The closing date is 5th Jul 2026
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Job summary
We are very excited to request applications for the role of Assistant Psychologist to support the delivery of our Psychology Service to people with a forensic background, mental health difficulties and complex needs. The nature of the work will be to help service users understand, prevent and ameliorate psychological distress and related risk, to ensure successful transitions from secure hospitals to the community, and to support individuals to live safely in the community.
This post will form part of the multi disciplinary Specialist Community Forensic Team SCFT, and will provide opportunities to work both alongside professionals from other disciplines and under the supervision of a qualified psychologist, reporting directly to the Principal Psychologist.
The successful candidate will receive specialist supervision and guidance and will be required to base themselves at the Ashford LDRU office and to travel within Hampshire to meet the needs of the service.
The role will allow you to deliver a variety of psychological assessments and direct therapy within an established multidisciplinary team. The successful candidate should have excellent organisational and communication skills. We are particularly keen to hear from applicants who have a commitment to working with individuals with a forensic background to help their transition to the community.
Please note this advert may close early once a certain number of applications have been received so we advise that you apply asap.
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Main duties, tasks & skills required
To undertake protocol based psychological assessments, 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 client's care.
To deliver treatment plans within a supervised context. To demonstrate awareness of diversity issues.
To assist in the screening, case formulation process and the delivery of psychological treatment, under the close supervision of a qualified psychologist, including co-ordinating and running therapeutic groups.
To contribute to risk assessment and management plans.
To participate in weekly multi-disciplinary team meetings and in clinical supervision, communicating service user needs. To prioritise the allocation of workload.
To assist in the development of a psychologically based framework of understanding and care for clients of the service, across all settings where care takes place, for example community placements.
To work in collaboration with service users as experts in their own care, promoting the principles of recovery, choice and personalisation, which value and empower the service user.
To communicate in a highly skilled and sensitive manner with service users, service users' carers and families, who may have specific difficulties in understanding and communicating and who may be hostile, antagonistic or highly emotionally disturbed.
To work closely with colleagues in the multi-professional team.
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About us
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides joined-up mental and physical healthcare for around two million people across our communities. With over 13,000 staff working in the community and local hospitals, we deliver care at every stage of life, helping people live their best and healthiest lives.
Our mental health services include community-based support and early intervention in psychosis (EIP) for both adults and young people, alongside a network of specialist inpatient wards covering forensic, learning disability, eating disorder and older person's care.
We deliver extensive physical health services too, from urgent community response teams helping frail and older patients remain safely at home, to hospitals at home teams providing acute-level care in familiar surroundings. Our neurological services offer rehabilitation and treatment for conditions including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Motor Neurone Disease, Head Injury, Cerebral Palsy and Stroke. Across Hampshire, our community hospitals provide inpatient rehabilitation as a step down from acute care, and our dedicated teams also staff Treetops Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Portsmouth, offering expert, compassionate support.
Everything we do is underpinned by our CARE values of compassion, accountability, respect and excellence
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Job description
To undertake protocol based psychological assessments of service users, 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 client's care.
To deliver treatment plans within a supervised context to individuals, carers, families and groups. To demonstrate awareness of diversity issues.
To assist in the screening, and case formulation process and the delivery of care plans involving the psychological treatment and/or management of a service user's problems, under the close supervision of a qualified psychologist.
To assist in the co-ordination and running of therapeutic groups.
To contribute to risk assessment and management plans in line with the service user's needs.
To participate in weekly multi-disciplinary team meetings and in clinical supervision, communicating service user needs, and to be able to assist in prioritising the allocation of workload.
To work with other staff to assess service users, to review their care in preparation for multi-disciplinary 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, for example community placements.
To work in collaboration with service users as experts in their own care, promoting the principles of recovery, choice and personalisation, which value and empower the service user.
To have a proactive approach to the role and needs of carers/families.
To communicate in a highly skilled and sensitive manner with service users, service users' carers and families, who may have specific difficulties in understanding and communicating and who may be hostile, antagonistic or highly emotionally disturbed.
To work closely with colleagues in the multi-professional integrated mental health and wellbeing service on a day-to-day basis.
To communicate with a wide range of health and social care staff in hospital and in community settings in a skilled and sensitive manner, complex and sensitive information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of service users under the service's care. To provide support and guidance in the application of psychological principles and techniques and to foster reflective practice.
To maintain and build good working relationships with senior professional staff and managers within the Trust.
To plan and prioritise own workload, balancing the demands of service user care, support and guidance of carers and professionals, service research and development activities.
To provide psychology knowledge to the multi-professional planning, development and marketing of mental health and wellbeing services.
To provide advice, guidance and consultation on psychological aspects of service user care to colleagues, other service providers, service users, supporters and families.
To undertake service-relevant research and development activity agreed within the psychology service. To organise personal or service led research and development activities, as required.
To assist the work of less experienced assistants and/or trainees/students as required.
To maintain accurate and up-to-date records.
To be responsible for using an email account to generate, monitor, and respond to the e-mail traffic by which the Trust conducts much of its internal communication.
To ensure all clinical care and treatment provided is carried out under appropriate supervision and leadership.
To continuously update the skills and techniques relevant to the clinical work.
To tolerate and manage verbal abuse and occasional physical aggression, and to report and log incidents as appropriate following the Trust's policies and procedures. There is a requirement for completion of breakaway training and PMVA - Prevention and Management of Violence and Aggression - training in this role.
To work in line with all relevant policies and procedures, including, risk and safeguarding.
To alert Line Manager and Clinical Lead to any concerns in a timely manner.
To make careful use of NHS equipment.
Further information about the Trust and this role can be found on the Job Description and Person Specification document attached. It is important to us that we ensure our recruitment processes are accessible and inclusive to everyone - if as a potential candidate you are concerned a person specification may prevent or restrict your application for employment as a result of unintentional barriers on the grounds of your sex, race, age, sexual orientation, religion/belief or disability please initially contact the Trust's Recruitment team - detailed in the advert. The Trust will seek to resolve this issue wherever possible.
We are happy to talk Flexible Working - all requests for flexible working options can be discussed as part of the interview process.
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Person specification
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Qualifications
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Essential
An upper second-class honours degree or higher in psychology.
Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society.
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Desirable
Further postgraduate training in relevant areas of psychology or neuropsychology
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Experience
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Essential
Experience in direct care provision, including the delivery of psychological interventions. For example, having worked as an Assistant Psychologist in inpatient settings, or Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner in IAPT setting, and under the direct supervision of an applied psychologist
Experience of working in a mental health or learning disability setting.
Experience of working with individuals with complex needs and presentations, and suffering from a range of mental health difficulties
Experience of delivering psychological interventions to individuals presenting with complex needs and presentations and mental health difficulties.
Experience of working under supervision.
Experience of cofacilitating therapy groups
Experience of conducting outcome measures and psychometric testing, including delivery, scoring and interpretation.
Experience of using computers for databases or data-analysis, including SPSS for Windows.
Ability to meet the travel requirements for the post.
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Desirable
Experience of working in a community setting
Experience of working in a forensic setting
Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of service users across a wide range of care settings, including out-patient, community, primary care and inpatient settings
Experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team
Experience of delivering training to staff
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Additional Criteria
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Essential
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive. An ability to interact effectively with people with mental health problems.
Ability to communicate sensitive information to service users, carers and colleagues in a way that addresses psychological resistance. An ability to interact effectively with staff from all disciplines.
An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with mental health problems or other disabilities.
An ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a mental health context.
An understanding of psychology applied to health care.
Ability to maintain appropriate professional boundaries.
Experience using computers for databases or data-analysis, especially SPSS.
Ability to build positive working relationships, providing a caring, consistent and compassionate approach to working with service users.
Ability to work independently, reliably and consistently with work agreed and managed at regular intervals.
Pro-active and self-motivated.
A strong team player.
Evidence of ability to accept and use supervision appropriately and effectively.
High standard of report writing.
An interest in working with people who suffer from a range of mental illnesses and mental disorders who have offending histories.
Ability to undertake the duties and demands of the post.
Ability to sit in a constrained position for therapy and extended interview sessions. Will be required to cope with periods of intense concentration for psychometric testing, report writing, client sessions and interviews and tolerate distressing situations while providing therapy.
Will be required to tolerate and manage potential verbal abuse and occasional physical aggression. There is a requirement to undertake mandatory breakaway training, and PMVA training.
Car driver and able to meet the travel requirements for the post.
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Desirable
Knowledge and application of psychological formulation.
Research and audit skills.
Formulation skills.
A desire to explore a career in Professional Psychology.
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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.
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UK Professional Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.
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For help with your application, contact:
Dr Roberta Pischedda
[email protected]
02382311377
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Pay scheme
Agenda for Change
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Band
Band 5
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Salary
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£32073.00 to £39043.00 Yearly
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Contract
Permanent
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Working pattern
Full-Time
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Reference number
348-SAC-11702
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Job locations
Tatchbury Mount
Calmore
Southampton
Hampshire
SO40 2RZ
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Attachments
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Job Description
SCFT Band 5 AP JD and PS Form June 2026.docx – 162KB Opens in a new window
Converted File SCFT Band 5 AP JD and PS Form June 2026.docx.pdf – 265KB Opens in a new window
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Person Specification
SCFT Band 5 AP- PERSON SPECIFICATION June 2026.docx – 19KB Opens in a new window
Converted File SCFT Band 5 AP- PERSON SPECIFICATION June 2026.docx.pdf – 64KB Opens in a new window
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Additional document 1
EmployeeBenefits_hiowh_v1-compressed_3.pdf – 1001KB Opens in a new window
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