Assistant Psychologist

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is a trailblazer for the NHS Community Mental Health Framework and as such we are dismantling the traditional barriers to accessing interventions, treatment and support. We have greatly expanded our mental health staffing in the Trust, working from within community settings through to specialist NHS mental health settings, to enable people to access the right interventions, at the right time and in the right place. We are advertising for two Assistant Psychology post (full-time) who will be an integral part of delivering psychologically informed care to adults struggling with their mental health.

This post will be attractive to applicants who would like to develop professionally across a broad range of psychological competencies. We are recruiting Assistant Psychologists at band 5 to reflect the applicants’ skills in undertaking planned brief interventions drawing on evidence base models of care, as well as having experience of working with risk and complexity.

We are looking for applicants who are resilient, reflective and motivated to work psychologically with these client groups and with an interest in developing the service further.

As an Assistant Psychologist joining the Mendip team you will be working into our neighbourhood teams within Open Mental Health, and our Community Mental Health teams. As such you will be spanning what has more traditionally been referred to as primary and secondary care. You’ll be offering a broad range of activities (assisting in assessment, formulation, intervention, evaluation etc.).

Somerset Foundation Trust has a network of Psychology Assistant and therefore there are opportunities for peer support. The Assistant Psychologists will actively engage and work with a number of individuals with mild to moderate mental and emotional health issues as well as linking with and supporting other mental health services. These post holders will, with the support and supervision of Clinical Psychologists, be working with a developing service which is challenging the traditional boundaries placed by the differentiation between primary and secondary care, with the ethos of 'no wrong door'. We are an innovative Trust and this post will be well suited to someone who is interested in improving services, to deliver effective, compassionate and trauma informed care. We recognize that Assistant Psychologists are looking to further their career in the Psychology professions and promote opportunities for development whenever possible.

As an organisation, the NHS offers a wide range of benefits including flexible working, pension contributions, market leading annual leave allowance, career progression and regular conversations, not to mention our Blue Light Card and NHS exclusive discounts.

The benefits of working in Somerset include the idyllic countryside, with our areas of outstanding beauty and stunning coastlines. You will get to enjoy these perks whilst still only being a stone’s throw away from bustling city centres like Bristol, Bath and Exeter and only two hours away from London.

There are excellent educational facilities in the area and, when compared to other regions, house prices are reasonable. You will experience the best of both in Somerset, the countryside and the cosmopolitan - there is truly something for everyone

There are excellent educational facilities in the area and, when compared to other regions, house prices are reasonable. You will experience the best of both in Somerset, the countryside and the cosmopolitan - there is truly something for everyone

See detailed job description for an over view of the main responsibilities of this exciting and innovative post.