East London NHS Foundation Trust

Assistant Psychologist

The closing date is 17 August 2025

Job summary

Does the idea of bringing psychological innovation to the heart of ward-based care energise you? Do you thrive in working in dynamic environments which require creative therapeutic responses? Are you committed to working compassionately with young people, their families and colleagues? If so, we have a one year opportunity for you to join our developing team at the Coborn Centre in East London. The Coborn Centre is located in well resourced, purpose built premises at Newham University Hospital. We currently work with 12-18 year old young people and their families across the East London boroughs of Newham, Hackney & Tower Hamlets as well as Luton and Bedfordshire and sometimes take admissions from other boroughs or outside of London. The Centre which opened in 2006 comprises of 12 acute beds, 16 intensive care beds and up to 9 day patient places. The service has led the way in the design of adolescent mental health facilities nationally.

Main duties of the job

The client group is varied and challenging. Young people present with eating disorders, psychosis, OCD, and emotional regulation difficulties. Young people may also have autism spectrum condition or learning difficulties or be in need of an assessment. The Clinical Psychology Service provides neuropsychological assessments as well as formulation driven, therapeutic assessments in order to facilitate an understanding of the young persons' strengths and needs.

You will join the psychology team which consists of one Lead Clinical Psychologist, one Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist, one other Specialist Clinical Psychologist and a Band 4 Assistant Psychologist. You will continue to develop the psychology provision through providing supervision to the wider MDT as well as hold a clinical case load. There will be considerable opportunities for developing your skills, sharing your clinical expertise and developing your capacity to enjoy multi-disciplinary team working.

About us

Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve.

Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Details

Date posted

01 August 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 5

Salary

£35,763 to £43,466 a year Per annum

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

363-SS7361806

Job locations

Coborn Centre for Adolescent Mental Health

276 Glen Rd,

London

E13 8SP


Job description

Job responsibilities

This job vacancy may close earlier than the specified closing date if we have reached the maximum number of applicants

For further information please refer to the job description and person specification attached to this vacancy.

Job description

Job responsibilities

This job vacancy may close earlier than the specified closing date if we have reached the maximum number of applicants

For further information please refer to the job description and person specification attached to this vacancy.

Person Specification

Educational/ Qualification

Essential

  • A first or upper second class honours degree in Psychology
  • Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society (BPS)

Desirable

  • Further postgraduate training in relevant areas of professional psychology, mental health practice and/or research design and analysis

Experience

Essential

  • Experience of working with people with physical or mental health and social care needs
  • Experience of working within the NHS or a Mental Health setting
  • Experience of ensuring that values including care, compassion, respect, inclusivity, courage and commitment are embodied on a daily basis in the workplace.
  • Experience of raising matters of concern with a relevant Line Manager in order that these can be addressed through the relevant processes and procedures.

Desirable

  • Experience of working in a clinical team as an Assistant Psychologist.
  • Experience of group work with people with mental health problems.
  • Experience of delivering DBT skills training to people who experience difficulty regulating emotions.
  • Experience of completing risk assessments under supervision

Knowledge/ Skills

Essential

  • Ability to apply existing psychological knowledge, underpinned by theory, to a mental health context
  • Understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with mental health problems and other disabilities.
  • Expertise in using Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint) to a professional standard; expertise in using statistical software (e.g R-studio, SPSS, Statistica) for evaluation and research.

Desirable

  • An understanding of current NHS/Social Care policies relating to Mental Health.

Personal Qualities

Essential

  • Able to take initiative and work independently.
  • Committed to learning in order to improve practice and service provision.
  • Embraces team work and is able to work effectively in a team environment.
  • Confident, friendly, approachable and assertive.
  • Self-motivated, committed and open to new ideas and experiences.
  • Able to organise and prioritise workloads

Additional Requirements

Essential

  • Mobility to travel across sites to carry out work as required.
  • Ability to interact and develop rapport with individuals with mental health difficulties.
  • Ability to contain and work with organisational stress
  • Willingness and ability to engage in reflective practice
  • Ability to work independently, reliably and consistently within agreed time frames and within limits of competence, with work being agreed and managed at regular intervals.
  • Professional interest in Clinical Psychology.

Desirable

  • Ability to drive and access to a vehicle
Person Specification

Educational/ Qualification

Essential

  • A first or upper second class honours degree in Psychology
  • Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society (BPS)

Desirable

  • Further postgraduate training in relevant areas of professional psychology, mental health practice and/or research design and analysis

Experience

Essential

  • Experience of working with people with physical or mental health and social care needs
  • Experience of working within the NHS or a Mental Health setting
  • Experience of ensuring that values including care, compassion, respect, inclusivity, courage and commitment are embodied on a daily basis in the workplace.
  • Experience of raising matters of concern with a relevant Line Manager in order that these can be addressed through the relevant processes and procedures.

Desirable

  • Experience of working in a clinical team as an Assistant Psychologist.
  • Experience of group work with people with mental health problems.
  • Experience of delivering DBT skills training to people who experience difficulty regulating emotions.
  • Experience of completing risk assessments under supervision

Knowledge/ Skills

Essential

  • Ability to apply existing psychological knowledge, underpinned by theory, to a mental health context
  • Understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with mental health problems and other disabilities.
  • Expertise in using Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint) to a professional standard; expertise in using statistical software (e.g R-studio, SPSS, Statistica) for evaluation and research.

Desirable

  • An understanding of current NHS/Social Care policies relating to Mental Health.

Personal Qualities

Essential

  • Able to take initiative and work independently.
  • Committed to learning in order to improve practice and service provision.
  • Embraces team work and is able to work effectively in a team environment.
  • Confident, friendly, approachable and assertive.
  • Self-motivated, committed and open to new ideas and experiences.
  • Able to organise and prioritise workloads

Additional Requirements

Essential

  • Mobility to travel across sites to carry out work as required.
  • Ability to interact and develop rapport with individuals with mental health difficulties.
  • Ability to contain and work with organisational stress
  • Willingness and ability to engage in reflective practice
  • Ability to work independently, reliably and consistently within agreed time frames and within limits of competence, with work being agreed and managed at regular intervals.
  • Professional interest in Clinical Psychology.

Desirable

  • Ability to drive and access to a vehicle

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).

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.

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

East London NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Coborn Centre for Adolescent Mental Health

276 Glen Rd,

London

E13 8SP


Employer's website

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


Employer details

Employer name

East London NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Coborn Centre for Adolescent Mental Health

276 Glen Rd,

London

E13 8SP


Employer's website

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


Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Lead Clinical Psychologist

Laura Bird

laura.bird16@nhs.net

02075406789

Details

Date posted

01 August 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 5

Salary

£35,763 to £43,466 a year Per annum

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

363-SS7361806

Job locations

Coborn Centre for Adolescent Mental Health

276 Glen Rd,

London

E13 8SP


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

East London NHS Foundation Trust's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)