Job Overview
Assistant Psychologist / Psychotherapist – Children's Residential Care
To support the psychological and emotional wellbeing of children and young people living in residential care who present with complex trauma, attachment difficulties, neurodevelopmental needs, emotional and behavioural challenges, and other complex presentations.
The post holder will undertake psychological assessments, contribute to formulation-driven care planning, deliver therapeutic interventions, provide consultation and support to residential care staff, and work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team to promote positive outcomes for children and young people.
The role will contribute to the development and delivery of trauma-informed and psychologically informed care across the service.
Key Responsibilities
Psychological Assessment and Formulation
- Undertake comprehensive psychological assessments of children and young people using a variety of methods including interviews, observations, psychometric measures, record reviews, and consultation with relevant professionals.
- Gather and integrate information from multiple sources to develop holistic psychological formulations.
- Identify factors relating to trauma, attachment, developmental experiences, neurodiversity, mental health, family systems, risk, resilience, and protective factors.
- Produce high-quality assessment reports and formulation documents.
- Present formulations and recommendations in a manner accessible to children, families, carers, and professionals.
- Contribute to individual care, education, and therapeutic plans.
Therapeutic Intervention
- Deliver evidence-informed therapeutic interventions appropriate to training and competence.
- Support children and young people to understand and manage emotions, improve relationships, develop coping strategies, and process traumatic experiences where appropriate.
- Utilise approaches such as:
- Trauma-informed practice
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Attachment-based interventions
- Compassion-focused approaches
- Solution-focused interventions
- Narrative approaches
- Emotion regulation work
- Psychoeducation
- Creative and play-based interventions
- Monitor progress and evaluate intervention outcomes.
- Maintain accurate and timely clinical records.
Consultation and Support to Residential Teams
- Provide psychologically informed consultation and guidance to residential care staff.
- Support staff in understanding the impact of trauma, attachment disruptions, neurodevelopmental differences, and adverse childhood experiences on behaviour and relationships.
- Assist teams to develop effective behaviour support and emotional regulation strategies.
- Attend team meetings to provide formulation-led recommendations.
- Support staff wellbeing and reflective practice through consultation and discussion.
- Promote trauma-informed and therapeutic care approaches throughout the service.
Multidisciplinary Working
- Work collaboratively with residential staff, social workers, education professionals, health colleagues, families, and external agencies.
- Participate in multidisciplinary meetings, reviews, planning meetings, professionals' meetings, and safeguarding discussions.
- Contribute psychological perspectives to care planning and decision-making processes.
- Liaise with external professionals to ensure coordinated and effective support for children and young people.
Training and Service Development
- Assist in the development of a psychologically informed and trauma-responsive culture across residential services.
- Design, develop, and deliver training programmes for residential staff and other professionals.
- Topics may include:
- Trauma-informed care
- Attachment and relationships
- Understanding behaviour through formulation
- Emotional regulation
- Neurodiversity
- Reflective practice
- Mental health awareness
- Develop guidance documents, resources, and therapeutic tools for staff teams.
- Contribute to service evaluation, audits, quality improvement initiatives, and outcome monitoring.
Safeguarding and Risk Management
- Maintain awareness of safeguarding responsibilities and organisational procedures.
- Identify and respond appropriately to safeguarding concerns.
- Contribute to risk assessments and risk management plans.
- Promote the safety, welfare, and rights of children and young people.
- Work within relevant legislation, professional standards, and organisational policies.
Administrative Responsibilities
- Maintain accurate clinical records, case notes, reports, and correspondence.
- Manage workload effectively and maintain appropriate documentation.
- Prepare reports for professionals' meetings, reviews, and care planning processes.
- Collect and analyse outcome measures and service data where required.
- Support administrative tasks associated with assessment, intervention, and service delivery.
- Participate in supervision, appraisal processes, and continuous professional development activities.
General Duties
- Work within professional, ethical, and organisational guidelines.
- Maintain appropriate professional boundaries.
- Participate in regular supervision and reflective practice.
- Promote equality, diversity, inclusion, and anti-discriminatory practice.
- Adhere to confidentiality and data protection requirements.
- Undertake any other duties appropriate to the grade and purpose of the role.
Person Specification
Essential Qualifications
Assistant Psychologist Route
- Masters degree in Psychology Or equivalent.
- Eligibility for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) with the British Psychological Society.
Psychotherapist Route
- Recognised psychotherapy, counselling, or therapeutic qualification.
- Registration or accreditation with a relevant professional body where applicable.
Essential Experience
- Experience working with children and young people who have experienced trauma, abuse, neglect, or adversity.
- Experience undertaking assessments and producing written reports.
- Experience delivering therapeutic interventions.
- Experience working within multidisciplinary settings.
- Experience supporting professionals, carers, or staff teams.
- Experience maintaining accurate records and documentation.
Essential Knowledge
- Understanding of attachment theory and developmental trauma.
- Knowledge of adverse childhood experiences and their impact on development.
- Understanding of child development and mental health.
- Awareness of neurodevelopmental conditions including autism and ADHD.
- Knowledge of safeguarding procedures and risk management.
- Understanding of trauma-informed and psychologically informed approaches to care.
Essential Skills
- Strong assessment, formulation, and report-writing skills.
- Ability to build therapeutic relationships with children and young people.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to present complex psychological concepts clearly to a range of audiences.
- Strong organisational and time management skills.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team.
- Ability to design and deliver training and presentations.
Desirable
- Experience within residential childcare, looked-after children services, CAMHS, education, social care, youth justice, or specialist therapeutic settings.
- Experience facilitating reflective practice groups.
- Knowledge of Dyadic Developmental Practice (DDP), PACE, CBT, or other trauma-informed approaches.
- Experience contributing to service development and evaluation.
- Full UK driving licence and access to transport (where required).
Values and Behaviours
The post holder will demonstrate:
- Commitment to child-centred and trauma-informed practice.
- Compassion, empathy, and emotional intelligence.
- Professional integrity and accountability.
- Respect for diversity and individual differences.
- Collaborative and solution-focused working.
- Commitment to continuous learning and service improvement.
Pay: £27,040.00 per year
Benefits:
- Flexitime
- Free parking
- Work from home
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Newtown (Powys, Wales, Wales)
