Kent & Medway NHS & Social Care Partnership Trust

Trainee Clinical Associate Psychologist (CAP)

The closing date is 29 July 2025

Job summary

We are seeking to recruit a number of Trainee Clinical Associate Psychologists across our sites in Kent and Medway.

You will undertake a structured programme of learning with Essex University Partnership Trust, including personal study, academic work, placement learning and assessment leading to the award of an MSc in Clinical Associate Psychology and employment as a Clinical Associate Psychologist (Band 6). The training is 18 months in duration and the post holder will be employed as a Trainee Clinical Associate Psychologist (Band 5). On successful completion of the training, you will be employed as a Clinical Associate Psychologist (Band 6). You will undertake specialised psychological assessments, treatments and other types of clinical intervention appropriate to this level of training with individual & groups of service users.

There are five posts that are being recruited to: three posts are in Liaison Psychiatry (In either Maidstone, Thanet, or Medway Services), one post in the West Kent Early Intervention for Psychosis service and one post in East Kent Rehabilitation Service.

For the Rehab and EIP vacancies, the successful applicants must hold a full, valid, UK driving licence and have access to a car/vehicle to use for business purposes (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010).

Successful applicants will need to be in post by the end of October 2025.

Main duties of the job

As a trainee Clinical Associate Psychologist (CAP), you will be committed to both working with service users in the service where you are employed and undertaking your training towards a Clinical Associate Psychologist.

Your working role includes contributing to the provision of psychological assessment, formulation, individual and group intervention in the service in which you are based. A key part of the role is also supporting teams with developing their psychological perspective through contributing to case discussions, training, and consultation. There will be opportunities for service evaluation and development. You will work closely with the existing psychologists/psychotherapists and multidisciplinary teams.

As is typical of the apprenticeship model, the majority of the practical learning takes place in the students' workplace, with students released for a day each week to attend the academic programme. A blended Learning approach is taken, with both in-person and remote teaching and workshops.

CAPs are trained to work with clients specific to their workplace, including those with complex and enduring conditions, and to be able to conduct evidence-based psychological assessment, formulation and intervention within their scope of practice, under supervision. Once qualified, they are able to develop independent working, under the supervision of a registered Practitioner Psychologist who retains clinical responsibility for their case load.

About us

Come and work with us in the Garden of England where we combine exceptional professional development opportunities with a tremendous quality of life.

We are Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT), providing mental health, learning disability and specialist services, serving 1.8 million people in Kent and Medway, as well as specialist services for adults in Sussex and Surrey. We are rated Good overall by the CQC.

Each year we care for over 2,000 people in our hospitals and 54,000 people in the community.

We are proud to employ over 3,800 people from 66 nationalities, and to serve an increasingly diverse range of communities across rural and urban areas.

You will be joining friendly, passionate colleagues, rich in their diversity, who are committed to providing excellent care to our service users and their loved ones.

The nature of our work attracts kindness and compassion as standard and everyone from our cleaners and porters to the chief executive and chairman are recognised as playing a vital role in providing an exemplary service.

Our strategy

Our mission is what we set out to do every dayWe deliver brilliant care through brilliant people

Our vision is where we want to be in the futureTo provide outstanding care and to work in partnership to deliver this in the right place, for every service user, every time.

Check out our recruitment videos Recruitment - YouTube

Date posted

15 July 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 5

Salary

£31,049 to £37,796 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

380-WK0299

Job locations

Maidstone Hospital, Maidstone

Hermitage Lane

Maidstone

ME16 9QQ

Job description

Job responsibilities

You will be engaged in providing highly specialist psychology services to adults with severe and enduring mental health problems, their families and carers.

You will work semi-autonomously alongside Psychology colleagues.

The role will involve the provision of psychological therapy, consultation, and the delivery of training. The role also involves monitoring and evaluation.

You will work in collaboration with colleagues, service users, carers, the Multidisciplinary teams and other services and partner organisations towards the overall provision of evidence-based, cost effective service.

You will provide direct interventions such as psychological assessments and brief psychological interventions, psychology groups, as well as indirect interventions such as case discussions and serious incident debriefs.

You will provide clinical leadership, assist in service development, and contribute to decision-making processes whilst also offering highly specialist advice, guidance and consultation.

Please see the attached job description for full details of the main duties and responsibilities of the role.

Job description

Job responsibilities

You will be engaged in providing highly specialist psychology services to adults with severe and enduring mental health problems, their families and carers.

You will work semi-autonomously alongside Psychology colleagues.

The role will involve the provision of psychological therapy, consultation, and the delivery of training. The role also involves monitoring and evaluation.

You will provide clinical leadership, assist in service development, and contribute to decision-making processes whilst also offering highly specialist advice, guidance and consultation.

Please see the attached job description for full details of the main duties and responsibilities of the role.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Graduate Basis of Eligibility GBE membership of the British Psychological Society
Honours Degree or Equivalent in Psychology at 2.1 or above or successful completion of a BPS accredited post-graduate Psychology conversion programme with 2.1 equivalent or above or a 2.2 honours degree or equivalent in Psychology with appropriate additional experience (or contextual info) demonstrating academic potential
Maths and English Language GCSE at grade C/4 or above or equivalent (documentary evidence)

Desirable

1st Honours degree in Psychology

Experience

Essential

Experience working in an NHS service with people with a severe mental health difficulty

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Graduate Basis of Eligibility GBE membership of the British Psychological Society
Honours Degree or Equivalent in Psychology at 2.1 or above or successful completion of a BPS accredited post-graduate Psychology conversion programme with 2.1 equivalent or above or a 2.2 honours degree or equivalent in Psychology with appropriate additional experience (or contextual info) demonstrating academic potential
Maths and English Language GCSE at grade C/4 or above or equivalent (documentary evidence)

Desirable

1st Honours degree in Psychology

Experience

Essential

Experience working in an NHS service with people with a severe mental health difficulty

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.

Employer details

Employer name

Kent & Medway NHS & Social Care Partnership Trust

Address

Maidstone Hospital, Maidstone

Hermitage Lane

Maidstone

ME16 9QQ

Employer's website

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

Employer details

Employer name

Kent & Medway NHS & Social Care Partnership Trust

Address

Maidstone Hospital, Maidstone

Hermitage Lane

Maidstone

ME16 9QQ

Employer's website

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