Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Assistant Psychologist - HMP Downview OPD
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Job Overview
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust is a Top Employer Award Winner and works in partnership to provide responsive and dependable primary care, mental health, neurodevelopmental and substance misuse services to the diverse and culturally rich communities we serve.
Are you interested in providing clinical support in services for people with personality disorder/difficulties and complex needs? We are seeking an Assistant Psychologist for our well-developed and highly regarded multidisciplinary team: Options – part of the OPD Pathway, based at HMP Downview. We support the development of Assistant Psychologists, provide training, and have a good track record of progression onto training routes.
You will be joining and providing psychological input to a well-established, enthusiastic, and committed team of clinical and operational staff. Working in prison-based services is challenging and rewarding; it involves working with people serving sentences, many of whom have experienced traumatic and disadvantaged backgrounds. You will require excellent communication skills to manage relationships and work closely with partner agencies. You must also have a desire to contribute to the delivery of high-quality services for people residing within the establishment and be well-organised and motivated. You will receive regular support to further develop your strengths in working in this busy and exciting service.
Main duties of the job
- To deliver a Forensically Modified Dialectical Behaviour Therapy skills group to women/individuals screened into the OPD pathway.
- To deliver outreach support to those in periods of instability.
- To manage referral systems and databases and carry out suitability assessments.
- Providing support, co-ordination, and administration to clinical, training, and research functions within the scope appropriate to the level of training and competence.
- To represent the team at Diversity meetings and contribute to the management of the diversity plan for the team.
- To work independently according to a plan agreed and reviewed through regular supervision by a qualified HCPC registered Psychologist/Psychological Therapist.
Why not see what our staff say about working within our award-winning teams: https://www.cnwl.nhs.uk/health-and-justice/find-out-what-its-work-health-and-justice
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We reserve the right to close this advert early if we receive a high volume of applications. Please apply as soon as possible.
Working for our organisation
We offer robust training to support our Assistant Psychologist development and have a strong record of past candidates progressing onto further training in line with their personal development plan.
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust offers its staff ongoing career progression through:
- Monthly supervision
- Annual personal development plans/appraisals
- Access to exciting internal and external training opportunities.
Excellent progression through various career pathway opportunities such as but not limited to:
- Support and guidance with Revalidation
- Hidden Gem and annual award ceremonies
Excellent staff benefits, our benefit packages are amongst the best in London and include:
- Health and wellbeing services
- Season ticket loans
- Cycle to work scheme
The trust also values its staff and you are entitled to become a member of MyTrustBenefits. MyTrustBenefits is an online portal for all CNWL staff, as well as their family and friends. It offers over 1400 discounts at hundreds of retailers nationwide. Save money on your weekly food shops, toiletries, cosmetics, cinema, meals out, holidays, travel, and entertainment. You can also access free online courses on a variety of topics, professional and personal, ranging from business management, languages, law, and teaching.
Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities
PLEASE REFER TO JD & PERSON SPEC FOR FULL MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- To set up and manage databases, referral systems, spreadsheets, and using advanced IT skills in evaluation audit and research.
- To deliver a Forensically Modified Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) skills group to women/individuals screened into the OPD pathway.
- To attend and take part in weekly DBT consultation/reflective practice meetings and adhere to DBT principles.
- To carry out assessment with individuals referred to the service. To develop individual formulations and apply theoretical psychological models of mental health and personality disorder and offending, to observed behaviour.
- To liaise closely with other members of the multidisciplinary team and also to other prison service staff (including prison and probation officers) offering consultation on psychological aspects of care, contributing directly to formulation, diagnosis, treatment planning, and management.
- To contribute and provide workforce development to other prison staff including prison and probation officers in relation to the OPD.
- To undertake projects relating to service development and evaluation.
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Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Honours degree at 2:1 or above in Psychology, or equivalent.
- Eligible for Graduate Basis for Chartership with the BPS.
Desirable criteria
- Further training in relevant areas of professional psychology, mental health practice, and/or research design and analysis.
Experience
Essential criteria
- Relevant clinical and research skills
- Experience of working as part of a team
- Basic knowledge of databases, research skills, and methodology
- Ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a health context
- An understanding of psychology applied to health care
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working with people with disabilities, in a health or Mental Health setting and/or work with people with complex needs
- Experience of working with people with complex needs
- Experience of the use of psychometric tests
- Experience of group work and individual therapeutic contact
- Experience of in-patient settings
- Experience of teaching other health professionals
- Lived experience of mental health issues
Skills
Essential criteria
- To be able to communicate effectively under pressure and maintain a high degree of professionalism at all times.
- To be able to provide and receive complex sensitive or contentious information in a potentially highly emotive atmosphere. To be able to work with resistance to ideas.
- High standard of report writing.
- To assimilate complex information and use reflective/analytic thinking, to apply psychological perspectives in work in a healthcare setting.
- Ability to be flexible and cope with multiple demands.
- Capable of using initiative and organise work to agreed goals.
- Ability to work independently and know when to ask for and use supervision, identifying when there is a need for advice and using supervision at agreed intervals.
Abilities
Essential criteria
- Ability to tolerate and remain calm in the face of high levels of emotional distress and emotional demands.
- Ability to tolerate occasional exposure to verbal abuse and hostility.
- Ability to use a PC.
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