Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust

Band 5 Assistant Psychologist - Bath

This job is now closed

Job summary

This new role has been developed as part of a transformation programme across our acute services, designed to increase access to evidence based psychological treatment.

The post will be based in Sycamore ward, an adult acute inpatient ward and the BANES Intensive Service, both based at Hillview Lodge on the Royal United Hospital site located in the beautiful city of Bath, Somerset.

Both teams support service users in their recovery from acute mental health challenges, through multidisciplinary professional teamwork and the adoption of evidence-based clinical practice. You will be joining established multidisciplinary teams, where the role of psychological practitioners is much valued. The post will be supervised by a Clinical Psychologist.

You will work with other colleagues from the BANES Therapies Team, currently Clinical Psychology, Art and Music Psychotherapy in addition to Clinical Associate Psychologists and Mental Health Well-Being Practitioners, to develop and provide an effective therapies offer across the acute pathway.

Main duties of the job

The post-holder will support the delivery of individual and group evidence-based psychological interventions, to service users on Sycamore ward and under the BANES Intensive Service. They will also support the Practitioner Psychologists in the facilitation of team formulations for these two teams, for example reviewing and summarizing the clinical record in preparation for the team formulation session.

The post-holder will support the qualified Practitioner Psychologists in the evaluation of the service provided, and in undertaking relevant QI projects.

About us

We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust): a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.

We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.

Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.

At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.

The Royal United Hospital site, is located only a short walk away from the centre of Bath, a beautiful, family friendly and vibrant city, with direct trains to London and easy access to nearby Bristol. Bath offers all the advantages of city living, whilst surrounded by beautiful countryside.

Date posted

03 April 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 5

Salary

£29,970 to £36,483 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

342-BNS023-0425

Job locations

Hillview Lodge

Royal United Hospital, Combe Park

Bath

BA1 3NG

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see Job Description and Person Specification for full details of responsibilities attached to the role.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see Job Description and Person Specification for full details of responsibilities attached to the role.

Person Specification

Education and Qualification

Essential

An honours degree in Psychology (2:1 or 1st)
Eligibility for graduate membership of the BPS

Desirable

Introductory training in a psychological therapy

Experience and Knowledge

Essential

Experience of working in a previous Assistant Psychologist post, or equivalent health professional role.
Understanding of common mental health problems.
Knowledge of safeguarding processes and responsibilities.
Experience of working with a range of client groups.
Audit or research experience.

Desirable

Experience of working in an acute mental health setting.
Experience of developing and delivering training.
Experience of using statistical packages

Skills and Abilities

Essential

Word processing and other IT skills
Ability to work collaboratively with other staff
Good written and verbal presentation skills
Flexibility and capacity to embrace change
Ability to use supervision well
Good organisational skills
Ability to use own initiative and work independently
Ability to plan and prioritise own workload
Ability to overcome barriers to communication
Self-awareness and emotional resilience
Ability to communicate effectively in highly emotive atmospheres
Ability to work with diversity.

Other requirements

Essential

Empathy for individuals who have experienced mental health problems and ability to cope with behaviour which may be challenging at times.

Person Specification

Education and Qualification

Essential

An honours degree in Psychology (2:1 or 1st)
Eligibility for graduate membership of the BPS

Desirable

Introductory training in a psychological therapy

Experience and Knowledge

Essential

Experience of working in a previous Assistant Psychologist post, or equivalent health professional role.
Understanding of common mental health problems.
Knowledge of safeguarding processes and responsibilities.
Experience of working with a range of client groups.
Audit or research experience.

Desirable

Experience of working in an acute mental health setting.
Experience of developing and delivering training.
Experience of using statistical packages

Skills and Abilities

Essential

Word processing and other IT skills
Ability to work collaboratively with other staff
Good written and verbal presentation skills
Flexibility and capacity to embrace change
Ability to use supervision well
Good organisational skills
Ability to use own initiative and work independently
Ability to plan and prioritise own workload
Ability to overcome barriers to communication
Self-awareness and emotional resilience
Ability to communicate effectively in highly emotive atmospheres
Ability to work with diversity.

Other requirements

Essential

Empathy for individuals who have experienced mental health problems and ability to cope with behaviour which may be challenging at times.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust

Address

Hillview Lodge

Royal United Hospital, Combe Park

Bath

BA1 3NG

Employer's website

http://www.awp.nhs.uk/about-us/working-for-us/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust

Address

Hillview Lodge

Royal United Hospital, Combe Park

Bath

BA1 3NG

Employer's website

http://www.awp.nhs.uk/about-us/working-for-us/ (Opens in a new tab)