Job summary
Following a successful bid for funding from Health Education England, we are seeking an enthusiastic Assistant Psychologist, who is able to recognise and reflect upon personal and societal bias along a range of dimensions and differences. We are committed to increasing diversity within clinical psychology. As such, we welcome applications from people from backgrounds that are currently under-represented in the profession.
The successful applicant will be based in Maidstone but will be required to work at various sites across Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells.
You will work with multidisciplinary teams under the supervision of a qualified psychologist offering psychological assessment, psychological/psychosocial interventions and working independently according to a plan agreed with qualified staff. You will have the opportunity to be involved in providing individual and group work, working with carers and the wider team. You will be required to work full time, Monday to Friday, travelling between multiple sites, attending meetings across Kent and, where necessary, undertaking home visits in a timely and efficient manner.
Please note these positions are only open to Psychology Graduates eligible for Graduate Basis for Chartership with the British Psychological Society (BPS).
You must hold a full, valid, UK driving licence and have access to a car/vehicle to use for business purposes (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010).
Main duties of the job
- Need to have a positive attitude towards ageing and older age and towards those who are living with dementia.
- Already be confident in administering and interpreting neuropsychological assessments, or you will be a quick learner when it comes to picking up such skills, under the supervision of a qualified clinical psychologist.
- Be a person who enjoys working in teams with other professional groups and values the contribution that other professionals bring
- Have strong organisational, time management and professional communication/writing skills.
- Demonstrate the ability to engage with a wide variety of service users, their family members and multidisciplinary staff.
- Bring a positive and flexible approach to your work.
We realise it can be difficult to embark on careers in psychological professions and we hope that by offering these posts, psychology graduates will have the opportunity to gain a wealth of valuable and relevant professional experience, to support career progression in the psychological professions. In these roles you will learn skills and gain experience which we hope will help support your career progression.
About us
Come and work with us in the Garden of England where we combine exceptional professional development opportunities with a tremendous quality of life.
We are Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT), providing mental health, learning disability and specialist services, serving 1.8 million people in Kent and Medway, as well as specialist services for adults in Sussex and Surrey. We are rated Good overall by the CQC.
Each year we care for over 2,000 people in our hospitals and 54,000 people in the community.
We are proud to employ over 3,800 people from 66 nationalities, and to serve an increasingly diverse range of communities across rural and urban areas.You will be joining friendly, passionate colleagues, rich in their diversity, who are committed to providing excellent care to our service users and their loved ones.
The nature of our work attracts kindness and compassion as standard and everyone from our cleaners and porters to the chief executive and chairman are recognised as playing a vital role in providing an exemplary service.
Our strategyOur mission is what we set out to do every dayWe deliver brilliant care through brilliant people
Our vision is where we want to be in the futureTo provide outstanding care and to work in partnership to deliver this in the right place, for every service user, every time.
Check out our recruitment videos Recruitment - YouTube
Job description
Job responsibilities
You will work as part of the Older Peoples Psychology team, alongside Community Mental Health Teams & in Memory Assessment Services, enhancing the provision of psychological approaches for Older People. The role will include neuropsychological assessments (as part of dementia diagnostic processes) as well as individual and group therapeutic work. There will also be opportunities to work with families and carers, colleagues from other professional backgrounds and external agencies. There will be opportunities to contribute to service evaluation and audit projects. You will benefit from high quality clinical and managerial supervision. Participation in a range of available CPD activities, as well as peer support, will be encouraged. The post holders will be part of the Kent & Medway Older Peoples Psychology Service, which includes clinical psychologists, psychotherapists, art therapists, music therapists, counselling psychologists, trainee psychologists, clinical associate psychologists, assistant psychologists and psychology placement students.
This is a varied and busy post, which will provide you with opportunities to learn and develop invaluable skills, both clinically and organisationally. We have a good track record of previous Assistant Psychologists gaining places on the Clinical Psychology doctorate courses after their posts with us.
Please see Job Description for full details. Please note - the advert may be closed early if there is a high volume of suitable applicants.
Job description
Job responsibilities
You will work as part of the Older Peoples Psychology team, alongside Community Mental Health Teams & in Memory Assessment Services, enhancing the provision of psychological approaches for Older People. The role will include neuropsychological assessments (as part of dementia diagnostic processes) as well as individual and group therapeutic work. There will also be opportunities to work with families and carers, colleagues from other professional backgrounds and external agencies. There will be opportunities to contribute to service evaluation and audit projects. You will benefit from high quality clinical and managerial supervision. Participation in a range of available CPD activities, as well as peer support, will be encouraged. The post holders will be part of the Kent & Medway Older Peoples Psychology Service, which includes clinical psychologists, psychotherapists, art therapists, music therapists, counselling psychologists, trainee psychologists, clinical associate psychologists, assistant psychologists and psychology placement students.
This is a varied and busy post, which will provide you with opportunities to learn and develop invaluable skills, both clinically and organisationally. We have a good track record of previous Assistant Psychologists gaining places on the Clinical Psychology doctorate courses after their posts with us.
Please see Job Description for full details. Please note - the advert may be closed early if there is a high volume of suitable applicants.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- An upper second-class honours degree or higher in psychology
- Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society
Experience
Essential
- Worked with people with mental health problems and/or other disabilities
- Experience of research, audit/service evaluation & project work
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- Awareness of psychological issues of later life, the dementias and their impact on individuals and their families.
- Ability to comprehend and communicate verbally and in writing highly complex and sensitive information in a manner appropriate to a range of settings and audiences, including complex highly emotive situations and those with significantly impaired communication capacities.
- Ability to analyse and manage complex multi-factorial clinical information from a range of sources integrating it into a formulation utilising a variety of psychological perspectives
- Ability to organise own workload effectively, prioritising a complex range of tasks and responsibilities to meet agreed deadlines.
- Adequate keyboard skills and sound understanding of I.T. packages.
- Ability to drive.
- Ability to administer accurately and speedily, complex psychometric text materials.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- An upper second-class honours degree or higher in psychology
- Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society
Experience
Essential
- Worked with people with mental health problems and/or other disabilities
- Experience of research, audit/service evaluation & project work
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- Awareness of psychological issues of later life, the dementias and their impact on individuals and their families.
- Ability to comprehend and communicate verbally and in writing highly complex and sensitive information in a manner appropriate to a range of settings and audiences, including complex highly emotive situations and those with significantly impaired communication capacities.
- Ability to analyse and manage complex multi-factorial clinical information from a range of sources integrating it into a formulation utilising a variety of psychological perspectives
- Ability to organise own workload effectively, prioritising a complex range of tasks and responsibilities to meet agreed deadlines.
- Adequate keyboard skills and sound understanding of I.T. packages.
- Ability to drive.
- Ability to administer accurately and speedily, complex psychometric text materials.
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.
