Job summary
Medium Secure Services are seeking a Trainee Practitioner Psychologist to support the team on Bank. The successful candidate will be expected to undertake a range of assessments, clinical interventions and other clinically relevant activities as agreed with their placement supervisor.
*This is a 12 month Bank post*
Main duties of the job
- To undertake a structured post within a mental health clinical setting to facilitate learning and assessment leading towards part fulfilment of the Stage II of the qualification in Forensic Psychology
- To undertake specialised psychological assessments, treatments and a range of clinical interventions with offenders with mental illness and personality disorder. To provide appropriate staff training in the multi-disciplinary delivery of psychologically-based interventions
- To work under supervision on a day to day basis, within set guidelines, referring problems of formulation and intervention to the placement supervisor.
- To undertake a research activity, policy review or case study as may be required.
- To develop competencies, as set out by the by the British Psychological Society's Division of Forensic Psychology for the requirements of Stage II training in Forensic Psychology. This will enable the candidate to achieve full registration as a practitioner psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council, in the United Kingdom.
About us
Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.
We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.
At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.
Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Principal Responsibilities:
Clinical:
- To undertake, under supervision, highly specialist assessments including risk assessments, assessments of personality disorder and structured mental illness assessments and assessment of cognitive function.
- To conduct, under supervision, specialist psychological assessments, including the use of psychometric tests, and a range of other quantitative and qualitative measures and approaches such as interviews and observation.
- To develop psychological formulations of clinical problems, and to use such formulations to design and implement appropriate individualised care plans and interventions under supervision.
- To evaluate the psychological interventions, involving patients, care teams, carers, etc, and to review and adjust psychological treatment and management plans accordingly.
- To communicate confidential, sensitive and personal information concerning risk and psychological needs obtained through assessments and interventions, to referring agents and to the patients (who may have limited understanding and difficulties with acceptance) and also, where appropriate, to relatives and carers.
- To provide specialist consultancy, advice, and clinically based supervision to care teams about the care and management of the patients problems in line with developing competence.
- To deliver group based interventions and undertake all relevant activities associated with such activities.
- To keep appropriate records of work and inform referrers and relevant others through letters or reports.
- To work, as required as a member of a multidisciplinary team.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Principal Responsibilities:
Clinical:
- To undertake, under supervision, highly specialist assessments including risk assessments, assessments of personality disorder and structured mental illness assessments and assessment of cognitive function.
- To conduct, under supervision, specialist psychological assessments, including the use of psychometric tests, and a range of other quantitative and qualitative measures and approaches such as interviews and observation.
- To develop psychological formulations of clinical problems, and to use such formulations to design and implement appropriate individualised care plans and interventions under supervision.
- To evaluate the psychological interventions, involving patients, care teams, carers, etc, and to review and adjust psychological treatment and management plans accordingly.
- To communicate confidential, sensitive and personal information concerning risk and psychological needs obtained through assessments and interventions, to referring agents and to the patients (who may have limited understanding and difficulties with acceptance) and also, where appropriate, to relatives and carers.
- To provide specialist consultancy, advice, and clinically based supervision to care teams about the care and management of the patients problems in line with developing competence.
- To deliver group based interventions and undertake all relevant activities associated with such activities.
- To keep appropriate records of work and inform referrers and relevant others through letters or reports.
- To work, as required as a member of a multidisciplinary team.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- At least a 2:1 degree in psychology with Graduate Basis for Registration [GBR] or equivalent
- BPS Accredited M.Sc. in Forensic Psychology to merit level or above and/or with a merit or above in the dissertation
Desirable
- Current registration with and progress in achieving DFP Stage II competencies
Knowledge/Experience
Essential
- At least one-year previous employment in a paid or honorary assistant/trainee psychologist (or equivalent) position involving direct clinical contact with individuals with complex mental health and/or offending treatment needs
- Knowledge of a range of research methodologies that could be applied in a forensic setting, and competency in the use of statistical packages (e.g., SPSS)
- Understanding of the DFP stage II route and commitment to achieving the competencies and compiling the written evidence required as part of this process. Evidence of a commitment towards continuing professional development
Desirable
- Demonstrated progress in achieving DFP Stage II competencies
- Evidence of formal training in the use of Structured Professional Judgement tools (e.g., HCR-20v3)
- Evidence of formal training in the use and interpretation of cognitive/neuro assessments (e.g., the WAIS-IV)
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessment and treatment methodologies
Values
Essential
- Continuous Improvement
- Accountability
- Respectfulness
- Enthusiasm
- Support
- High professional standards
- Responsive to service users
- Engaging leadership style
- Strong customer service belief
- Transparency and honesty
- Discreet
- Change oriented
Skills
Essential
- Demonstrable skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention, treatment and management frequently requiring sustained concentration
- Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, highly technical, and clinically sensitive information to service users, their families, and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and/or non-professional groups appropriate to level of competence
Other
Essential
- Ability to professionally represent the psychology team
- Appropriate health record according to individual needs
- Appropriate professional presentation
- Commitment to team and multi-disciplinary working
- Commitment to ongoing personal and professional development/training
- Hard working and self-motivated
- Awareness of confidentiality issues, including the limits of this
- Must have enhanced DBS status [or be eligible for this on application]
- Willing to complete Control and Restraint Training and maintain this level of training
- Willing and able to work flexible hours in order to meet the needs of the service
Desirable
- Interest in researching clinical outcome measures and in the development of applied psychological research
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- At least a 2:1 degree in psychology with Graduate Basis for Registration [GBR] or equivalent
- BPS Accredited M.Sc. in Forensic Psychology to merit level or above and/or with a merit or above in the dissertation
Desirable
- Current registration with and progress in achieving DFP Stage II competencies
Knowledge/Experience
Essential
- At least one-year previous employment in a paid or honorary assistant/trainee psychologist (or equivalent) position involving direct clinical contact with individuals with complex mental health and/or offending treatment needs
- Knowledge of a range of research methodologies that could be applied in a forensic setting, and competency in the use of statistical packages (e.g., SPSS)
- Understanding of the DFP stage II route and commitment to achieving the competencies and compiling the written evidence required as part of this process. Evidence of a commitment towards continuing professional development
Desirable
- Demonstrated progress in achieving DFP Stage II competencies
- Evidence of formal training in the use of Structured Professional Judgement tools (e.g., HCR-20v3)
- Evidence of formal training in the use and interpretation of cognitive/neuro assessments (e.g., the WAIS-IV)
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessment and treatment methodologies
Values
Essential
- Continuous Improvement
- Accountability
- Respectfulness
- Enthusiasm
- Support
- High professional standards
- Responsive to service users
- Engaging leadership style
- Strong customer service belief
- Transparency and honesty
- Discreet
- Change oriented
Skills
Essential
- Demonstrable skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention, treatment and management frequently requiring sustained concentration
- Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, highly technical, and clinically sensitive information to service users, their families, and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and/or non-professional groups appropriate to level of competence
Other
Essential
- Ability to professionally represent the psychology team
- Appropriate health record according to individual needs
- Appropriate professional presentation
- Commitment to team and multi-disciplinary working
- Commitment to ongoing personal and professional development/training
- Hard working and self-motivated
- Awareness of confidentiality issues, including the limits of this
- Must have enhanced DBS status [or be eligible for this on application]
- Willing to complete Control and Restraint Training and maintain this level of training
- Willing and able to work flexible hours in order to meet the needs of the service
Desirable
- Interest in researching clinical outcome measures and in the development of applied psychological research
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.
