Assistant Psychologist

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job Purpose

The principal purpose of the job is to improve the psychological health & wellbeing of people with learning disabilities

This will be achieved in this post by:

1. Providing a Psychology and Psychological Therapies service within the South West Regional Learning Disability Neurodiversity (LDND) Inpatient care pathway and where appropriate to integrated mental health and wellbeing services.

2. Implements specific assessment (including intellectual functioning assessments; screening for neurological deterioration and clinical observation), clinical care packages and advice to people who use services, family members , carers and professionals within standing operating procedures under the supervision of principal and Lead Psychologists.

3. The post holder will be supported by the Lead Clinical Psychologist and senior colleagues within the specialism. The post holder will be expected to make good use of the expertise of others within the service to further develop their clinical skills with people with learning disabilities.

4. To work within professional guidelines and DPT procedures and protocols.

5. The post holder will receive regular professional and clinical supervision in accordance to Trust policy and to Professional Practice Guidelines set out by the British Psychological Society or appropriate designated Professional Body.

Duties and Responsibilities

Communication and Working Relationship Skills

Clients, family and carers: To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner with clients who may have specific difficulties in understand and/or communicating and who may be distressed.

Multidisciplinary team colleagues: To work closely with colleagues in the multi-professional integrated learning disability services on a day to day basis.

Health & social care staff: To communicate with a wide range of health & social care staff in hospital and in community settings in a skilled and sensitive manner, complex and sensitive information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under the services care. To provide support & guidance in the application of psychological principles and techniques, and to foster reflective practice.

Senior managers & professional staff: To maintain and build good working relationships with senior professional staff and managers in the Learning Disability and Neurodiversity Services and in DPT, to foster a positive approach to the integrated mental health and wellbeing service and to enable effective negotiation.

Analytical and Judgemental Skills

In a supervised context, to undertake clinical assessments and observations within the South West Regional LDND Inpatient care pathway and evaluate the findings. In addition, to undertake audit and research activities within the Learning Disability service and evaluate the findings.

Planning and Organisational Skills

To plan and prioritise own workload.

To provide psychology knowledge as a result of research and audit activity to the multi-professional planning, development and marketing of learning disability services within DPT.

Responsibility for Patient/Client Care, Treatment and Therapy

Assessment & intervention: To make assessments, and deliver treatment interventions within a supervised context for individuals, carers, families and groups, and to demonstrate awareness of diversity issues.

Consultation & guidance: In a supervised context, to provide advice, guidance and consultation on psychological aspects of patient care to colleagues, other service providers, patients, supporters and families.

Audit and Research: To carry out audits of service provision and research within a supervised context involving individuals, carers, families and groups, and to demonstrate awareness of diversity issues.

Responsibility for Policy and Service Development Implementation

Policy & service To follow policy guidance in own role and to comment on proposed policy changes and service developments.

Responsibility for Finance, Equipment and Other Resources

Careful use of equipment

Responsibility for Human Resources, e.g. Supervision, Training, HR Advice and Management

There is a requirement to support learners on a regular basis which includes the achievement and updating of profession specific training to the required standard to fulfil this role

Responsibility for Information Resources and Administrative Duties

To maintain accurate records

To be responsible for using an email account to generate, monitor, and respond to the e-mail traffic by which the Trust conducts much of its internal communication.

Responsibility for Research and Development

R & D: To undertake service-relevant research as indicated above and development activity agreed within the learning disability service.

Freedom to Act

The post holder is accountable for their own professional actions, acting within Trust policies and procedures and Professional Practice Guidelines.

In a supervised context, to work within clinical professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the governance of psychological practice within the Health and Social Care Partnership for People with Learning Disabilities.

Person Specification

Skills and Abilities

Essential

• Ability to integrate complex data; make highly skilled evaluations and decisions under supervision of qualified staff.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Able to produce well written reports.
• Excellent IT skills
• Organisation and time management skills
• Ability to be mobile across a geographical area

Desirable

• Project management

Experience

Essential

• Some experience, either through employment or voluntary work, with vulnerable people with complex needs and/or who are socially disadvantaged
• Experience, and/or training in diversity awareness and social inequality

Desirable

• Experience of specialist psychological research and audit of services and people who use services across a wide range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings.
• Experience gained during supervised training of working in applied psychology
• Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision

Qualifications

Essential

• BA or BSc in Psychology eligible for graduate basis for registration with the British Psychological Society.

Desirable

• Clinical placement and/or supervised practise in Learning Disability services.
• Further training in applied / clinical psychology interventions.

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

Devon Partnership NHS Trust

Address

The Brook

Langdon Hospital

Dawlish

Devon

EX7 0NR

Employer's website

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