The Assistant Psychologist will provide psychological support to adult wards at the St Charles Mental Health Centre in North Kensington, which includes four acute wards and two psychiatric intensive care units (PICUs). The role involves assessing and delivering psychological interventions under the supervision of a qualified psychologist, utilizing a trauma-informed approach.
Key Responsibilities:
- Conduct psychological assessments and implement interventions for patients in acute mental health services.
- Assist in the planning and execution of individual and group therapeutic sessions.
- Support clinical administration, including auditing and data collection, and participate in the development of training materials.
- Contribute to multi-disciplinary team meetings and aid in the evaluation and care planning for inpatients.
- Engage in the training of new staff and dissemination of research findings to enhance service delivery.
Professional Development and Standards:
- Receive clinical supervision and participate in continuing professional development activities.
- Maintain high standards in record-keeping and adhere to Trust policies regarding information governance.
General Requirements:
- Respond appropriately to challenging situations involving client behavior.
- Work to create a psychologically informed environment and support community-focused service delivery.
This position is aimed at enhancing psychological care within the trust, benefiting patients in the Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster area.
We are looking for an Assistant Psychologist to provide psychology provision to the adult wards within the St Charles Mental Health Centre based in North Kensington. The service has four open acute wards, a male-only Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and a female only PICU. The unit primarily works with patients who are resident in Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster (KCW).
The post holder would be expected to support and enhance the professional psychological care of clients within the service. They would help provide psychological assessment and psychological interventions of a routine nature, under the direct supervision of a qualified professional psychologist drawing on their supervisor's expertise and intervention as and when advised and directed. This might include joint and individual direct work with clients and families, group work, indirect interventions on the ward and consultation to other MDT members. They would work according to a plan agreed with a qualified psychologist and within the overall framework of the team's policies and procedures. They would assist in clinically related administration, conduct of audits, collection of statistics, development of audit and/or research projects, teaching and project work.
To provide psychological assessments for clients in the adult acute psychology inpatient services under the close supervision of a practitioner psychologist including psychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the client's care; and development & implementation of the trauma informed approach within KC acute and urgent care mental health services.
To provide protocol based individual psychological interventions for clients in the KC acute and urgent care mental health services including trauma informed approach by assisting in the formulation and delivery of routine care plans involving the psychological treatment and/or management of a client's problems, under the direct supervision of a qualified professional psychologist.
To assist, arrange, schedule, coordinate and provide protocol based therapeutic group psychological interventions for clients in the adult acute psychology inpatient services including trauma informed approach interventions.
To assist the psychologists in the development of individual or group clinical materials or training materials.
To attend and contribute to appropriate multi-disciplinary meetings, and to work with other staff to assess inpatients and review their care in preparation for multi-disciplinary reviews.
About us
KR 1 Clinical and Client Care
To provide psychological assessments for clients in the adult acute psychology inpatient services under the close supervision of a practitioner psychologist including development and implementation of the trauma informed approach within KC acute and urgent care mental health services
To provide protocol based individual psychological interventions for clients in the KC acute and urgent care mental health services including trauma informed approach
To arrange, schedule and provide protocol based group psychological interventions for clients in the adult acute psychology inpatient services including trauma informed approach interventions.
To assist the psychologists in the development of individual or group clinical materials or training materials.
KR 2 Contributing to team or service clinical functioning
To contribute to the effective working of the KC acute and urgent care mental health services by registering new referrals; creating databases to track processes or progress through pathways and keeping them up-to-date; contributing to the training and support of other staff in developing and providing psychological care of clients
To act in a manner that supports a psychologically informed framework for the service.
To participate in the team or services delivery of accessible and acceptable services to diverse local communities.
KR 3 Policy and service development
To follow policies and procedures in own area of work
To participate in the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities.
KR 4 Care or management of resources
To take care of, and use carefully, the Trusts equipment and physical resources.
To ensure that the post holder has sufficient resources by estimating future needs and requesting supplies as needed.
To be responsible for safe-keeping of equipment or stock provided to the post holder and informing the supervising psychologist or manager when stock requires replenishing may apply to psychometric tests, specialised stationery etc
KR 5 Teaching and Training
To participate in demonstrating work methods to newly recruited Assistant Psychologists and to support their development of necessary skills.
To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations or published articles.
To (arrange, schedule and) co-facilitate training to employees of the Trust or employees of partner agencies in order to support service improvement
KR 6 Record-keeping and Information Governance
To ensure that all information generated by own work is recorded as required by Trust policies and local procedures.
Under the supervision of the practitioner psychologist to maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry.
To maintain data bases and enter data, and perform analyses and produce reports.
KR 7 Research and development
To assist in the design and implementation of audit and research projects to inform the service Psychologist and others in the development of Trust psychology and other services, training provision and research activities.
To undertake data collection, analysis, the production of reports and summaries, using IT and statistical programmes
To undertake searches of evidence-based literature and research to assist in the development in the Trust of evidence based practice.
Under guidance to conduct surveys with service users and carers to gather views on service provision
KR 8 Maintaining professional standards and continuing professional development
To receive regular clinical and professional supervision in accordance with professional practice guidelines
To gain wider experience of professional psychology within the NHS over and above that provided within the principal service area where the post-holder is employed.
To develop skills and competencies that assist in the delivery of current duties.
To undertake personal training relevant to the post in agreement with the supervising psychologist and the manager.
KR 9 General
To be aware of risk relating to aggressive and challenging behaviour amongst the client group, and follow trust policies relating to its management
To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations, such as challenging behaviour, abuse etc and to support others involved in such situations.
Please wait...this will take a moment...
