Assistant Psychologist

Job Overview

To support and enhance the professional psychological care of clients within the service, across all sectors of care; providing data collection, data analysis, and assessment under the management and supervision of a qualified professional psychologist, working independently according to a plan agreed with a qualified psychologist and within the overall framework of the team’s policies and procedures.

Main duties of the job

• To participate in clinical governance and utilise research skills for audit, service development and research within the area served by the multi-disciplinary Drug and Alcohol team.
• To undertake clinically-related administration and the Drug Rehabilitation Requirement (DRR)/Alcohol Treatment Requirement (ATR) Psychosocial Inventions and Workshops.
• To provide duty assessments and interventions to clients of the multi-disciplinary Drug and Alcohol Service under the supervision of a qualified professional psychologist.
• To work independently according to a plan agreed with a qualified psychologist and within the overall framework of the team’s policies and procedures.
• To assist in clinically related administration, conduct of audits, collection of statistics and development of audit and/or research projects, teaching and project work.

Working for our organisation

The Clinical Psychology Department provides clinical psychology services to adults with drug and alcohol problems within the Borough of Hillingdon. To be able to deal effectively and sensitively with a busy clinical setting where there may be frequent exposure to physical and verbal aggression, conforming to national and local policies for Health and Safety and guidelines of appropriate professional conduct.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

• To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work.
• To assist in the design and implementation of audit and research projects on a regular basis in order to help develop and improve service provision. This may include complex audits / service evaluation using qualitative or quantitative methods.
• To undertake production of questionnaires, data collection, setting up of databases and spreadsheets, data analysis, and the production of reports and presentation of summaries to colleagues using IT and statistical programmes, including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and SPSS.
• To undertake searches of evidence-based literature and research using the internet and online databases e.g. Psych info, to assist qualified clinical psychologists in evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other multi-disciplinary team members.
• To carry-out practice-based research using validated questionnaires, reflective scientist practitioner skills, etc, as routine.

Person specification

Training & Qualifications

Essential criteria

• A degree in psychology
• Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society.

Desirable criteria

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

Experience

Essential criteria

• Previous clinical or research experience in the field of psychology.
• Relevant experience of working with people with mental health problems, substance misuse needs and/or disabilities, gained through employment, placements, volunteering or equivalent experience

Desirable criteria

• Post-graduate research experience

Knowledge And Skills

Essential criteria

• Experience using microcomputers for databases or data-analysis, especially excel for Windows.
• High standard of report writing
• High level communication skills (written and verbal) including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive.
• Ability to communicate sensitive information to patients, carers and colleagues in a way that addresses psychological resistance.
• An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with mental health problems or other disabilities.
• An ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a mental health context
• An understanding of psychology applied to health care.

PERSONAL

Essential criteria

• An ability to interact effectively with staff from all disciplines.
• Ability to manage agreed responsibilities independently, with appropriate supervision and reasonable adjustments where required
• An ability to interact with people with mental health problems disabilities.

Desirable criteria

• An interest in working with people with mental health problems or other disabilities.

Other

Essential criteria

• Ability to accept and use supervision appropriately and effectively.

Desirable criteria

• A desire to explore a career in Professional Psychology