Assistant Psychologist CAMHS IST

About the Role

This is an exciting opportunity for an Assistant Psychologist to support the work of an innovative psychology-led Intensive Support Team. The post holder will form part of a multi-agency team consisting of clinical psychology, learning disability nursing, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and clinical support workers.

The team works with a small number of children and young people and their families in Manchester, Salford, and Trafford who are identified on the local Dynamic Support Database as needing the most intensive support and being at high risk of moving to a residential setting or hospital.

Working alongside local services, the Intensive Support Team creates, instigates, and supports the implementation of person-centred support plans with the aim of supporting children and young people to stay with their families in their local communities.

The post holder will be expected to assist qualified Psychologists, Community Learning Disability Nurses, and Speech Therapists and Occupational Therapists in the preparation, instigation, and evaluation of various clinical, teaching, and research tasks.

Main Duties of the Job

A key part of the role involves analysing service information such as routine outcome measures and presenting results to the clinical team. The post holder will act under the supervision of a Clinical Psychologist and will be given appropriate tuition to enable the successful performance of clinical and other duties.

Under supervision, the post holder will be expected to assist qualified Clinical Psychologists in implementing psychological interventions. This will include using various assessment procedures to collect relevant data, analysis of data, undertaking clinical interventions with others, and evaluating interventions as required.

In undertaking these duties, the post holder will be expected to communicate sensitive information with children, families, and parent groups both verbally and in writing.

The post holder will also be expected to liaise with other professionals such as school teachers and social workers in undertaking assessments and interventions.

About Us

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS Trusts in England, with a turnover of £[omitted]. We're creating an exceptional integrated health and social care system for the 1 million patients who rely on our services every year.

As a Clinical Assistant Psychologist, you will be part of a multi-disciplinary team working with children and young people who require intensive support. You will work closely with qualified Psychologists, Nurses, and Therapists to develop and implement person-centred support plans.

The successful candidate will have a good knowledge of developmental and clinical aspects of psychology, experience of using computer software packages, and a demonstrated interest in working with people with mental health problems.

Person Specification

• Eligibility for registration with the British Psychological Society
• Degree in Psychology at a 2:1 or above
• Good knowledge of developmental and clinical aspects of psychology
• Experience of using computer software packages
• Demonstrated interest in working with people with mental health problems
• Understanding of the principles of Clinical Governance and a willingness to follow Trust Policy and Procedures
• Ability to work to tight deadlines
• Ability to work with people from different backgrounds and of different ages
• Highly developed verbal and written communication skills with the ability to provide and receive highly complex or sensitive information
• Ability to function as a part of a multi-disciplinary team and to liaise effectively with other agencies, education, GP's, maintaining positive working relationships
• Ability to work with people from a range of different backgrounds, cultures, and or different ages
• Ability to reflect on and critically appraise own performance
• Ability to manage own workload, prioritising tasks to complete in order of importance
• Ability to manage and organise own time and work flexibly and creatively in a clinical context and pressurised situations
• Ability to work independently with the support of clinical and management supervision but to understand limits of own professional capacity
• Ability to maintain clinical records both written and electronic
• Ability to cope with stressful situations including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the case of highly emotive and distressing problems
• Commitment to undertake further relevant training and self-directed study
• Punctual and flexible across hours of work when required
• Commitment to the inclusion of young people's, parent/carer views in service delivery, development, and design
• Willingness to contribute to team functioning, performance, and the ongoing development of the service
• Use of a car or access to a means of travel across the Trust footprint in line with service need
• Willing to carry out all duties and responsibilities of the post in accordance with the Trust's Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity policies