Band 4 - Assistant Psychologist - Bristol

at  Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust

We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic person to join the Bristol Autism Spectrum Service (BASS) as an Assistant Psychologist. This is a full-time, Band 4 position, fixed term for 12 months. BASS is an expanding and innovative team, providing services to autistic adults across Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset. The successful candidate will contribute to diagnostic and post-diagnostic work, supporting autistic people, their carers, families and supporters, as well as professionals working with autistic people across mental and physical health services, education, employment and the criminal justice system. The service is developing and the successful candidate will contribute to the development of innovative psychologically-informed interventions for autistic adults.
You will make contributions to both the diagnostic and post-diagnostic pathway at BASS. You will assist a highly specialist multidisciplinary team in providing diagnostic assessments for adults suspected of having autism spectrum disorder. This will involve conducting interviews with the family, partners, and friends of people being assessed for autism and writing technical reports that will inform the overall diagnostic outcome. Additionally, you will be involved in the provision of a range of other services undertaken by the team, including: the provision of community-based post-diagnostic support to service users and carers, training and supervision of other professionals across the care pathway and clinical audit, research and development. The post-holder will also contribute to the development and implementation of a variety of novel, psychologically-informed and evidence-based interventions, optimised for use with this client group in line with ongoing service developments.
Experience of working with autistic adults is essential, as is a commitment to working with this client group. Excellent written and interpersonal communication skills are also essential to the role. Supervision will be provided by an experienced clinical psychologist.
We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust) a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.
We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.

At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.

• To assist the multi-disciplinary diagnostic team in delivering specialist autism assessments to a mixed clinical population. Psychometric assessments and clinical interviews will be conducted face-to-face, over the telephone and via video-conferencing and written up into technical reports that will inform the diagnostic outcome.
• To contribute to the ongoing running and evaluation of the BASS diagnostic clinic.
• To assist in the planning, delivery and evaluation of psycho-educational groups and other community-based interventions, within the post-diagnostic service as required.
• To gather and organise information about opportunities and resources in the local area, which may be of benefit to service users (e.g. voluntary and community organisations, educational and recreational opportunities).
• To contribute to the development of novel, psychologically-informed and evidence-based interventions, optimised for use with this client group alongside Clinical Psychologists and the post-diagnostic team.
• To deliver teaching and training to other professionals in collaboration with qualified Clinical Psychologists and other members of the team.
• To undertake literature reviews, research and audit activities under the guidance of the Lead Clinical Psychologist
• To undertake continuing professional development and personal clinical supervision.

Please refer the Job description for details