This position is no longer open for applications

Are you a highly motivated Registered Assistant Psychologist? If yes, join the multidisciplinary Psychological Therapies team at Thornford Park Hospital.

.

As an Assistant Psychologist, you will support the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) for female service users. It is essential you have previous experience of working with adult’s mental health conditions and a passion to learn and develop.

.

Within Psychological Therapy team, you will be working alongside Psychologists, Art Therapists, Drama Therapists, Trainee Forensic Psychologist, Speech and Language Therapist, and PBS Practitioner, with expertise in working with people with a wide range of presenting difficulties, including violent offender, sex offending, substance use problems, personality disorder, and enduring mental health difficulties.

.

You will be working at Thornford Park Hospital, an independent 129 bedded hospital set in 23 acres of parkland on the outskirts of Newbury, Berkshire (close to the Hampshire borders).

.

Historically providing services for male service users detained under the Mental Health Act (1983) who require care in conditions of medium and low security. People who have forensic histories, require long-term treatment and rehabilitation and present with multiple problems, challenging and high risk behaviour and complex care needs. We also have a 10-bedded PICU providing holistic assessment and treatment for males experiencing crisis.

.

In January 2020, Thornford Park will open a 10-bedded Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) for female service users.

.

Role – Assistant Psychologist

Location – Thatcham, Berkshire

Salary – £20,000

Hours – 37.5 per week

Closing Date – Tuesday 19^th November 2019

.

Your responsibilities

.

• To be a full and active member of the Department of Psychological Therapies, sharing duties, skills, knowledge, and information as appropriate and within professional and ethical guidelines. 
• Undertake psychological assessments with qualified psychologists, including neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, direct and indirect observations, and semi-structured interviews with service users. Assist in developing formulations to help make sense of an individual service user’s crisis in their mental health to inform any intervention and delivery of care plans.
• To hold a caseload of clinical work, including carrying out individual psychological interventions where appropriate, depending on skills/experience.
• To work with other team members to assess service users referred to the service and review their care in preparation for multi-disciplinary reviews.
• To assist in the coordination and running of therapeutic groups, including screening interviews, pre- and post-group assessments, co-facilitating groups, helping participants with homework tasks, writing reports.
• To attend and contribute to Multi-Disciplinary Team meetings where appropriate.
• To communicate and receive highly complex and contentious information (e.g., about sexual, physical, and emotional abuse) in a highly skilled and sensitive manner, in the course of psychological work.
• Depending on skills and training, to undertake collaborative risk assessment and management for individual service users and to provide general advice to other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management.
• To receive regular clinical supervision in accordance with good professional practice guidelines. To be a reflective practitioner using feedback and guidance.
• To develop skills and competencies that assist in the delivery of current duties.
• To provide support, advice and training to staff both within the department, and across other disciplines.
• To undertake audit, and service evaluation with colleagues across the hospital, to help develop and improve services to service users and their families.
• To carry out these duties in consultation with the Lead Psychologist and identified supervisor, and contribute to the maintenance and development of a high quality psychological service as a whole, including the promotion of standards and service audits.
• To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the postholder’s professional and team/operational manager(s).
• To promote the department’s profile by initiating, undertaking and supporting relevant Research and Development activities to meet the needs of the service users within agreed resource constraints.
• To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing in accordance with professional codes of practice of the HCPC, British Psychological Society and Hospital policies and procedures.

.
To be successful in this role, you'll need.

.

• Minimum of an Upper second class honours degree in Psychology with graduate basis for registration with the BPS.
• Relevant paid or voluntary work with people with mental health problems.
• High level developed communication skills (written and verbal) including an ability to communicate highly complex/sensitive information and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive, and overcome psychological resistance to potentially threatening information.
• 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
• The ability to work skilfully, co-operatively, efficiently and effectively within a team environment
• General computer skills.
• A commitment to a career in psychology
• An interest in and ability to work with people with mental health problems and/or other disabilities, within an acute psychiatric setting.
• An ability to interact effectively with staff from all disciplines.
• An ability to work independently and on own initiative, reliably and consistently with work agreed and managed at regular intervals.

.

What you will get

.              

• Annual salary of £20,000
• The equivalent of 33 days annual leave – plus your birthday off!
• Free meals and parking
• Wellbeing support and activities
• Career development and training
• Pension contribution
• Life Assurance
• Enhanced Maternity Package

.

There is also a range of other benefits including retail discounts and special offers, car leasing without a credit check, holiday financing and much more.

.

About your next employer

.

You will be working for an established, stable and agile company with a unique approach to the delivery of care. 

.

Each and every employee is valued and supported, as everyone has an important role to play in the success of Elysium. It is only with the dedication, passion and hard work from staff that excellent care programs that truly benefit the service users can be delivered.

.

With a network of over 70 services across England and Wales, providing four services including: Mental Health, Neurological, Learning Disabilities & Autism, Children & Education, there is opportunity for you to grow and move with Elysium.

.

Elysium Healthcare follows safer recruitment of staff for all appointments. It is a requirement that all staff understand it is each person’s individual responsibility and are committed to promoting and safeguarding the welfare of service users. Candidates will be subject to an Enhanced DBS disclosure.