Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

Assistant Psychologist

The closing date is 29 June 2025

Job summary

Halton Recovery Team is looking to recruit an assistant psychologist on a permanent contract to join our large and ever-growing team of psychologists, nurses, occupational therapists, psychiatrists, pharmacist and support workers and soon to be peer support workers. We provide needs led care and therapy to adults in Runcorn and Widnes with complex mental health needs.

Applicants should have an appropriate psychology degree and a desire to help people who have complex mental health needs/trauma to help them to enhance their confidence in managing their mental health to live life well. You will be part of our Recovery Team and receive clinical supervision from a clinical psychologist

Halton Recovery Team is a large multi-disciplinary community team and part of Mersey Care Foundation NHS Trust. We have close links with the three North West Clinical Psychology training programmes, regularly providing clinical placements to trainees.

Main duties of the job

Your role will involve providing brief (up to 12 weeks) individual and group psychological interventions within our Recovery Team. Interventions include Structured Psychological Support which is a client led psychological invention for people with relational and emotional needs. Another part of the role will be to deliver skills based groups. Training will be provided to support you to deliver these therapies/interventions.

About us

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

Date posted

25 June 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£26,530 to £29,114 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

350-MHC7251430

Job locations

Brooker centre, Runcorn and Widnes

The Brooker Centre, Halton Hospital, Hospital Way

Runcorn

WA7 2DA

Job description

Job responsibilities

To support Qualified Psychologists by undertaking psychological assessments of clients applying psychologically based psychometric tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the clients care.

To undertake psychological assessments of service users under the supervision of a qualified psychologist which may include, as appropriate, a range of psychometric tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with service users, carers and others involved in the clients care.

To assist in the formulation and delivery of care plans involving the psychological treatment and/or management of a clients problems, under the supervision of a qualified professional psychologist, in a range of settings as appropriate.

To assist in the coordination and running of therapeutic groups.

To work with other disciplines to assess inpatients, outpatients, day patients or residents and review their care in preparation for multi-disciplinary reviews.

To assist in the development of a psychological framework of understanding and care to all service users of the service, across all care settings.

To attend and contribute to appropriate multi-disciplinary meetings as directed by the qualified psychologists.

To use a degree of initiative and work independently with service users on planned work, and to exercise judgement based on good practice (NICE) and local operating procedures.

To work with potentially distressing material in relation to service users personal histories and presentation, including risk to self and others.

In common with all clinical psychologists, to receive regular clinical supervision in accordance with professional practice guidelines and trust policy.

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

Where appropriate, and under the supervision of qualified staff, contribute to the training and support of other staff in psychological care.

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

To attend meetings in which service developments are planned and discussed as required.

To be competent in the use of basic IT packages, such as Microsoft word.

Develop a skill base in the administration and analysis of a range of psychometric packages as directed.

To assist in the design and implementation of audit, effectiveness, and research projects.

To undertake data collection, analysis, the production of full reports and summaries, using IT and statistical programmes.

To review evidence-based literature and research to assist qualified psychologists and work with other team members in their clinical responsibilities as necessary.

To prepare test materials and visual aids as required.