Band 5 Assistant Psychologist - Bristol

An excellent opportunity has arisen for a motivated and passionate assistant psychologist, to work with those who are in the process of, or having recently, transitioned out of secure care to live in the community. This is a full-time post based in the Specialist Community Forensic Team (SCFT). We welcome applications from those with a good first degree in psychology (with BPS accreditation) and experience of contact with those with mental health difficulties and/or those in contact with forensic services/criminal justice system. Applicants would be expected to have a good understanding of psychology theory and looking to develop their skills.

The SCFT is a developing and innovative service responsible for overseeing care of clients detained to secure hospitals and support the smooth transition back into the community. Our aims are to reduce the length of stay and to prevent admission to secure care by providing enhanced community support, to facilitate, support and maintain discharge processes and by supporting proactive/preventative work.

The post holder will be an assistant psychologist who will support the psychology provision and become a key member of the SCFT multi-disciplinary team, and will assist in the provision of high quality, psychologically informed, risk aware care for a cohort of patients with complex forensic mental health needs.

The team office is based in Fromeside, Bristol however there is an expected element of travel within the role.

Main duties of the job

Key role responsibilities will include:

Assist in the provision of psychological interventions for patients actively under the care management of the SCFT

Assist in the delivery of tiered levels of psychological assessment, formulation, and intervention for the SCFT caseload, appropriate to experience and under supervision

Autonomous work within professional guidelines Utilising research skills to assist in audit, policy, and service development.

Assist in the delivery of psychology-based training to the MDT as identified.

We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust) a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.

We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset. Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.

At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.