Job summary
Band 4 Assistant Psychologist in Acute Mental Health Services, Prospect Park Hospital, Reading -full-time
This post is open to Berkshire Healthcare NHS Employees Only
We are looking to recruit an Assistant Psychologist to work full-time at Prospect Park Hospital on an adult acute mental health ward.
Main duties of the job
- You will be based on one of the adult acute mental health wards at Prospect Park Hospital. Under supervision of a Counselling or Clinical Psychologist you will take on a clinical caseload that will include both individual and group work with adults with complex mental health presentations.
- You will offer assessments and interventions (both individual and group) to patients and carers. You will support the running of team formulation sessions, teaching and staff support sessions
- You will develop resources, write reports and gather background information on patients who have recently been admitted
- You will input into your allocated ward's multi-disciplinary team meeting. You will be support the quality improvement work on your ward and in the Psychology team
- You will be part of the Inpatients Psychology team and receive peer support from the six other Assistant Psychologists in the team. At times you may work on the other wards at Prospect Park Hospital, as needed. Occasionally you might also support your ward or others wards at Prospect Park Hospital with non-Psychology tasks if there is a need for this.
About us
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust isa specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated 'outstanding' by the CQC, we're committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire.
We value diversity and are proud to be a Stonewall Top 100 Employer. We work hard to create an inclusive environment where you'll be supported by friendly and professional colleagues to flourish.
Our values at Berkshire Healthcare:
- Caring for and about you is our top priority
- Committed to providing good quality, safe services
- Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions
We welcome people who share these values to come and work for us.
Benefits of working for us include:
- Flexible working options to support work-life balance.
- 27 days' annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
- Generous NHS pension scheme
- Excellent learning and career development opportunities
- 'Cycle to Work' and car leasing scheme
- Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
- Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
- Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities and armed forces community to support equality
- Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave.
- Free parking across Trust sites
Job description
Job responsibilities
The must haves for this role:
- An upper second class honours degree or higher in psychology.
- Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society
- Demonstrable understanding of an acute mental health environment
- Experience of working with people with mental health problems and/or other disabilities
- High level of communication and team-working skills
If youre someone who shares our passion for excellence and care, join us and lets be outstanding together.
We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please dont hesitate to contact Tim Smith via email at Timothy.Smith@berkshire.nhs.uk wholl be delighted to help.
We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics. Reasonable adjustments will be made for disabled applicants where required.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The must haves for this role:
- An upper second class honours degree or higher in psychology.
- Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society
- Demonstrable understanding of an acute mental health environment
- Experience of working with people with mental health problems and/or other disabilities
- High level of communication and team-working skills
If youre someone who shares our passion for excellence and care, join us and lets be outstanding together.
We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please dont hesitate to contact Tim Smith via email at Timothy.Smith@berkshire.nhs.uk wholl be delighted to help.
We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics. Reasonable adjustments will be made for disabled applicants where required.
Person Specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential
- An upper second class honours degree or higher in psychology.
- Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society
Desirable
- Further post graduate training in relevant areas of clinical psychology, mental health practice, and/or research design and analysis
Training/CPD
Essential
- Desire to undertake further training and self- improvement to support patient experience
Previous Experience
Essential
- Demonstrable understanding of an acute mental health environment
- Work with people with mental health problems and/or other disabilities
Desirable
- Experience of working in an inpatient psychiatric ward.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
Essential
- Ability to communicate sensitively with staff members, service-users, carers, and other parties, in a work setting in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive and hostile.
- An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with mental health problems or other disabilities. Some knowledge of common mental health problems.
- An ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a mental health context
- An understanding of psychology applied to health care.
- Knowledge and skills in mental health assessments.
- Good knowledge of IT (Word, Excel, Access and SPSS) and a high standard of report writing
- Sound research skills,including a working knowledge of statistics, and ability to analyse data and produce good quality reports.
- Able to work effectively with colleagues
- Able to work under pressure
- Ability to work in a stressful environment
Additional Requirements
Essential
- An ability to interact effectively with staff from all disciplines.
- Honest, trustworthy, reliable
- Understand the limits of your abilities
Person Specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential
- An upper second class honours degree or higher in psychology.
- Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society
Desirable
- Further post graduate training in relevant areas of clinical psychology, mental health practice, and/or research design and analysis
Training/CPD
Essential
- Desire to undertake further training and self- improvement to support patient experience
Previous Experience
Essential
- Demonstrable understanding of an acute mental health environment
- Work with people with mental health problems and/or other disabilities
Desirable
- Experience of working in an inpatient psychiatric ward.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
Essential
- Ability to communicate sensitively with staff members, service-users, carers, and other parties, in a work setting in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive and hostile.
- An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with mental health problems or other disabilities. Some knowledge of common mental health problems.
- An ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a mental health context
- An understanding of psychology applied to health care.
- Knowledge and skills in mental health assessments.
- Good knowledge of IT (Word, Excel, Access and SPSS) and a high standard of report writing
- Sound research skills,including a working knowledge of statistics, and ability to analyse data and produce good quality reports.
- Able to work effectively with colleagues
- Able to work under pressure
- Ability to work in a stressful environment
Additional Requirements
Essential
- An ability to interact effectively with staff from all disciplines.
- Honest, trustworthy, reliable
- Understand the limits of your abilities
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).
