Assistant Psychologist
Job summary
Due to career progression in the academic cycle we are offering 2 Assistant Psychology posts to join the psychology & psychotherapy forensic mental health team at the inpatient medium and low secure services at Bethlem Royal Hospital. The inpatient provision is part of the South London & Maudsley Forensic & Offender Health Pathway in the Croydon and Behavioural & Developmental Psychiatry Operational Directorate. The postholders will be aligned for direct clinical service provision to ward teams and will join a forensic clinical psychology & psychotherapy team that provides inpatient and community-based interventions.Main duties of the job
- To assist practitioner psychologists in the delivery of a specialist applied psychology service across medium secure settings.
- To provide clinical work as required by the service, under the direct guidance, close clinical and professional supervision of a practitioner psychologist. Clinical work may include engagement, assessment (including risk assessment), formulation and direct intervention service users.
- The delivery of psycho-educational and offending behaviour group programmes.
- To assist in clinically-related administration, conduct of audits, collection of statistics, development of audit and/or research projects, teaching and project work.
- To work following clinical guidelines and the policies and procedures of the service, while closely supervised and regularly seeking help from clinical/professional supervisor or manager.
- The postholders will join a team of clinical and forensic psychologists, assistant psychologists, and therapists, who work closely with the ward multi-professional teams, under the leadership of an MSU inpatient lead psychologist and a Consultant Psychologist
About us
All three posts are available 1.0 wte (5 days). We are committed to get the very best out of our staff and support staff in their career aspirations. There are ample opportunities for continuing professional development and the service actively supports participation in a strong research, service evaluation and audit culture. We have a strong record of supporting Assistant Psychologists onto both clinical and forensic doctoral training. As one of the few Trusts in London we are proud to offer flexible working as part of our new ways of working, and we are happy to talk flexible working at the interview stage. In this role you will be able to work Monday to Friday in the time frames from 07:30 to 18:00, giving you the very best of good work life balance.Details
Date posted
09 July 2026Pay scheme
Agenda for changeBand
Band 4Salary
£33,262 to £36,027 a year per annum incl. of HCAs (outer)Contract
PermanentWorking pattern
Full-timeReference number
334-CLI-8074667Job locations
River House Medium Secure UnitBethlem Royal Hospital
West Wickham
BR3 3BX
United Kingdom
Job description
Job responsibilities
One vacancy is based on Norbury Ward, an acute admissions ward for the male pathway. This specialises in offering a comprehensive assessment of clinical and risk-related need, to inform clinical pathways across the South London Partnership.One vacancy is based across two wards, Brook Ward as an assertive rehabilitation ward in the medium secure service and Chaffinch ward a pre-discharge ward in the low secure service.
Both posts offer the opportunity to develop assessment, engagement and intervention skills with a male forensic mental health client group who have complex needs as well as developing individual and group-based intervention skills. The postholder will participate in the wider service psychological interventions programme and service evaluation.
Job description
Job responsibilities
One vacancy is based on Norbury Ward, an acute admissions ward for the male pathway. This specialises in offering a comprehensive assessment of clinical and risk-related need, to inform clinical pathways across the South London Partnership.One vacancy is based across two wards, Brook Ward as an assertive rehabilitation ward in the medium secure service and Chaffinch ward a pre-discharge ward in the low secure service.
Both posts offer the opportunity to develop assessment, engagement and intervention skills with a male forensic mental health client group who have complex needs as well as developing individual and group-based intervention skills. The postholder will participate in the wider service psychological interventions programme and service evaluation.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- oA First-class or Upper-second class Bachelor's degree with Honours in Psychology (or related behavioural science) that is accredited by the British Psychological Society and confers the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership of the British Psychological Society
Desirable
- oRelevant specialist training in relation to working with challenging behaviour, offending behaviour, culture & diversity needs or personality difficulties
Experience
Essential
- oSufficient post-graduate experience of psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs in forensic mental health services to be able to work clinically with close direct supervision
- oPost-graduate experience of conducting research projects or audits
- oExperience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities. This may have been gained through work, research, volunteering and / or lived experience.
Desirable
- oExperience of working with service users with risk of harm to self or others
- oExperience of working across a range of clinical settings, including primary, secondary and in-patient care
Knowledge
Essential
- oGraduate level knowledge of psychological research methodology and statistical analysis
- oGood theoretical knowledge of the problems experienced by and the needs of forensic mental health service users and of methods of assessment and treatment
- oAwareness of racial and diversity issues through attendance of relevant training
Desirable
- oKnowledge of working with challenging behaviour, offending behaviour, culture & diversity needs or personality difficulties
- oKnowledge around risk of harm to self or others
Skills
Essential
- oSkills in relevant psychological assessment and interventions that enable working as a pre-qualified practitioner with close clinical supervision
- oWell-developed verbal and written communication skills including communicating complex, sensitive or contentious information to clients, families and colleagues
Desirable
- oExperience of data collection, analysis and interpretation
- oPost-graduate experience of conducting research projects or audits
Qualifications
Essential
- oA First-class or Upper-second class Bachelor's degree with Honours in Psychology (or related behavioural science) that is accredited by the British Psychological Society and confers the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership of the British Psychological Society
Desirable
- oRelevant specialist training in relation to working with challenging behaviour, offending behaviour, culture & diversity needs or personality difficulties
Experience
Essential
- oSufficient post-graduate experience of psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs in forensic mental health services to be able to work clinically with close direct supervision
- oPost-graduate experience of conducting research projects or audits
- oExperience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities. This may have been gained through work, research, volunteering and / or lived experience.
Desirable
- oExperience of working with service users with risk of harm to self or others
- oExperience of working across a range of clinical settings, including primary, secondary and in-patient care
Knowledge
Essential
- oGraduate level knowledge of psychological research methodology and statistical analysis
- oGood theoretical knowledge of the problems experienced by and the needs of forensic mental health service users and of methods of assessment and treatment
- oAwareness of racial and diversity issues through attendance of relevant training
Desirable
- oKnowledge of working with challenging behaviour, offending behaviour, culture & diversity needs or personality difficulties
- oKnowledge around risk of harm to self or others
Skills
Essential
- oSkills in relevant psychological assessment and interventions that enable working as a pre-qualified practitioner with close clinical supervision
- oWell-developed verbal and written communication skills including communicating complex, sensitive or contentious information to clients, families and colleagues
Desirable
- oExperience of data collection, analysis and interpretation
- oPost-graduate experience of conducting research projects or audits
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
