Job Description

We are looking for an experienced and compassionate Assistant Psychologist to join our Cancer Psychology Service. This is a varied role, offering the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the development of psychologically informed care for people affected by cancer.



You will support service evaluation and help shape service delivery through co-production with patients, staff, and stakeholders. A key focus will be on promoting trauma-informed care and addressing health inequalities.



Where needed, you will contribute to individual and group interventions.



You will also support research, literature reviews, and the development of training, teaching, and digital resources. The role requires flexibility, the ability to work independently, and will evolve over time in response to service needs.



You must clearly demonstrate how your experience meets the person specification, using specific examples that evidence the relevance and depth of your experience to support shortlisting.



This is an excellent opportunity to gain broad experience in clinical health psychology within a supportive and innovative team



You will work under the supervision of the Clinical Lead Psychologist to support the development and delivery of the service You will contribute to service evaluation and help engage staff, patients, and stakeholders in co-producing the service, addressing health inequalities, and promoting a trauma-informed approach. You will also support research and literature reviews, and may assist in developing digital resources, as well as contributing to teaching and training.



This is a varied role that requires the ability to work autonomously . We are seeking someone with strong interpersonal and academic skills, and experience of clinical work with adults in a physical health setting.



You will be well supported with training, supervision and peer support.



Our Clinical Health Psychology team provides input across a range of physical health pathways, including: Pain Management, Cancer Services, Specialist Weight Management, Diabetes Education, Post-COVID Psychology, and our Public Health Psychological Insights Team. We also deliver care through the core Clinical Health Psychology service.



You'll be part of a supportive and experienced team, with access to colleagues working across a wide range of physical health conditions and psychological approaches, offering a rich learning environment.



Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust (DCHS) employs over 4,200 staff and delivers community health services to more than one million people across Derbyshire and the city of Derby, as part of the Joined Up Care Derbyshire integrated care system.



To support psychology input to the Clinical health psychology Team. Duties could include:



Developing and implementing psychologically informed resources

Co-facilitating psycho-education and peer support groups for service users under clinical supervision and guidance

Supervised one-to-one psycho-education and guided self-help with service-users

Establishing and working within therapeutic boundaries

Basic Cognitive assessment (with training and supervision provided)

Being involved with patient and public involvement initiatives to help inform, develop, and promote the rehabilitation offer

Supporting audit, service evaluation and research activity

Encouraging and supporting the development of psychological knowledge and skills for multi-disciplinary colleagues

To assist in the delivery of training for colleagues and other staff groups on relevant psychological skills and perspectives

Contributing to multi-disciplinary and other team meetings

In addition:

To responsibly maintain and protect clinical records

To contribute to audit, service evaluation and research activity, as required

To receive regular clinical supervision in accordance with good practice guidelines

Reporting back to the Clinical Lead on matters of concern or which need a decision from Clinical Lead level

To contribute to Service and Trust objectives

To follow Trust policies and procedures

To provide information, as required, on performance and outcome measures

Analytical and judgement skills:

To assess and judge service-user needs and decide upon appropriate interventions within group and individual work; and to analyse and make decisions based upon group dynamics

Planning and organisational skills:

To plan and prioritise own workload; and to plan and organise structure and content of individual and group work with service-users

Responsibility for Human Resources:

May be required to demonstrate own duties to others, including other assistant psychologists and other health care professionals

Health and Safety:

To adhere to the Trust health and safety policies and procedures and to have due regard in their practice to the health and safety of themselves, their colleagues and the general public.



This is a varied role, that may change week to week and will adapt over time to respond to the service's evolving needs. It is likely that a number of longer term projects may be developing simultaneously at any one time.



Key duties, tasks and responsibilities are detailed in the Job description