The Assistant Psychologist will work within the Bristol ME Service contributing to psychologically informed assessment and evidence-based interventions for adults with ME/CFS where psychological support is requested by the person or clinically indicated. They will support the service group programmes. Psychological interventions support adjustment to living with ME/CFS, emotional wellbeing, self-management and co-existing mental health difficulties. The post holder will work under the supervision of a registered Practitioner Psychologist.

Service Overview

The multidisciplinary service provides specialist assessment, diagnosis, treatment and ongoing support for adults with ME/CFS, alongside education, consultation, research, audit and service development.

Key Working Relationships

Registered Practitioner Psychologists; Occupational Therapists; Physiotherapists; GPs; community services; patients and carers.

Main Duties & Responsibilities

Interpersonal and communication skills

• Have sensitivity to the complex needs of people who are suffering with debilitating symptoms. They must be able to communicate effectively with this client group even when faced with obvious emotional distress or agitation, maintaining a non-judgmental approach
• Maintain accurate documentation, work within BPS standards, Trust policies, safeguarding, information governance and equality legislation.

Professional knowledge and expertise

• Undertake psychologically informed assessments where requested by the individual or clinically indicated
• Develop collaborative formulations under supervision
• Contribute to MDT assessment, formulation and care planning
• Contribute to development of psychoeducation for patients, carers and professionals
• Provide interventions for co-existing common mental health difficulties within competence
• Provide psychologically informed consultation within agreed competencies
• Contribute to psychoeducation and training within agreed competencies

Problem-solving and decision-making

• Assist with day-to-day running of group programmes including dealing with staff and patient challenges on the day

Planning and coordination

• Assist in organisation and coordination of the service group programmes

Practical And Technical Skills

• Use video conferencing technology for remote consultations as needed
• Use display screen equipment for communication, data analysis, and clinical networking
• Use NHS IT systems and software packages such as Excel, Access and Powerpoint

Patient care and support

• Support adjustment to long-term illness, identity changes, uncertainty, anxiety, low mood, grief and social participation
• Adapt appointments and interventions to accommodate post-exertional malaise (PEM), fatigue, cognitive dysfunction and fluctuating symptoms

Service development and improvement

• Support patient involvement in service development

Finance and resource management

• N/A

Leadership and team management

• Support day to day team processes

Information and data management

• Maintain clinical records and outcome measures

Innovation and continuous improvement

• Contribute to audit, research, outcome monitoring, service evaluation and quality improvement

Autonomy and decision authority

• Participate in supervision, CPD and reflective practice
• Work autonomously within agreed scope while receiving regular supervision from a Registered Practitioner Psychologist.

Physical demands

• Sit for periods of at least an hour and a half in confined space in order to conduct clinical work.

Cognitive demands

• Sustained concentration for unbroken periods of up to two hours in order to conduct group-based psychological therapies and the assessment of individuals

Emotional resilience

• To work with individuals experiencing emotional distress. Reactions in such circumstances may include verbal aggression and anger.

Work environment

• The role requires flexible working across hospitals and may include some hybrid working.

Person specification

Experience

Essential criteria

• Undergraduate degree in psychology (1st or 2.1 or anticipated grade in qualifying on application)
• Will be eligible for graduate membership of the BPS
• Experience of working within a health setting preferably in a psychology department

Desirable criteria

• At least one year’s full time NHS experience in a psychology department, or experience with adults living with ME/CFS/Long Covid

We hope that you will decide to join us and become part of this exciting journey, helping us to shape our future together.

As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application to ensure we’re meeting our pledge. The Trust is committed to investing in and caring for all our staff. We will support you in maintaining and improving your health and wellbeing, as well as your career development through management and training support - developing exceptional people for exceptional careers. BFT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults. To comply with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 all applicants must be able to speak fluent English to an appropriate standard which will be assessed at Interview. If you require sponsorship for a visa to work in the UK, to avoid disappointment, please check to ensure you are eligible under the UKVI points based system. The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system. By applying for this post, you are agreeing to Bristol NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system. Please be aware of scams – unless specified above, we will only communicate with you via @recruit.trac.jobs or nhs.net e-mails and we will never ask you for any payments.

Important

Please note that if you apply for a position with this Trust, you may be contacted via Trac or via email. This includes invites for job interviews. We therefore recommend that you regularly check your Trac account and email accounts. We may also contact you by texting the mobile number, if provided, on the application form.

Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts we may close this vacancy before the advertised closing date. Therefore, please apply for this post as soon as you can, if you are interested and you meet the requirements of the Person Specification

Only those candidates who clearly demonstrate how they meet the person specification will be shortlisted for this job.

As a guide interviews should usually take place within 3 weeks of the closing date.

When providing employment reference details, please provide correct work-related email addresses so references can be sought