Senior Assistant Psychologist

Job Overview

This is an exciting opportunity to be join the STRIDES team which specialises in supporting young adults aged 16-35 with mild to moderate eating disorder presentations. You will be part of a friendly and supportive team that strives to help more people with eating difficulties access the care they need.

The ideal candidate has a passion for supporting young adults who are struggling with their eating, is compassionate, enthusiastic, quick to learn, and works well as part of a team.

Main duties of the job

You will have a role in the triage and assessment of new referrals to the team.

You will be trained to deliver short-term psychological interventions (guided self-help and CBT-T) under supervision and will hold a caseload. In addition, you will collect and analyse data to help evaluate our service and work on projects to continually improve what we offer in collaboration with those with lived experience.

Working for our organisation

STRIDES is part of a large eating disorder service including inpatient, day patient and community care.

The STRIDES team covers five boroughs so you can expect to your role to include travel, and working with diverse populations in different parts of London.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone who is hoping to pursue a career in clinical psychology. There are regular CPD events and you will work closely with psychological therapists.

Hear from our staff what it’s like working with our CNWL Eating Disorders service, please CLICK HERE to watch the video

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

• To undertake, under the direct supervision of a qualified psychologist, protocol based psychological assessments of clients. To apply 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.
• To assist, under the direct supervision of a qualified professional psychologist, in the formulation and delivery of care plans involving the psychological treatment of a client’s problems. This included the delivery of protocol-driven treatments such as guided self-help and CBT-T.
• To assist in the co-ordination and running of therapeutic groups.
• To assist, under the direct supervision of a qualified professional psychologist, in the development of a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings where care takes place.
• To attend and contribute to appropriate multi-disciplinary meetings.
• Will be required to tolerate occasional verbal abuse and hostility.
• Will be required to cope with periods of intense concentration (eg client interviews) and tolerate occasional distressing situations while providing therapy.
  
  

Person specification

Skills

Essential criteria

• An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with mental health problems or other disabilities.
• An understanding of psychology applied to health care.
• Ability to communicate sensitive information to patients, carers and colleagues.
• High level communication skills (written and verbal) including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive.
• An ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a mental health context
• Ability to work independently, reliably and consistently with work agreed and managed at regular intervals.
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Experience using computers for databases or data-analysis
• High standard of report writing
  
  

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• An upper second class honours degree or higher in psychology.
• Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society.
  
  

Desirable criteria

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

Experience

Essential criteria

• Work with people with mental health problems and/or other disabilities.
• Experience of delivering protocol- driven psychological interventions.
• Excellent IT skills including good working knowledge of SPSS, Word.
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Experience of paid work in direct care provision.
• Experience of working in a health, social care or associated third sector organisation.
• Experience of working with Eating Disorders.
  
  

Other

Essential criteria

• Ability to accept and use supervision appropriately and effectively.
  
  

Desirable criteria

• A desire to explore a career in professional Psychology.