Assistant Psychologist

Job Description

Job Title	Assistant Psychologist
Responsible to	Directors of Epic Solutions Dr Vicky Hill, Dr Karen Street, Tracy Cole and Dr Emma Millar
Contract	Permanent – Full time - Flexible working hours
Base	Glen House, Sigford Road, Marsh Barton, Exeter, EX2 8NL
Client Group	0-25 Service
Salary	£26,530 - £29,970 per year dependant on experience

About us

EPIC Solutions is a team of highly specialized health care professionals who are committed to the health and well-being of children, young people and young adults, using an integrated and holistic approach. We offer the full range of paediatric and psychiatric services across the 0-25 age range. 

We believe in taking a ‘whole person’ approach to assessing and supporting complex heath presentations. This takes time and sometimes requires the combined expertise in both physical and mental health to fully explore and make sense of a variety of health difficulties. We work with children, young people and young adults up to the age of 25 years, sometimes independently and sometimes as part of a family unit. We adopt our approach according to an individual’s specific needs and circumstances. 

EPIC solutions offer services to self-pay clients, we are also a recognised provider of services to Devon County Council Education Wellbeing Team, Adoption South West, Torbay Social Care and have forged working relationships with many of the private schools across Devon. 

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Internal:

• Clients, families and carers
• Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) comprising of Psychiatrists, Pediatrician, Psychologists, Nurses, Cognitive Behavioural Therapists, Family Therapists, Advance Mental Health Practitioners, Allied Health Professionals (physiotherapist, occupational therapist, speech and language therapist) Practice Manager Administration and Reception Staff. 

External:

• Education 
• Children’s Social Care 
• Voluntary and private sector care organisations providing services for children and young people
• NHS Providers 

Purpose of Role To support and enhance the professional psychological care of children, young people and young adults within the service, across all sectors of care; providing psychological assessment and psychological interventions under the supervision of a qualified Clinical Psychologist, working independently according to a plan agreed within a Multidisciplinary team and within the overall framework of the Company’s policies and procedures. To assist in clinically related administration, development and conduct of audits and/or research projects, teaching and project work.

Key Responsibilities: 

Clinical: 

• To undertake psychological assessments including neuropsychological tests; self-report measures; rating scales; direct and indirect structured observations; and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the client’s care. 
• To assist in the formulation and delivery of care plans involving the psychological treatment and/or management of a client’s problems, under the supervision of a qualified professional psychologist in community settings. 
• To assist in the development, coordination and running of therapeutic groups. 
• To work with other staff to assess children, young people and young adults, and contribute towards multi-disciplinary understandings and reviews. 
• To assist in the development of a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings where care takes place. 
• To attend and contribute to appropriate multi-disciplinary meetings
• To communicate professionally and effectively and to use interpersonal skills effectively with clients. 
• Provide and receive complex and sensitive information with children, young people, young adults and their parents/carers and adjust communication style to meet the needs of others
• Consider safeguarding, child and adult protection issues, following relevant policies and procedures and seeking safeguarding supervision as required. 
• To consider risk and managing this risk, identifying own limits and seeking supervision around this
• To produce reports in a timely manner, that share the key findings of assessment and if appropriate the formulation and intervention outcomes in a way that is understandable to all. 

Teaching, training and supervision 

• In common with all clinical psychologists, to receive regular weekly clinical supervision in accordance with professional practice guidelines. 
• To gain wider experience of professional psychology within the 3rd sector and above that provided within the principal service area where the postholder is employed. 
• To develop skills and competencies that assist in the delivery of current duties 
• To contribute to the training and support of other staff in psychological care. 
• To engage in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) including annual appraisals  

Responsibility for Research and Development 

• To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work.
• To support project work including specific areas of audit, research or service evaluation 

Information Technology and Administrative Duties

• To be responsible for using an email account to generate, monitor, and respond to the e-mail traffic by which the Company conducts much of its internal communication. 
• To maintain accurate records, compliant with Company Practice Standards on the relevant clinical systems. 
• To have sound knowledge of IT and the ability to use a clinical records system 
• To ensure that all policies, procedures and guidelines are followed 
• To identify and manage risks through incident reporting when appropriate 
• To take part in and develop activities designed to improve service delivery or quality of care such as staff surveys, participation and service development 
• 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 prepare test materials and visual aids as required.
• To undertake specific administrative duties as required. 
• To perform other duties of a similar kind appropriate to the grade, which may be required from time to time by their supervisor /other team members.

Freedom to Act 

• The post holder is accountable for their own professional actions, acting within Company policies and procedures and Professional Practice Guidelines. 
• To work autonomously within clinical professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the governance of psychological practice within the locality/specialty. Interpretation of professional and Company guidelines, and implementing policies in conjunction with peers, Consultants and Directors. 

Any other specific tasks required 

• Ability to travel across Devon and surrounding counties if required 

This job description is intended as an outline of the general areas of activity and responsibility and will be amended considering changing service needs. The job description will be reviewed annually with the post holder during the appraisal process. 

Our fantastic offer 

• Competitive salary
• Full induction
• Ongoing training and development opportunities
• If you are eligible, we will automatically enroll you into our Pension Scheme.  National Employment Savings Trust (NEST).  Our contribution to the Pension Scheme shall be 3% of the qualifying earnings
• Statutory Maternity pay
• Be part of an innovative and vibrant team 
• Staff social events

Important Information 

• We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications.  Please apply promptly.  
• Please read the job description and tailor your application to reflect the role. 
• If you have not received an invitation to interview within 28 days of the closing date, please assume that your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.  
• It is your responsibility to assist us in the timely receipt of appropriate references.  

Personal Specification 

This is a specification of the qualifications, skills, knowledge, personal attributes and other requirements which are required to effectively carry out the duties and responsibilities of the post. 

Requirement;  Qualification and Training	Essential/ Desirable	How Assessed
Completed a BSc. Hons in Psychology or equivalent, eligible for Chartered Psychologist Status in the British Psychological Society	Essential	Certificate, Application form and Interview
Training in an evidence based therapeutic approach	Desirable	Certificate, Application form and Interview
Knowledge
Knowledge of mental health presentations in clients and knowledge of theory and practice of brief and longer-term evidence based clinical interventions in accordance with the NICE guidelines	Essential	Certificate, Application form and Interview
Knowledge of development through the lifespan	Essential	Certificate, Application form and Interview
Knowledge of legislations in relation to children/young people /young adults and safeguarding procedures and policies	Essential	Certificate, Application form and Interview
Knowledge of risk management and ability to monitor and assess risk and act accordingly to ensure safety of clients and others.	Essential	Certificate, Application form and Interview
Broad knowledge and familiarity of specialist services; and of the services within the Company where psychology and psychological therapies is commonly applied.	Essential	Certificate, Application form and Interview
Understanding of relevant legislation pertaining to child/young person and young adults’ mental heath	Essential	Certificate, Application form and Interview
Knowledge of electronic client recording systems and the requirements around data reporting	Essential	Certificate, Application form and Interview
Broad knowledge and familiarity of working with children/adolescents and their families/carers who have a medical condition	Desirable	Certificate, Application form and Interview
Experience
Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of children, young people and families. This includes cognitive assessments including WISC-V, WAIS-IV and WPPSI-IV	Essential	Certificate, Application form and Interview
Experience, and/or training in diversity awareness and social inequality	Essential	Certificate, Application form and Interview
Experience of working collaboratively with clients and their families/carers	Essential	Certificate, Application form and Interview
Experience of trauma informed care	Desirable	Certificate, Application form and Interview
Experience of working with Neurodiversity	Essential	Certificate, Application form and Interview
Experience of safeguarding clients in partnership with other agencies as appropriate	Essential	Certificate, Application form and Interview
Experience of working collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary team and across agencies	Essential	Certificate, Application form and Interview
Experience that evidences an ability to tend to equality and diversity and work in a way that promotes fairness for all	Essential	Certificate, Application form and Interview
Skills and abilities. Communication and working relationship skills
Excellent verbal, nonverbal and written communication skills	Essential	Application Form and Interview
The ability to form and maintain good working relationships with others in mutli-agency and across agencies	Essential	Application Form and Interview
The ability to form good supervisory and management relationships with others	Essential	Application Form and Interview
Analytical & Judgemental Skills
Ability to integrate complex clinical information into coherent formulations and make highly skilled evaluations and decisions; sharing these with clients, families/carers and other professionals	Essential	Application Form and Interview
The ability to work as an autonomous practitioner, to take on responsibility, make decisions under pressure and seek support as appropriate	Essential	Application Form and Interview
Ability to tolerate and reduce anxiety and potential distress in others and use judgement skills to decide on relevant actions even in times of stress
Planning and Organisation skills
Proven organisational, planning and time management skills	Essential	Application Form and Interview
Service development skills / experience	Desirable	Application Form and Interview
Physical Skills
Good communication skills when presenting / facilitating to varying groups of people	Essential	Application Form and Interview
Ability to sit and concentrate for sustained periods of time	Essential	Application Form and Interview
Ability to manage and support others to manage, stressful situations with resilience and self-awareness
Other
Ability to work independently and use initiative within a service consisting of a network of teams including 3rd sector organisations	Essential	Application Form and Interview
Ability to work as a member of a clinical team.	Essential	Application Form and Interview
Ability to tolerate ambiguity and maintain own morale and motivation in challenging service delivery contexts.	Essential	Application Form and Interview
Hold a Full driving license with the ability to travel across Devon and neighbouring counties.	Essential	Application Form and Interview
An Enhanced DBS check will be required for this role	Essential	Application Form and Interview