This is an exciting opportunity to join Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s Centre for Mental Health and Justice as a Band 5 Assistant Psychologist. The role involves delivering and supporting services within the Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) Pathway at a Psychologically Informed Planned Environment (PIPE) Approved Premises in Plymouth.
The Centre for Mental Health and Justice provides three key areas of clinical activity: the Criminal Justice Liaison and Diversion Service, the Community Forensic Team, and the OPD Pathway, within which this role sits. The OPD Pathway is jointly commissioned and funded by the NHS and His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), reflecting a collaborative approach to supporting individuals within the criminal justice system who present with personality difficulties.
PIPEs place a strong emphasis on the environment in which they operate, recognising the importance of the quality of relationships and day-to-day interactions. They aim to make the most of everyday situations as opportunities for psychological development, using approaches that are informed by an understanding of personality disorder and related needs.
In this role, you will play a key part in creating, supporting, and maintaining a positive psychosocial environment. You will work closely with probation colleagues to develop and deliver a service that reflects the core principles of the PIPE model.
Key responsibilities will include:
Facilitating groups and delivering psychoeducational interventions
Completing psychometric assessments
Contributing to psychological formulations
Supporting data collection and service evaluation
Contributing to workforce development activities
This is a part-time post (2.5 days per week) based at the PIPE Approved Premises in Plymouth. You will work alongside the Clinical Lead and probation colleagues and will be expected to work with a high degree of autonomy while contributing to the ongoing development of the service.
You will be confident in promoting psychologically informed approaches in everyday practice and able to embed these into routine interactions. The role includes regular clinical supervision, reflective practice sessions, and team training. You will be expected to actively engage in these, using and modelling reflective skills, and contributing to clinical discussions and team learning.
There will also be strong opportunities for continuing professional development (CPD), including access to training to build your skills, as well as regular training events with colleagues from the wider OPD community, supporting both professional growth and networking across services.
We’re an NHS community and mental health provider Trust based in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. We deliver community and hospital-based care to improve people’s physical and mental health. We also provide specialist support to people with dementia or a learning disability.
We are a people organisation and people matter to us. As part of the team, you'll help support the health and wellbeing of the people who live and visit this beautiful part of the UK.
Over 4,000 people make up the Trust. This includes doctors, nurses, therapists, plus admin and support staff.
We work in people's homes, in community clinics and bases. Some staff work from one of our 13 community hospitals. Our aspiration is to have great people, provide great care, be a great place to work and a great partner.
Just over 568,000 people live here. A third of people who live in Cornwall are supported by acute hospital services in Devon. As a result, we also work closely with our partners in Devon. In the summer, and during other holidays lots of people choose to visit the area. This increases the numbers of people who use our services.
To view a detailed job description and person specification including the main responsibilities of this role please see ‘supporting documents’.
This job is currently only open to people who already work for the NHS in Cornwall or the Isles of Scilly.
We are committed to supporting our dedicated staff, so only current employees of the following organisations can apply:
Cornwall Foundation Trust
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board
If you do not currently work for one of these NHS organisations, your application will not be considered at this time.
