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Job summary

Main area
Mental Health
Grade
Band 4
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
001-PST032-0725
Employer
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Employer type
NHS
Site
Cardiff Royal Infirmary
Town
Cardiff
Salary
£26,928 - £29,551 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
14/07/2025 23:59

Employer heading

NHS

Clinical Psychology Assistant Practitioner

Band 4

WHO WE ARE:

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board is one of the largest Integrated Health Board in the UK, employing over 16,000 staff and providing over 100 specialist services. Serving a population of around 500,000 people living in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, we are focussed on the health and care needs of our local population whilst also working with our partners to develop regional services. Together we are committed to improving health outcomes for everyone and to delivering excellent care and support.

Our mission is “Living Well, Caring Well, Working Together”. We have recently refreshed our strategy, Shaping Our Future Wellbeing, which sets out the Health Board’s Vision for improving the health and wellbeing of the populations we serve by 2035 through the delivery of our strategic objectives; Putting People First, Providing Outstanding Quality, Delivering in the Right Places, and Acting for the Future. We have challenging times ahead, but we are confident that by tackling these challenges together, we can support people to live healthier lives and reduce the unfair differences in the prevalence of illness and health outcomes we see in our communities today. We aspire to deliver outstanding care and treatment for people when they need it, where they need it; care that compares well with the best in the world, but to do so, we need to transform how we deliver services over the next decade and beyond.

We are a values-driven organisation and out goals will only be realised if our values are at the heart of everything we do. Created by colleagues, patients and their families and carers, our values are:

·         We are kind and caring

·         We are respectful

·         We have trust and integrity

·         We take personal responsibility

OUR REGION:

Wales has much to offer with miles of stunning coastline, UNESCO world heritage sites and beautiful countryside. Cardiff, the thriving Welsh capital, has something for everyone. It is a fantastic city to live and work in with an abundance of sports, arts and cultural attractions. Situated to the west of Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan offers a combination of beautiful Welsh countryside and a dramatic natural coastline, as well as charming towns including Penarth and Cowbridge. Those seeking more culture may find themselves drawn to the National Museum, St Fagan’s Museum of Welsh Life or the Millennium Centre, home of the Welsh National Opera. Whether city life or rural living, Cardiff and the Vale offers the best of both worlds.

Please be advised that there is a temporary top up for Bands 2 and 3 to reflect the incorporation of the top up to the living wage of £12.60 per hour - £24,638 per annum.

This temporary top up will be in place until the annual pay uplift for 2025/26 is confirmed


 

Job overview

Veterans’ NHS Wales (VNHSW) is the national NHS service for military veterans with service related mental health problems. The VNHSW team based in the hub in Cardiff are looking for an enthusiastic and experienced Clinical Psychology Assistant Practitioner (CPAP) to join them.

The successful applicant will support and enhance the professional psychological care of clients within Veterans’ NHS Wales. The CPAP will work closely with the Director and the Clinical Psychologist in providing skilled assistance in clinically related administration, conduct of audits and service evaluation of psychological and psychosocial interventions, teaching and staff support in the administration of the service.

The CPAP will also have the opportunity to deliver low intensity, time limited and manualised 1 to 1 interventions under appropriate supervision from a qualified practitioner and in line with part 1 activity, e.g. Guided Self-Help for veterans with PTSD.

Applicants are encouraged to arrange an informal meeting to discuss the post via telephone or video with Dr. Neil Kitchiner: [email protected] or Dr. Gwen O’Connor: [email protected]

Main duties of the job

To support and enhance the professional psychological care of clients within Veterans’ NHS Wales by: 

  1. Providing skilled assistance in clinically related administration, conduct of audits and service evaluation of psychological and psychosocial interventions, teaching and staff support in the administration of psychosocial techniques for part 1 services
  2. Working independently according to a plan agreed with Director management, informed by the psychological and psychosocial project needs of the services and within the overall framework of the Mental Health Measure and UHB policies and procedures
  3. Delivering tier 0 and part 1 psycho-educational guided self-help (GSH) as provided by VNHSW up to a maximum of 4 sessions (2 days)
  4. Providing specific low intensity, time limited and manualised 1 to 1 interventions under appropriate supervision from a qualified practitioner and in line with part 1 activity, e.g. CCBT, Guided Self-help for veterans with PTSD.
  5. Assisting qualified staff as a co – therapist in the delivery of other psychological and psychosocial based interventions relevant to part 1 activity and services.

The ability to speak Welsh is desirable for this role; Welsh and/or English speakers are equally welcome to apply.

Working for our organisation

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board is one of the largest Integrated Health Boards in the UK, employing over 17,000 staff, providing over 100 specialist services.   Working across 6 hospital sites, we have a diverse range of career opportunities to offer. Serving over 500,000 people living in Cardiff and the Vale, we are focussed on the health and care needs of our local population whilst working with our partners to develop regional services. Together we are committed to improving health outcomes for everyone, delivering excellent care and support.

Our mission is “Living Well, Caring Well, Working Together”, and our vision is that every person’s chance of leading a healthy life should be equal. Our 10-year transformation and improvement strategy, Shaping Our Future Wellbeing, is our chance to work collaboratively with the public and our workforce to make our health board more sustainable for the future.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

You will be able to find a full Job description and Person Specification attached within the supporting documents or please click “Apply now” to view in Trac

Person specification

Knowledge

Essential criteria
  • Knowledge of common mental health problems e.g. Anxiety, Depression, OCD, PTSD
  • Awareness of theory and models that underpin counselling and/or evidence based psychological therapies

Skills

Essential criteria
  • An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with mild to moderate and/or stable and severe and enduring mental health difficulties
  • An understanding of psychology applied to health care, and the ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a mental health context
  • High level interpersonal and communication (written and verbal) skills, including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive
  • Good IT skills
  • Ability to communicate sensitive information to clients, carers, and colleagues in a way that addresses psychological resistance
Desirable criteria
  • Experience using computerised programmes for maintaining databases and data analysis (in particular SPSS)

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Demonstrates high standard in written communication.
  • Able to write clear reports and letters.
  • Ability to manage own caseload and time.
  • Experience of working with therapeutic groups.
Desirable criteria
  • Previous experience of working with brief, focussed counselling interventions and/or evidence based psychological interventions under appropriate supervision
  • Experience of care work.
  • Experience of working in a Primary Care context.
  • Previous experience of audit and/or service evaluation

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society
  • Upper second class honours or higher BSc in Psychology
Desirable criteria
  • Demonstrate an interest in delivering psychological therapies
  • Further post graduate training in relevant areas of professional psychology, mental health, mental health practice and/or research design and analysis

Personal Qualities

Essential criteria
  • Organised and reliable.
  • Empathic interpersonal style.
  • Able to be flexible towards service requirements

Other

Essential criteria
  • Regard for others and respect for individual rights of autonomy and confidentiality.
  • Ability to work under pressure.
  • Ability to be self-reflective, whilst working with service users, in own personal and professional development and in supervision.
Desirable criteria
  • Ability to speak Welsh/other nonEnglish languages, and a willingness to use this ability, where relevant, in the work context

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Veteran AwareApprenticeships logoAge positiveDisability confident leaderhyderus o ran anableddAccredited Living Wage EmployerDefence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) - GoldArmed Forces CovenantDFN Project Search LogoStonewall Top 100 Employers in 2023Stonewall Top 100 Employers in 2023Core principles

Applicant requirements

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Welsh language skills are desirable

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Dr Neil Kitchiner
Job title
National Director - Veterans NHS Wales
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
02921 832243
Additional information

Dr Gwen O'Connor [email protected]

 

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