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Job summary

Main area
Assistant Psychologist
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 4
Contract
12 months (Fixed Term/Secondment for 12 months)
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
346-TSA-141-26
Employer
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Wessex House
Town
Stockton on Tees
Salary
£28,392 - £31,157 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
18/10/2026 23:59

Employer heading

Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust logo

Assistant Psychologist - Tees Personality and Relational Service

NHS AfC: Band 4

We are the Mental Health & Learning Disability NHS Trust for County Durham and Darlington, Teesside, North Yorkshire, York and Selby.

From education and prevention, to crisis and specialist care —our talented and compassionate teams work in partnership with our patients, communities and partners to help the people of our region feel safe, understood, believed in and cared for.

We nurture the recovery journey of anyone in need of our help. In Our Trust, everyone has a say in how they are supported and treated because we listen to every person in our care until they feel understood. Our patients, their families and carers work together with us towards better mental health.

We’re committed to new thinking that improves the wellbeing of our region. We connect with our communities and partners to get mental health care right, in areas that really need it.

We won’t rest until everyone in our region has the mental health care they need, to lead their best possible life.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Personality and Relational (P&R) Service based in Teesside.  The team supports individuals with complex emotional needs and works with staff teams across planned and urgent care services in Teesside.  This role offers experience of working in a systemic way across multiple agencies, teams. It includes both indirect and direct ways of working and the ability to develop excellent working relationships with a diverse range of professionals.

You must have the Right to Work in the UK in order to be successfully appointed to this role. Sponsorship may be available for this role in specific circumstances in line with Home Office regulations, where applicants were granted permission as a Skilled Worker under the immigration rules in place before 22 July 2025, and have had continuous permission as a Skilled Worker since then. We recommend that you assess your eligibility before applying for this position. Visit Immigration Rules - Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Occupations - Guidance - GOV.UK

Main duties of the job

You could be involved in:

  • complex safety and risk planning, including multi-agency safety plans
  • contributing to multidisciplinary discussions about a patient’s diagnosis, treatment and care plan
  • Developing formulations by reading notes, investigating histories etc with a focus on understanding risk 
  • working directly with service users supporting with safety planning, short interventions if appropriate
  • Supporting the supervision of staff teams
  • Supporting teaching and training on Structured Clinical Management and topics related to complex emotional needs. 
  • Evaluation of the service 
  • Literature reviews related to the client group 

You’ll be supervised by a registered practitioner psychologist with overall clinical responsibility for the patients you work with. 

You will also be provided with ongoing supervision to help you engage in self-reflection, seek and respond to feedback, and develop your professional knowledge and skills.

You’ll need to keep clear written records, draft reports, evaluations and document safety plans / multi-agency plans.

Working for our organisation

We are the Mental Health & Learning Disability NHS Trust for County Durham and Darlington, Teesside, North Yorkshire, York and Selby.

From education and prevention, to crisis and specialist care —our talented and compassionate teams work in partnership with our patients, communities and partners to help the people of our region feel safe, understood, believed in and cared for.

We nurture the recovery journey of anyone in need of our help. In Our Trust, everyone has a say in how they are supported and treated because we listen to every person in our care until they feel understood. Our patients, their families and carers work together with us towards better mental health.

We’re committed to new thinking that improves the wellbeing of our region. We connect with our communities and partners to get mental health care right, in areas that really need it.

We won’t rest until everyone in our region has the mental health care they need, to lead their best possible life.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for further detailed information to ensure that you meet the role criteria before applying.

Working for Tees, Esk & Wear Valley comes with a variety of staff benefits including the opportunity for us to consider more flexible ways of working, a lease car scheme, continuous development, and training opportunities.

In return the successful candidate can expect the following:

  • Support with settling into the team and developing into the role.
  • A commitment to supporting you to remain up to date with your practice and develop skills through formal and informal training.
  • Regular management, clinical and caseload supervision.
  • Warm, friendly and supportive colleagues.
  • Colleagues who are committed to the psychological and physical wellbeing of staff in the team.

Psychologists & Psychological Therapists provide key leadership roles within the Trust. To support this we have developed leadership profiles for each psychology band and the profile card associated with this post is attached on NHS Jobs. You can find more information about the NHS Leadership Academy’s Healthcare Leadership Model and the profiles at their website. We encourage you to look at these resources as they will play a part in the interview process.

This job advert may close early if a high volume of applications have been received. If interested, please apply for this post as soon as possible.

Person specification

Knowledge/Experience

Essential criteria
  • Experience of communicating sensitive information
  • Experience of work interacting with the public
  • An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with mental ill health or learning disabilities
  • An awareness of the application of psychology to health care
  • Demonstrate an awareness of confidentiality within healthcare
  • Awareness of the British Psychological Society Code of Conduct
  • Awareness of systemic barriers to accessing psychological services/healthcare for minoritised communities
Desirable criteria
  • Experience as a psychology assistant (paid or voluntary)
  • Experience working with people with mental health distress, learning disabilities or neurodiversity (paid or voluntary)
  • Experience of clinical audit, research or service evaluation.
  • Experience using statistical software packages e.g. R Studio
  • Experience of using psychometric assessments
  • Awareness of increasing access to psychological services/healthcare for minoritised communities.
  • An ability to apply psychological knowledge to the population described in the job advert

Skills

Essential criteria
  • Ability to communicate information (verbal and written) effectively in a manner appropriate to the individual and situation
  • Record Keeping (within agreed timescale)
  • Methodical and accurate approach to data collection and analysis.
  • Competence in using psychometric assessment tools (within agreed timescale)
  • Breakaway techniques (within agreed timescale)
  • Awareness of the need to learn and develop through a variety of methods and experiences.
Desirable criteria
  • Experience of clinical report writing

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Some experience of people using services in psychological, mental health and/or social care settings. This may include, for example, personal experience or supporting a family member to access services
  • Experience in discussing and responding to issues related to cultural diversity, intersectionality and inclusivity, including working with vulnerable groups (e.g. those for whom English is not their first language)

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Degree in psychology.
  • Eligible for graduate membership of the British Psychological Society
Desirable criteria
  • Post graduate training in relevant areas of professional psychology, mental health practice and/or research design and analysis.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

We are a Living Wage EmployerVeteran AwareApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyPositive about disabled peopleAge positiveImproving working livesArmed Forces Covenant (Silver Award)Mindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerNHS Rainbow badgeStep into healthArmed Forces CovenantBetter Health at Work Gold Award

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

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Adele Dixon
Job title
Consultant Clinical Psychologist
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
01642 368315
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