Clinical Associate Psychologist Eating Disorders

Job overview

Are you an enthusiastic Clinical Associate Psychologist who's passionate about working with people with Eating disorders and severe mental health problems?

This is a fantastic opportunity to join Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Eating Disorders Service.  As part of the ongoing transformation of our mental health services we are developing Clinical Associate Psychologist roles to support innovation and develop our services’ provision.

We are looking for 1.0 WTE Associate Psychologist to start working as soon as possible with our Eating Disorders Service.

*Internal applicants who wish to be considered for a secondment opportunity should discuss with their line manager the suitability of a possible secondment*

The successful candidate will :

• Under the supervision of a qualified Clinical Psychologist, to assist in clinically related administration, conduct of audits, collection of statistics, and development of audit and / or research projects, teaching, and project work

• Promote the psychological health and well-being of service users in the Eating Disorders Service
• Under the supervision of a qualified Clinical Psychologist, to provide psychological assessment, intervention, research, and evaluation services to individuals, or groups of service users

Main duties of the job

We are seeking talented individuals who:

Have proven experience: You bring a wealth of experience in a psychological role, specifically working with adults in a community mental health context.

Delivers psychosocial Interventions: You excel in providing psychosocial interventions both 1:1 and in group settings, using formulation to adapt interventions to meet individual needs.

Manages complexities with ease: You have the ability to navigate relational patterns and other complexities in delivering psychosocial support.

Ensures safety and accountability: You are experienced in assessing and managing risk, seeking supervision appropriately, and taking necessary steps to manage and document risk effectively.

Thrives in a team environment: You are adept at working as part of a multidisciplinary team in both traditional community service contexts and voluntary sector settings.

Drives service development: You have engaged with service development projects and audits, contributing to service change in alignment with broader trust strategies.

Exhibits exceptional organisational skills: You are highly organised, self-motivated, and proactive in your roles.

The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached Job description and person specification for more detail about the roles.

Clinical

• Undertake protocol based psychological assessments of service users applying psychological, including neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with service users, family members and others involved in the service users care
• Assist in the formulation and delivery of care plans involving the psychological treatment and / or management of a service users problems, under the supervision of a qualified professional psychologist within the team.
• Assist in the planning, coordination and running of staff support forums such as reflective practice, case discussion, formulation and CPD workshops
• Work with other staff to assess service users and review their care in preparation of multi-disciplinary reviews
• Attend and contribute to appropriate multi-disciplinary meetings
• Maintain appropriate records in electronic or hard copy in line with Trust policies and Professional guidelines. Includes workload data and using word processing skills to produce service user related reports

Leadership / Management

• Assist in the design and implementation of service development projects within the service as required
• Personal of duty of care in relation to safe/careful use of equipment and resources
• Work within budgetary limits.
• Authorise orders and spending alongside Team Manager as appropriate.

Teaching, training and supervision

• 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.
• Contribute to the training and support of other staff in psychological care.

Research and service evaluation

• Assist in the design and implementation of audit and research projects.
• Undertake data collection, analysis, the production of reports and summaries, using IT and statistical programmes.
• Undertake searches of evidence-based literature and research to assist qualified clinical psychologists in evidence based practice in individual work and work with other team members.

Professional

• Manages work independently according to goals agreed at intervals with their manager, working independently on a day to day basis
• Works within guidance and direction of qualified Psychologist and guided by the Profession’s standards including the British Psychological Society (BPS) Code of Conduct, Ethics Guidelines for Chartered Psychologists, and registration.
• Carries out Continuous Professional Development (CPD) activity and to maintain a CPD. log suitable for submission to the BPS, which demonstrates 70 hours per year CPD. CPD to include gaining wider experience of professional psychology within the NHS over and above that provided within the principal service area where the post-holder is employed. Also to include developing skills and competencies that assist in the delivery of current duties

Other

• Prepare test materials, visual aids and undertake specific administrative duties as required.

Perform other duties of a similar kind appropriate to the grade that may be required from time to time by their Psychology Manager.