Assistant Psychologist

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

General Duties  

Promote good practice in psychological care and contribute to the support of emotional wellbeing for people affected by cancer, under the supervision of a qualified Psychological Professional. 

Communication and Working Relationship Skills 

Work as part of a team to provide a psychosocial support service to people affected by cancer in line with current national and regional guidance, according to local needs and initiatives. 

To work positively with colleagues, using good verbal and written communication skills, to maintain effective relationships. 

Liaise with Clinical Psychologists, Counsellors, multidisciplinary colleagues in the Cancer Care directorate, local mental health services, and other professionals working with people affected by cancer in the voluntary sector or regionally. 

Liaise with Trust corporate departments as necessary including Human Resources, Information Technology, Clinical Audit, etc.  

Analytical and Judgemental Skills 

Undertake psychological screening and assessment of people affected by cancer or other life limiting illness under the supervision of a Practitioner Psychologist.  This may include administering questionnaires, making observations and semi structured interviews. 

Analyse and interpret assessment findings with the support and direction of the Practitioner Psychologist 

Provide evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions to people affected by cancer or other life limiting illnesses where appropriate under the supervision of a Practitioner Psychologist. 

Show understanding about limits of expertise and when to seek supervision and support. 

Planning and Organisational Skills 

Plan own workload or delegated tasks under supervision and liaise with agencies or service users to make appointments. 

Organise time effectively across multiple projects and multiple Trust sites. 

Work with Practitioner Psychologist to plan, organise and teach psychosocial interventions in group or individual formats. 

Participate in the development and preparation of clinical materials such as brochures, hand-outs, relaxation audio materials, scripts and resource packs etc for use in the clinical services. 

Create letters and clinical reports under supervision as required. 

Note-take at relevant meetings such as specific project meetings led by the Practitioner Psychologist, team meetings within the Dorset Cancer Centre Counselling and Psychology service, and disseminate to the wider MDT as required.  

Responsibility for Patient/Client Care, Treatment and Therapy 

Support the psychological screening, assessment and therapy provided by Practitioner Psychologists or other team members who provide psychologically based care and treatment. 

Under supervision from a Practitioner Psychologist or other qualified professional in psychological care, provide and receive complex, sensitive, or contentious information where motivational, negotiation, empathic or reassurance skills are required. 

Undertake psychological screening and assessment of people affected by cancer or other life-limiting illnesses under the supervision of a Practitioner Psychologist or other Psychological Professional.  This may include undertaking questionnaires, making observations and conducting semi-structured interviews. 

Liaise with patients, carers, and professionals regarding non-complex sensitive clinical information. 

Support the provision of highly specialist psychological advice and consultation to community and ward staff involved in the care of people living with cancer and their carers.  This may involve exposure to highly distressing circumstances.  

Under supervision, feedback findings from psychological assessments to the wider MDT, and to be able to communicate this information effectively to service users where appropriate. 

Responsibility for Policy / Service Development 

Support the development of a high quality, responsive and accessible service for people under Cancer Care across UHD, including contributing to initiatives to improve the safety, efficacy and efficiency of the Counselling and Psychology Service. 

Support the process by which policies and service delivery are appropriately monitored and evaluated, through deployment of skills in research, service evaluation and audit. 

Responsibility for Finance, Equipment and Other Resources 

Personal duty of care for NHS equipment and facilities, and to advise on the ordering and maintenance of psychological tests and other equipment as required.  

Responsibility for Human Resources, e.g. Supervision, Training, HR Advice and Management 

Undertake training relevant to the post in agreement with the supervising psychologist 

Receive regular supervision from a qualified Practitioner Psychologist in the Dorset Cancer Centre Counselling and Psychology Service. 

Maintain training and experience in order to broaden and deepen professional skills in line with CPD guidelines and set down by the British Psychological Society. 

Support the Practitioner Psychologist(s) to enhance the basic psychological skills of the clinicians in the Cancer Care Directorate (e.g. MDTs, CNSs, Cancer Support Workers, AHPs, etc.) through training and support.  

Disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations or published articles. 

The postholder does not have line management responsibilities. 

Responsibility for Information Resources and Administrative Duties 

Ensure that all information generated by own work is recorded as required by Trust policies and local procedures, seeking guidance from qualified members of staff. 

Under the supervision of the Practitioner Psychologist, maintain the highest standards of record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry. 

Regularly use information technology for preparation of presentation materials, word processing of clinical reports, maintenance of clinical records and activity spreadsheets, access to internal and trust electronic messaging systems. 

Maintain databases and enter data, and perform analyses and produce reports. 

Support the administration of the services systems and processes to ensure that our service users receive a responsive and confidential service. 

Responsibility for Research and Development 

Participate in research and development activities including literature searches and literature reviews, data collection, data analysis, production of reports and summaries, using IT and statistical programmes. 

Work as part of the wider team to audit, implement and design changes and other quality improvements. 

Promote evidence based practice in the Cancer Care Directorate. 

Under guidance, to conduct surveys with service users and carers to gather views on service provision and to enhance psychological care of people affected by cancer. 

Freedom to Act 

The post holder will be required to work on own initiative but is supervised by senior staff. 

Manage and prioritise workload which requires concentration and working through frequent interruptions and changing of tasks. Set out own priorities without direct supervision. 

The post holder is expected to comply with all relevant Trust policies, procedures and guidelines, including those relating to Equal Opportunities, Health and Safety and Confidentiality of Information. 

Mental, Physical, and Emotional Effort 

Moderate physical activity may be required throughout the working day to include computer work, including a combination of sitting and standing. 

Involves walking or travelling between hospital and palliative care unit sites, accompanying service users in the hospital grounds, and sitting for long periods during psychological support sessions or meetings and training events.    

Frequently exposed to highly distressing or emotional circumstances supporting people affected by cancer, or other life-limiting illnesses.  

Involves dealing with patients/clients and relatives with multiple presenting problems/co-morbidity including depression, anxiety and challenging family situations 

Supporting service users who have barriers or challenges to communication due to comprehension, physical disability or other barriers. 

Frequent periods of intense concentration when interacting and assessing patients. 

Frequent requirements for concentration for sustained periods, where the work pattern is predictable with few competing demands for attention. 

Exposed to unpleasant conditions on an occasional basis including verbal and physical aggression.