Assistant Psychologist | Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

Assistant Psychologist | Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

Employer:

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

Location:

Liverpool, L9 3DF

Pay:

Contract Type:

Permanent

Hours:

Full time

Disability Confident:

No

Closing Date:

25/03/2026

To support the Integrated Mental Health Team (IMHT) in supporting the provision of a talking therapies service within HMP Liverpool.

The focus of the service is to provide a high quality therapy service to meet the psychological needs and well‑being of men in prison and to support staff in their support of the men.

The Assistant Psychologist role will involve direct clinical work, both in 1:1 and group format, assessment and screening for a range of mental health difficulties, consultation and training opportunities.

To support and enhance the professional psychological care of service users within the service, across all relevant sectors; providing psychological assessment and psychological interventions under the supervision of a qualified professional psychologist, working independently according to a plan agreed with the supervising qualified psychologist and within the overall framework of the team’s policies and procedures.

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than
1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services.

Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to ‘perfect care’

• care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient.

We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together.

We’re currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

The post holder will work within the Integrated Mental Health Team (IMHT) based within the Healthcare unit at HMP Liverpool.

This is a local Home Office Category B prison.

The successful candidate will provide some brief psychotherapy services within a mental health service under close supervision from qualified members of staff.

Clients are remanded or sentenced male prisoners in HMP Liverpool.

The post holder will utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research within the local area/speciality.

Members of the IMHT attend meetings and conduct both individual and group therapies within healthcare, the inpatient unit and on the prison wings.

Given the nature of Secure Services, there is potential exposure to face‑to‑face verbal and physical aggression.

The post holder is expected to maintain professionalism and awareness of the potential risks for patients, themselves and other colleagues, at all times.

The post holder may encounter professional, legal, and personal challenges including considerable media interest.

Due to the security status of HMP Liverpool, the post holder works under the direction of the Security arrangements of Her Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service/Ministry of Justice/HMP Liverpool.

The successful candidate will be subject to prison vetting procedures.

Main responsibilities:

To assist in clinically related administration, conduct of audits, collection of statistics, development of audit and/or research projects, teaching and project work.

Under the supervision of a qualified clinical psychologist:

To work with potentially distressing material in relation to service users’ personal histories and possible offending behaviour, risks to self and others, and additional security requirements as integral to a secure environment.

To undertake psychological assessments of service users which may include a range of psychometric assessments,…