Job summary
- Main area
- Psychologist
- Grade
- Band 5
- Contract
- Fixed term: 12 months (Regional Secure Unit Allowance payable of £1293pa)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 310-ASMH-6371735
- Employer
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Fens Service, HMP Whitemoor
- Town
- March, Cambridgeshire
- Salary
- £28,407 - £34,581 per annum pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 10/07/2024 23:59
Employer heading
Higher Assistant Psychologist
Band 5
Job overview
12 MONTHS FIXED TERM CONTRACT
We are pleased to be able to offer an exciting opportunity for a Higher Assistant Psychologist.
Our diverse team work together to provide an innovative, trauma focused treatment programme for male offenders within a high secure prison. Our cutting-edge treatment relies upon people skilled and interested in using research, evaluation and audit practice.
Post-holders will support a number of exciting projects that help our therapeutic team to monitor treatment quality and the progress of patients in our service. You will also have involvement in service development projects and support our responsivity treatment programme.
You will be supported with regular supervision, access to varied training opportunities and encouraged to build relationships with our external research links. The role is fixed for one year, with the possibility of extension. Scope to work from home on a weekly basis exits.
**Please note - this post is subject to CTC security clearance checks which require residency in the UK for the last 3 years, with no more than a break of 6 months abroad**
Main duties of the job
To support the professional psychological care of individual high risk patients who have a history of acute developmental trauma, under the supervision of a qualified professional psychologist. The successful candidate will contribute to the implementation of research projects on the unit, as well as assisting in a number of assessment and evaluation activities that require direct patient contact. We deliver a neuro diverse treatment that you will be attached to by delivering structured support sessions outside of the group setting. In addition there are a number of clinically related administration and audit tasks attached to the post. The post-holder will be required to work independently according to a plan agreed with a qualified psychologist and within the overall framework of the team’s policies and procedures.
The post involves working with patients within the OPDP Fens Services, situated within a High Secure male prison. The working environment includes exposure to extremely high levels of distress in others. A major element of the job is the constant potential for direct exposure to verbal and physical aggression, and high levels of emotional distress. There is a requirement for substantial periods of concentration and sitting. The nature of the working environment requires routine exposure to security procedures such as searches.
Working for our organisation
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health and social care organisation dedicated to providing high-quality care with compassion to improve the health and wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting and empowering them to lead a fulfilling life.
Our clinical teams deliver many NHS services, not only via inpatient and primary care settings, but also within the community. These services include children's, adult and older people's mental health, forensic and specialist mental health, learning disabilities, primary care and liaison psychiatry, substance misuse, social care, research and development.
To achieve our goal, we look to recruit high-calibre candidates who share our vision and values. As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all sectors of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including disabled people and members of our ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ communities.
For further information on CPFT, please visit our website at www.cpft.nhs.uk
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities.
- To provide brief structured interventions to support axis 1 difficulties or where psychological barriers are preventing the patient from engaging in the trauma model offered on the OPDP Fens service. This to be agreed and supervised by a qualified psychologist.
- To provide individual sessions for responsivity treatment to support the learning from groups through repetition and tailored adaptions. This is to be directed by a qualified psychologist leading the responsivity group and supervised by a qualified psychologist.
- To act as a co-facilitator for group interventions within the OPDP Fens service. This to be supervised at all times by a qualified clinician.
- To deliver mindfulness and virtual reality sessions to individual high risk patients within the Fens service, working independently according to a plan agreed with a qualified psychologist.
- To deliver virtual reality interventions to operational and clinical staff, as appropriate.
- To deliver key assessments to support the evaluation of virtual reality and neurofeedback interventions.
- To contribute to staff training in relation to research, evaluation and audit interventions.
- To contribute to protocol based psychological assessments of clients including neuropsychological tests, risk assessments, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with prisoners, under the close supervision of a qualified psychologist.
- In common with all psychologists, to receive regular clinical 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, within the Trust’s IPR, PDP and Clinical Governance policies, CPD through teaching, clinical supervision, discussions, visits, study days, courses and relevant reading as agreed with professional and line managers.
- To participate in the Trust’s annual Appraisal process.
To attend all relevant mandatory training as and when required to do so.
Person specification
Education/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 post graduate training in relevant areas of professional psychology, mental health practice and/or research design and analysis.
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience working clinically with people with people with mental health difficulties.
- Experience of delivering structured risk assessment tools
- Experience of completing specialised psychological assessments
- Practical experience working on audit, evaluation or research projects within a healthcare setting.
Desirable criteria
- Experience working within a forensic setting
- Experience of working with individuals with personality disorders and trauma
- Experience of working with patients with cognitive difficulties
- Previous experience as an Assistant Psychologist, or working under the supervision of a qualified psychologist
Skills and Abilities
Essential criteria
- 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 and colleagues in a way that addresses psychological resistance
- Good organisational and time managements skills.
- Able to communicate material of a specialist research nature to populations without any previous knowledge
- Abilities in use of databases or data-analysis, including SPSS for Windows and Excel.
Desirable criteria
- Practical experience of using Virtual Reality interventions
- High standard of report writing.
Knowledge and Understanding
Essential criteria
- Possess sufficient knowledge of research methods and techniques to work within and implement research programmes on the unit.
- An ability to apply existing psychological knowledge, underpinned by theory, to the forensic context
- Ability to adapt style and/or intervention strategies to meet the challenges of complex and highly sensitive situations.
- Ability to liaise with clinical and academic teams
- Ability to work independently, reliably and consistently
- Ability to accept and use supervision appropriately and effectively
- Ability to recognise limits of competence and seek support and supervision when needed.
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge of literature pertaining to personality disorders and forensic settings
Other
Essential criteria
- An interest in the use of technology applied to health care and forensic settings
- A minimum of 3 years UK residency with no longer than a 6 month break abroad.
Desirable criteria
- A desire to explore a career in Professional Psychology
Employer certification / accreditation badges
.png "NHS Rainbow badge")
Applicant requirements
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Dr Sarah Hicks
- Job title
- Principal Forensic Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01354 602586
List jobs with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust in Allied Health Professions or all sectors