Job summary
- Main area
- Psychiatry
- Grade
- Band 5
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 sessions per week
- Job ref
- 222-SF-756
- Employer
- West London NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- St Bernard's Hospital
- Town
- London
- Salary
- £36,943 - £44,900 per annum inc. HCAS
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 28/08/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Senior Assistant Psychologist
Band 5
West London NHS Trust provides a full range of mental health, community and physical healthcare services for children, adults and older people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow.
We also provide some specialist services that are commissioned regionally, such as our medium secure services; and nationally, such as the Cassel Hospital for people with complex and severe personality disorder and our high secure services at Broadmoor Hospital.
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Assistant Psychologist or Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner to join the newly established Community Forensic Learning Disabilities and Autism Team within West London Forensic Services. Two full-time posts are available.
West London NHS Trust provides forensic mental health services across secure inpatient, community and court diversion settings. Serving eight boroughs in North West London, the Trust also delivers nationally commissioned secure services. West London Forensic Services has been selected by NHS England to develop an innovative model of care supporting the discharge and community reintegration of people with learning disabilities and/or autism from secure forensic settings.
As part of this specialist team, you will support a highly specialised psychology service for people with learning disabilities and/or autism who have a forensic history and are living in the community or transitioning from secure care. Under the supervision of a qualified psychologist, you will undertake psychological assessments, contribute to formulations, and deliver direct and indirect interventions.
You will also contribute to teaching, training, audit and service evaluation. This rewarding role offers opportunities to develop specialist skills and gain valuable experience in forensic, learning disability and autism services, making it ideal for those pursuing a career in clinical or applied psychology.
Main duties of the job
Working within FAST-ID (Forensic Assessment Support Team for Intellectual Disabilities) offers a unique opportunity to contribute to an innovative service supporting the discharge and successful community reintegration of people with learning disabilities and/or autism from medium and low secure forensic services.
You will support the delivery of a highly specialised psychology service for culturally diverse service users with learning disabilities and/or autism, co-occurring mental health needs, and forensic histories. As part of a multidisciplinary team, you will assist with psychological assessments, formulations, and interventions focused on mental health, wellbeing, and risk management, under the supervision of a qualified psychology professional.
The role includes supporting a range of clinically related activities, such as audit, service evaluation, data collection, teaching, training, research, and quality improvement projects. You will contribute to developing and evaluating services while gaining valuable experience within a pioneering forensic community team.
Working within agreed objectives and under appropriate supervision, you will manage your workload independently while adhering to team and Trust policies and procedures. This is an excellent opportunity for a motivated individual seeking to develop specialist skills and broaden their experience in forensic, learning disability, autism, and community psychology services
Working for our organisation
West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.
Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ over 5,000 staff, of whom 59% are BME. Our turnover for 2024-25 is over £500m.
The Trust is rated as ‘Good’ overall by the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as ‘Outstanding’.
The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached.
The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.
Person specification
Qualifications & Training
Essential criteria
- A degree or higher in psychology, conferring eligibility to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society
Desirable criteria
- Attendance at specialist short courses relevant to the post (e.g. Trauma Informed Care, Structured Clinical Management, DBT training, CBT training).
Experience
Essential criteria
- At least six months as an assistant psychologist or psychological well-being practitioner in adult mental health or forensic services.
- Experience of working in a multi-cultural service
Desirable criteria
- Experience in working with people with a diagnosis of personality disorder.
- Experience of working with interpreters
- Experience of carrying out audit or research.
- Conducting service-related research.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Able to understand a number of psychological models and their applications for service users with severe and enduring mental health problems and challenging behaviour.
- An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with mental health problems or other disabilities.
- Able to draw upon a specific theoretical knowledge base in the analysis of facts or situations to arrive at appropriate formulations, under clinical supervision
- Up to date knowledge of psychological research and national guidance relevant to the client group
- Awareness of the potential impact of discrimination and disadvantage on mental health
Skills
Essential criteria
- High level communication skills (both written and verbal) including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive.
- Ability to communicate complex, sensitive and potentially contentious information to service users in a way that addresses psychological resistance and the propensity of the service users towards hostile reactions.
- Able to make judgements based on psychological knowledge, clinical information and environmental events within a session and make decisions on this basis e.g. with regard to feedback to nursing or other staff.
- Implement appropriate psychological assessment and interventions relevant to the client group
- Be flexible and adapt approach according to need
- Able to plan, and organise straightforward tests and activities.
- Able to manage their own time.
- Able to administer psychological tests using co-ordination and other psychomotor skills.
- Able to operate video equipment.
- Able to use word processing, database and test/administration scoring software.
Personal
Essential criteria
- Able to sit for lengthy periods of time while demonstrating active listening skills.
- Able to maintain light physical effort for short periods.
- Able to maintain intense concentration frequently with service users (e.g. in the assessment and treatment of mentally disordered offender service users).
- Able to function in potentially traumatic circumstances and in highly emotionally distressing circumstances on a frequent basis (e.g. in dealing with service users with serious mental illness, histories of homicide and serious violence, self-harm, sexual abuse).
- Able to provide services in a secure environment with service users who are disturbed and sometimes violent and where the awareness of the risk of assault must always be maintained.
- Able to “hold” the stress of service users compulsorily detained in a secure hospital.
- Able to respond adaptably to rapidly changing service demands.
Desirable criteria
- An interest in working with people with mental health problems or other disabilities.
Other Requirements
Essential criteria
- Knowledge of the professional code of conduct of the BPS.
- Capable of being guided by precedent, clearly defined policies, procedures and codes of conduct.
- Able to accept the professional advice and guidance of qualified psychologists.
- Ability to discuss personal reactions (thoughts, feelings, behaviours) in clinical supervision, reflective practice, formulation meetings to plan safer therapeutic care.
Desirable criteria
- A desire to explore a career in professional psychology and progress to clinical associate psychologist training or a doctorate training course in psychology.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
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
- Scott Bartle
- Job title
- Principal Clinical Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
List jobs with West London NHS Trust in Allied Health Professions or all sectors