Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To undertake psychological interventions under the supervision of a qualified Clinical Psychologist:

·       To assist in the formulation and delivery of intervention plans involving the psychological treatment and/or management of a service user’s problems, under the supervision of a Clinical Psychologist, holding in mind the mother, baby and wider family at all times

·       To contribute to the assessment and ongoing management of clinical risk, under the direct supervision of the Clinical Psychologists

·       To assist in the co-ordination, running, evaluation and development of a programme of therapeutic groups

·       To assist in the development of a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all service users of the service, across all settings where care takes place

·       To work closely with other team members to provide safe and effective care to mothers, babies and their wider families

·       To be an integrated member of the multi-disciplinary team, attending and contributing to appropriate team and multi-disciplinary meetings

·       To consider service user involvement in service development projects and therapeutic groups

·       To work flexibly in different community locations as required by local need, in order to maximise accessibility

·       To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing in accordance with professional codes of practice of the British Psychological Society and Trust policies and procedures

·       To maintain contemporaneous HPFT psychological records using the electronic patient record system

·       To perform other duties, appropriate to their grade, that may be required from time to time by the supervising Clinical Psychologist

·       To work flexibly, in response to service user needs as agreed with the team managers or supervising Clinical Psychologists

Supervision, Teaching and Training:

·       To participate in regular clinical and line management supervision with the supervising Clinical Psychologist in accordance with professional guidelines.

·       To assist the supervising Clinical Psychologist and the managers to identify and meet the training needs of the direct care staff

·       To contribute to the training and support of other staff within the Perinatal Community Team, as well as other healthcare professionals throughout the county according to a plan agreed with the supervising Clinical Psychologist and the Team within the overall framework of the team’s policies and procedures

·       To gain wider experience of professional psychology within the NHS over and above that provided within the principal service area where the post holder is employed

·       To develop skills and competencies that assist in the delivery of current duties

·       To attend induction at HPFT to become familiar with the policies, guidelines, and culture of the organisation

·       To contribute to the development and maintenance of professional standards through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes in consultation with the supervising Clinical Psychologist

Research and Service Evaluation

To assist in clinical related administration, conduct of audits, collection of statistics, and development of audit and/or research projects, teaching, and project work.

·       To take responsibility, under supervision, for the collection and co-ordination of clinical outcome data from multi-disciplinary team members and to develop efficient ways of storing, analysing and reporting this data to the team and senior staff in the organisation

·       To assist in the design and implementation of audit and research projects

·       To undertake data collection, analysis, the production of reports and summaries, using IT and statistical programmes, including Microsoft Word, Excel, and SPSS

·       To undertake searches of evidence-based literature and research to assist clinical psychologists in evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members

·       To assist in the design and implementation of service development projects within the service as required

·       To attend and contribute to meetings in which service developments are planned and discussed

Clinical Responsibility

Clinical responsibility remains with the Clinical Supervisor. The Assistant Psychologist will be required to assist in planning, delivering, and monitoring psychology interventions under their direction. This will include contributing to therapeutic input offered to service users both 1:1 and in group settings; gathering, analysing, and reporting relevant data and information; and assisting in compiling and writing care notes and psychological reports.