Assistant Psychologist

Job overview
Please note, at this stage, the role is open only to internal staff (including NHSP and Agency staff currently on placement within our organisation) and staff substantively employed within Kent and Medway NHS Trusts and the Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB). Any individual who is at risk of redundancy will be given priority, provided they meet the essential criteria.
This is an exciting opportunity to deliver the Clinical Care Pathways in Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust. Intent on bringing innovative ideas into practice, the clinical care pathways are evidence-based clinical interventions delivered across Secondary Care Mental Health Services in Kent. With a focus on psychologically informed interventions, these roles will play a significant role in delivering brief manualised clinical interventions as well as co-facilitating therapy groups, under the supervision of qualified psychological practitioners.
We are committed to providing support and excellent supervision and to developing their staff. The Services have good links with the Christchurch Canterbury University Doctoral Training Course in Clinical Psychology based at David Salomon's House to which they regularly provide clinical placements to clinical psychologists in training.
The successful candidate will hold an honours degree in Psychology and be interested in pursuing a career in a related area.

Main duties of the job

• Participate in the provision of direct clinical work through delivery of manualised psychologically informed structured interventions as part of Psychological Services to adults with mental health difficulties within the community & recovery service line.
• Deliver 'initial interventions' to people accessing adult mental health services as part of the Clinical Care Pathways in the CMHT. Specific and targeted training will be provided by experienced Psychological Practitioners and all interventions supported by weekly clinical supervision from Psychological Practitioners.
• Undertake other structured therapeutic psychological interventions in an identified service or services using own independent initiative within guidelines provided by a qualified psychologist.
• Undertake clinically and service performance-related administration, audit and research projects, teaching and service improvement project work under the professional guidance of a qualified psychologist.

Working for our organisation
We are the Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust. We care for the mental health and wellbeing of people across Kent and Medway. Our teams support adults with a wide range of mental health needs. Because we cover the whole county and both hospital and community settings, we can make care more joined up and easier to access for the 1.8 million people of Kent and Medway.
Our vision is simple: We are here to help communities not just live with mental illness, but live well. It's why we're passionate about working with communities to make mental health care better for everyone. And everything we do is guided by our values caring, inclusive, curious and confident.
Join us - if you share our passion for better mental health care and want to be part of a team that's doing well together.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please refer to the attached job description for full details and main responsibilities of the role.

Person specification

Qualifications/Skills

Essential criteria

• Psychology undergraduate degree/masters
• Research/Audit skills
• IT/Statistical Packages experience

Desirable criteria

• Previous assistant post experience
• Presentation skills

Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience in adult mental health
• working with patients

Desirable criteria

• Experience in secondary care

Knowledge/Skills

Essential criteria

• Good communication skills (written and verbal) including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive.
• An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with mental health problems or other difficulties.
• An ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a mental health context.

Desirable criteria

• High standard of report writing.

Important Information:
In cases where we receive a high volume of applications for a post, it may be necessary to bring the closing date forward. Please submit your completed application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
Due to the high volume of applications received, it is not possible to respond individually to your application. Should you not hear from us within six weeks of the vacancy closing, please assume that your application has not been successful.

Probation Period. New employees external to the trust are subject to a six-month probationary period.
To deliver an effective service it is essential in some of our roles that you are able to travel between work bases in a timely manner.
Production of false or forged documents/qualifications in order to obtain employment is a criminal offence and will be reported to the Police.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check.
Certain roles are subject to criminal record checks called Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. Therefore, you will be required to submit a completed Disclosure form to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust are signed up to NHS England's Sexual Safety in Health Care Organisational Charter
The trust takes a systematic zero-tolerance approach to tackle any unwanted, inappropriate and/or harmful sexual behaviours within the workplace and in our care provision. We are committed to sexual safety which encompasses prevention, support and decisive action against perpetrators. We are committed to keeping you and our patients safe.

Use of AI when writing job applications
While AI tools can be helpful in generating ideas and drafting initial versions, they should never be the sole source for writing your job application.
AI cannot truly understand the specific job you're applying for or what makes you a good fit. Therefore, it's crucial to personalise any AI-generated content to accurately reflect your skills, experiences, and aspirations.
Relying solely on AI to write your application may result in generic, impersonal, and potentially inaccurate content. Always review and refine any AI-generated text to ensure it effectively communicates your experience, skills, accomplishments, and aspirations, and demonstrates your suitability for the position.