, personality difficulties or learning disabilities. An understanding of the impact of trauma and the label of personality disorder.
• Experience using computers for compiling databases or data-analysis (SPSS). Training and experience of audit, evaluation and research methods. Able to use library effectively, conduct literature searches High standard of report writing.

desirable

Desirable

• Insight into recent literature on desistance, and risk and protective factors for offending. Awareness of recent developments in assessment and practice with people with personality difficulties. Knowledge of the applications of attachment theory to forensic settings.

desirable

Desirable

• Has experience of working in a hospital or prison or criminal justice setting. Experience of facilitating psychologically-based therapeutic groups and delivering 1:1 interventions.
• Experience of delivering training to staff, including preparing PowerPoint slides and other materials.
• Insight into recent literature on desistance, and risk and protective factors for offending. Awareness of recent developments in assessment and practice with people with personality difficulties. Knowledge of the applications of attachment theory to forensic settings.
• Training and practice of using motivational interviewing, CBT and / or DBT techniques.

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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

Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Leicester Probation Office Cobden Street

Leicester

LE1 2LB

Employer's website

https://www.mpft.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)