Profession assistant clinical psychologist

Assistant clinical psychologists aid psychologists in their work. They work in healthcare facilities or private practices where they assist psychologists with their treatment of patients. Assistant clinical psychologists are healthcare professionals that can assess patients with psychological tests and aid with therapy, as well as performing administrative functions.

Personality Type

• Social / Investigative
• Realistic / Investigative
• Social / Realistic
• Conventional / Social

Knowledge

• Psychological diagnostics

  The psychological diagnostics strategies, methods and techniques concerning health-related experiences and behaviours as well as mental disorders

• Diagnosis of mental health issues

  The diagnosis of mental health issues such as disorders or illnesses, and psychological factors in other diseases within different issues and different age groups.

• Psychology

  The human behaviour and performance with individual differences in ability, personality, interests, learning, and motivation.

• Psychiatry

  Psychiatry is a medical specialty mentioned in the EU Directive 2005/36/EC.

• Therapy in health care

  The principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions.

• Psychological interventions

  The characteristics of the methods and procedures meant to instigate change in human behaviour.

• Psychological concepts

  The psychological concepts of health protection and health promotion.

• Evaluation of psychological performance

  The characteristics of the methods used to assess psychological parameters.

Skills

• Assist psychologist

  Assist psychologists in their work. Provide assistance in their treatment of patients such as conducting tests, analysing the correct treatment and providing therapy. Assist in maintaining administrative records of patients.

• Apply health sciences

  Apply a broad range of bio-medical, psycho-social, organisational, educational, and societal aspects of health, disease, and healthcare to improve healthcare services and to improve quality of life.

• Adhere to organisational guidelines

  Adhere to organisational or department specific standards and guidelines. Understand the motives of the organisation and the common agreements and act accordingly.

• Assess the patient's therapeutic needs

  Observe and assess the patient`s behaviour, attitudes and emotions in order to understand if and how their therapeutic needs can be met with a specific kind of therapy, collecting and analysing information on how the client makes, responds to, and relates to artistic stimulae. Relate this information to other aspects of the patient`s life.

• Comply with legislation related to health care

  Comply with the regional and national legislation that is relevant to one`s work and apply it in practice.

• Accept own accountability

  Accept accountability for one`s own professional activities and recognise the limits of one`s own scope of practice and competencies.

• Decide upon a psychotherapeutic approach

  Make an informed choice about which type of psychotherapeutic intervention to apply when working with patients, according to their needs.

• Conduct psychological research

  Plan, supervise and undertake psychological research, writing papers to describe the research results.

• Conduct psychological assessement

  Assess patient`s behaviour and needs via observation and tailored interviews, administering and interpreting psychometric and idiosyncratic assessments.

• Assess healthcare users' risk for harm

  Evaluate the healthcare user's potential for harm to him- or herself or others, intervening effectively to minimise risk and implement prevention methods.

• Comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice

  Apply quality standards related to risk management, safety procedures, patients feedback, screening and medical devices in daily practice, as they are recognized by the national professional associations and authorities.

• Work with patterns of psychological behaviour

  Work with the patterns of a patient or client's psychological behaviour, which may be outside of their conscious awareness, such as non-verbal and pre-verbal patterns, clinical processes of defence mechanisms, resistances, transference and counter-transference.

• Apply psychological intervention strategies

  Use various intervention strategies to treat patients in clinical psychology.

• Identify mental health issues

  Recognise and critically evaluate any possible mental health/illness issues.

• Apply context specific clinical competences

  Apply professional and evidence based assessment, goal setting, delivery of intervention and evaluation of clients, taking into account the developmental and contextual history of the clients, within one`s own scope of practice.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB