Job summary
- Main area
- Mental Health
- Grade
- Band 8a
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 351-BAY903-MS
- Employer
- Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Westgate House, Hillside Health Centre
- Town
- Skelmersdale
- Salary
- £55,690 - £62,682 per annum (subject to confirmation)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 19/02/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Highly Specialist Family & Systemic Psychotherapist
Band 8a
Our Vision is to provide the best mental health, learning disability, autism, community, and physical health services for the populations we serve.
As an integrated Trust, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT) delivers a comprehensive range of services, including:
- Primary and secondary mental health care for children and adults, including specialist inpatient child and adolescent mental health provision, perinatal mental health, and forensic services with low and medium secure care.
- Specialist mental health inpatient care for individuals with learning disabilities, alongside specialist community support for children and adults with learning disabilities and autism, including intensive support.
- Extensive community physical health and well-being services for children and adults, covering prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and long-term condition management.
The Trust was first established in 2002 and employs approximately 7,500 staff who provide care from more than 400 sites. The organisation offers opportunities for medics, mental health, general nurses, children’s nurses, allied health professionals, psychology, administration and clerical staff, apprentices and volunteers, as well as those specialising in learning disabilities and community physical health services.
For more information visit our website via Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS FT.
Job overview
This is an exciting opportunity to join the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service in Central Lancashire as we refresh our therapeutic offer across the locality. The post holder would be based in Skelmersdale but leading the development of systemic practice and family therapy within the Skelmersdale and Preston area. We would be delighted to hear from Family Therapists who have experienced in supervision and working in community CAMHs.
Providing highly specialist family therapy to an individual case load, offering specialist advice, systemic supervision, and consultation regarding formulations and intervention will be integral to the role. Our third team, in Chorley & South Ribble also has a Highly Specialist Family Therapist in post and we anticipate that working together will provide an opportunity to develop specialist clinics across the locality.
As a valued member of our team you will be supported in nurturing an area of specialist interest relevant to your role and the service and contributing to the clinical leadership of the service. There is opportunity for peer support, including a well-established peer support group for systemic and family therapists within the organisation. You will also have access to individual clinical supervision and CPD in-line with professional requirements.
Main duties of the job
We would be supportive of opportunities for you offering placements for trainee systemic and family therapists. All clinicians working in our service have an agreed job plan, which protects core clinical commitments and allocated time for agreed projects.
This post is advertised as an 8a, full-time post at 37.5hours per week.
The post is predominantly office/clinic based with some opportunity for remote working.
The role requires travel to different sites across the Central Lancashire footprint.
Accessing the area
The postholder would be based at Westgate House in Skelmersdale, which is easily accessible by car via the M58. Time would also spent in Ellen House in Preston, which is easily accessible by car via M6. Parking is available at both localities and travel between both localities would be essential.
Informal visits and discussions are encouraged.
Please contact:
Dr Beverley Dayus, Consultant Clinical Psychologist – [email protected] or Kylie McDonald Head of Clinical Service [email protected]
Working for our organisation
LSCFT values diversity and inclusion, recognising that talent from varied backgrounds creates a flexible, creative, and effective workforce. We actively challenge discrimination and welcome applications from all, regardless of age, disability (including those with experience of accessing or caring for someone who has accessed mental health or learning disability services), ethnicity, gender, religion, belief, or sexual orientation.
Our aim is to reflect the communities we serve, so we particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups. If you’d like to discuss your application, please ask.
We also welcome individuals with lived experience relevant to the role or service area, as your insight brings authenticity to our services.
LSCFT support flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as term time, part time, compressed hours and flexi-time.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For more details on this vacancy please review the attached job description and person specification.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Qualification (postgraduate or undergraduate) in a relevant mental health / social welfare profession and demonstrable practice over a minimum of 3 years within that profession
- Masters level qualification in Family and Systemic Psychotherapy, accredited with UKCP.
- UKCP registration which is maintained through meeting relevant AFT CPD requirements.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Knowledge of and skill in using the variety of approaches and methods within systemic practice (i.e. social constructionist, narrative, solution focused, etc.) as required to work with individuals, couples, family systems, groups and organisations.
- Knowledge of child development/ mental health issues including neurodevelopment, attachment.
- Skills in the use of methods of Systemic Psychotherapy/ Family based assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
- Skills in providing consultation/supervision to other systemic psychotherapists and/or multidisciplinary colleagues.
- Knowledge and skills of risk management and ability to perform a clinical risk assessment.
Experience
Essential criteria
- Substantial practice in relevant first profession.
- Minimum of 2 years as a family and systemic psychotherapist within Children and Young people’s Mental Health Services, or similar specialist service, where practise has been supervised by a senior family/systemic psychotherapist.
- Experience of delivering evidence-based approaches with children and young people.
- Experience of working within a Multi-disciplinary Team/ Multi- Agency Working.
- Experience of supervising staff in Systemic/ other psychological approaches.
- Experience of maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
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.
Application numbers
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Dr Beverley Dayus
- Job title
- Consultant Clinical Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Additional information
Informal visits and discussions are encouraged.
Please contact:
Dr Beverley Dayus, Consultant Clinical Psychologist – [email protected] or Kylie McDonald Head of Clinical Service [email protected]
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