Assistant Psychologist in Cheltenham

Site Inpatient Recovery Units, Cheltenham and Wotton Lawn Hospital, Gloucester Town Cheltenham Salary £32,073 - £39,043 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 18/10/2026 23:59

We love what we do and we think you will, too!

At Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (GHC), we provide joined-up mental health, physical health and learning disability services to people of all ages across Gloucestershire. We run community hospitals and provide care and support in people’s own homes and in a range of other locations across the county .

We are on a mission to enable people to live the best life they can and we have a vision to work together to provide outstanding care . We put people at the heart of our services, focusing on personalised care by asking ‘what matters to you ’.

We’re passionate about making sure that everyone can contribute to achieving our mission and w e are continually working to support healthy and happy high-quality team s in all areas of the Trust .

Our application process aims to understand each candidates knowledge, skills and experience. We have found that candidates that use AI to generate their answers can lack specificity and fail to address key criteria outlined in the job description.

It is really important to personalise your application to convey your individual skills, knowledge, and experiences effectively and for us to understand why you are applying for this role with GHC. We discourage over reliance on AI-generated applications as it will lessen your chances of success in securing an interview with us .

Job overview

This role is offered on a fixed terms basis for 12 months. Inpatient Complex Psychological Interventions: Recovery and Acute Wards

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Trust is looking to recruit an experienced Assistant Psychologist to work across the Recovery Units in Cheltenham and Acute Inpatient wards at Wotton Lawn Hospital, Gloucester. This is a full-time post on a fixed term 12-month contract.

Honeybourne and Laurel House are inpatient rehabilitation units based in Cheltenham. Wotton Lawn Hospital is in Gloucester and has four acute wards and a psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU).

The Assistant Psychologist will be part of the Inpatient Complex Psychological Interventions (CPI) team, flexibly working across the Recovery Units and Acute Wards to support the Inpatient CPI team to deliver psychological interventions. This is a supportive and enthusiastic team consisting of two clinical psychologists, an art psychotherapist and a clinical associate psychologist (CAP).

The team support regular trainee placements from the Bath Clinical Doctoral Training Course, undergraduate placements and art psychotherapy trainee placements. Regular service development and research is undertaken in collaboration with GHC research department. Regular CPD, publication is actively supported and encouraged.

Main duties of the job

Overview of Job

This role provides the opportunity to work with people both in short term, acute contexts and longer-term rehabilitation settings. Across both Acute and Recovery services, there is a focus on delivering group interventions and promoting psychological understanding within the multi-disciplinary team.

Full information about job role, qualifications, training & experience requirements for the role are stated in the Job Description/Person Specification.

For further information or an informal discussion please contact Dr Vicki Weare, Specialist Clinical Psychologist, on 0300 421 4779 or 0300 421 4936.

This post requires the post holder to be able to undertake all statutory and mandatory training and post holders must be able to undertake physical interventions. Fitness for physical intervention will be assessed by Occupational Health.

A valid UK driving licence plus the use of own transport for business purposes is desirable however the ability to travel independently between our sites is essential.

We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people’s homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust are proud to have been recognised as a ‘Veteran Aware Trust’, evidencing the provision of the best care for Veterans and driving to improve the care for veterans and their families. Find out more about this by clicking on the link at the right hand side, titled ‘Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance’.

To ensure you fully understand how the Trust, as a Data Controller, will process and store your data please read the attached document ‘Applicant and Staff Privacy Notice’ prior to applying for the role.

Candidates for any staff appointment shall, when making application, disclose in writing to the Trust whether they are related to any governor. Failure to disclose such a relationship may disqualify a candidate and, if appointed, may render them liable to dismissal.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Full details about the job role, qualifications, training & experience requirements for the role are stated in the Job Description/Person Specification.

In the wider community, psychologists, psychotherapists and art psychotherapists working within Recovery, Assertive Outreach and early intervention teams form complex psychological interventions (CPI).

Person specification

QUALIFICATIONS

• Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society (BPS)

LENGTH AND / OR NATURE OF EXPERIENCE

• Ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing clinically sensitive information to service users, their families, carers and other professional colleagues, both within and outside the NHS.
• Prior experience with the service user group and experience in a clinical setting
• Experience of group work.
• Ability to listen, be empathetic and compassionate to others at times of distress.

When joining us, as well as becoming part of a team that makes a difference, we also offer:

• Free car parking at many of our sites
• 27 days leave plus bank holidays, increasing up to 33 days with long service
• A broad range of training and development opportunities, including apprenticeships up to Level 7 qualification.
• A multi-professional preceptorship programme for all Newly Qualified; Nurses, Nursing Associates, Internationally Educated Practitioners, Allied Health Professionals and Return to Practice Practitioners.
• Generous NHS pension and enhanced pay when if you work unsocial hours
• Flexible, family friendly and agile working opportunities
• Recognition and long service awards
• Fast Track physiotherapy
• Access to discounts and salary sacrifice schemes; including Cycle to Work, Car scheme and discounts on travel, leisure and retailers.

If you are aged 16-30, you may be eligible for financial and pastoral support from the King’s Trust, with who we are in partnership with to support your first 6 months in role. We will pass on your details to the King’s Trust who will be in touch with you if you are eligible. If you would rather not be contacted, please let us know.

For more information please see the attached 'Additional Information for Applicants' document.

Good luck with your application.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

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.

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