Job summary
- Main area
- Mental Health - Community
- Grade
- Band 4
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 351-BAY1038-EB
- Employer
- Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Guild Lodge
- Town
- Preston
- Salary
- £28,392 - £31,157 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 26/07/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Assistant Psychologist
Band 4
Our Vision is to provide the best mental health, learning disability, autism, community, and physical health services for the populations we serve.
As an integrated Trust, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT) delivers a comprehensive range of services, including:
- Primary and secondary mental health care for children and adults, including specialist inpatient child and adolescent mental health provision, perinatal mental health, and forensic services with low and medium secure care.
- Specialist mental health inpatient care for individuals with learning disabilities, alongside specialist community support for children and adults with learning disabilities and autism, including intensive support.
- Extensive community physical health and well-being services for children and adults, covering prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and long-term condition management.
The Trust was first established in 2002 and employs approximately 7,500 staff who provide care from more than 400 sites. The organisation offers opportunities for medics, mental health, general nurses, children’s nurses, allied health professionals, psychology, administration and clerical staff, apprentices and volunteers, as well as those specialising in learning disabilities and community physical health services.
For more information visit our website via Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS FT.
Job overview
We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated candidate who can be flexible and responsive to client and service needs in a secure setting. Guild Lodge is the home of LSCFTs adult secure services, a specialist regional unit for individuals with a range of complex and enduring mental health and risk related needs detained under the Mental Health Act.
Our multidisciplinary teams provide high standards of assessment and formulation, care and treatment interventions ensuring rehabilitation and recovery, across a range of secure settings including medium, low secure, and step-down rehabilitation, for men and women.
We are currently looking for an Assistant Psychologist to join the Men’s service line psychology team. The role may also involve provide support to the Women’s service line psychology team.
The successful candidate will be educated to degree level in psychology and have previous experience of working with clients with complex clinical and risk related needs. Excellent interpersonal and organisational skills are also essential, along with the ability to work effectively both independently and as part of multi-disciplinary/multi-agency teams.
A commitment to open and reflective practice is essential, as is commitment to participating in supervision provided by a qualified Clinical Psychologist.
If you would like further information or to discuss this role please contact us using the details provided
Main duties of the job
The post holder will assist with psychological assessment and psychological interventions under the supervision of a qualified member of the psychology team.
The post holder will assist qualified members of the nursing team with practical tasks related to the ward, and will assist in the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of individual packages of care, and contribute to effective multidisciplinary care.
Other tasks may include assisting in clinically related administration, conduct of audits and collection of statistics related to departmental research projects, outcome evaluation work, teaching, and project work.
Collaborative therapeutic work with multi-disciplinary colleagues is encouraged, and assistants are considered valuable members of our multi-disciplinary psychological services team.
The role will be varied and will offer the successful applicant the opportunity to develop a range of skills within a supportive service with excellent clinical supervision and a wide range of CPD opportunities.
Working for our organisation
LSCFT values diversity and inclusion, recognising that talent from varied backgrounds creates a flexible, creative, and effective workforce. We actively challenge discrimination and welcome applications from all, regardless of age, disability (including those with experience of accessing or caring for someone who has accessed mental health or learning disability services), ethnicity, gender, religion, belief, or sexual orientation.
Our aim is to reflect the communities we serve, so we particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups. If you’d like to discuss your application, please ask.
We also welcome individuals with lived experience relevant to the role or service area, as your insight brings authenticity to our services.
LSCFT support flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as term time, part time, compressed hours and flexi-time.
The wellbeing of our people is at the heart of everything we do. We offer a wide range of resources, tools and support to help you thrive both in and out of work.
Explore our full wellbeing offer here: Keeping our workforce well
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see attached the job description and person specification for more information about this role.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- An honours degree in psychology
- Eligibility for graduate membership of BPS
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Ability to communicate complex and sensitive information effectively in both oral and written formats, and in environments which are highly emotive and stressful.
- Commitment and ability to work with clients where there may be significant clinical, service, and system barriers to engagement
- Ability to work independently and using own initiative on a day-to-day basis.
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of working with clients with complex and enduring needs and / or of working with clients with acquired brain injury or within an cognitive rehabilitation setting
Applicant requirements
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Dr Christian O'Dea
- Job title
- Principal Clinical Psychologist
- Email address
- Christian.O'[email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01772 406716
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