Job summary
- Main area
- Practitioner Psychologist or CBT Therapist - Community Adult Eating Disorders Service
- Grade
- Band 8a
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 364-A-8975-B
- Employer
- Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Sankey House
- Town
- Pitsea
- Salary
- £47,810 - £62,682 per annum + 5% High Cost Allowance
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 31/08/2025 23:59
Employer heading

Practitioner Psychologist - Eating Disorder Service
Band 8a
Our Trust cares for more than 100,000 patients at any one time across our community health, mental health and learning disability services across Essex and parts of Bedfordshire and Suffolk.
We want you to be part of our journey of transformation, where our patients and their families are at the heart of everything we do and to achieve our vision to be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care.
You’ll be part of a Trust where you will be supported to be your authentic self and be the best you can be, where we will help you to grow, develop and thrive.
The Trust is recognised by the University of Essex and is a top provider of apprenticeships for people looking to be an assistant practitioner, senior health care support worker (CAP). Our trailblazing CAP apprenticeship won a national HSJ Award.
We are also recognised as a Veteran Aware Trust and holder of gold accreditation from the Ministry of Defence Employment Recognition Scheme. Our services are highlighted as an exemplar of good practice, producing the best care for more than 3.500 armed forces veterans in the past seven years.
We have been shortlisted and won national awards. We are an inclusive organisation and Level 3 Disability Confident Leader Trust.
We are constantly innovating and looking for new ways to deliver care, such as using technology to enhance patient care and working with partners to launch new services such as the Basildon Mental Health Urgent Care Department, virtual hospitals and falls response cars.
Join us and you’ll do the best work of your life – and make a difference to other people’s lives. What we do together, matters.
Job overview
Practitioner Psychologist (Band 7 Preceptorship to Band 8a)
This is an exciting opportunity for an established role in a growing team, you can join our team either at Band 8a or at Band 7 on a Preceptorship to Band 8a.
The Community Adult Eating Disorders Service is a specialist team who offer assessment and treatment to adults with moderate to severe eating disorders. This will be in response to service needs and will involve working across the south of Essex and may involve working across the north of Essex.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will provide a specialist psychological therapy service to adults with eating disorders across both community out-patient and intensive community day treatment services.
The post holder will provide specialist psychological assessment and therapy to those referred to the team. Where appropriate, the post holder will also take a lead in ensuring that family therapy or family interventions are available to those seen within the service.
The post holder will be required to:
· Work across locality and interagency boundaries to meet the needs of a highly complex client group.
· Work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the team’s policies and procedures.
· Utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research within the area served by the team/service.
· Offer advice and consultation on clients’ psychological care to non-psychologist/psychotherapist colleagues and to other, non-professional carers.
· Use appropriate evidence based psychological therapies for example Family Therapy, MANTRA or CBT-E.
Working for our organisation
EPUT are looking for motivated staff who shares our Trust values of Care, Learn and Empower. In return, EPUT can offer you a range of benefits and development including;
- Season Ticket Loans
- NHS discounts for staff
- Excellent Training facilities and opportunities
- Buying and Selling annual leave scheme
- The opportunity to work bank shifts and expand knowledge and experience in other areas
- Salary Sacrifice schemes including lease cars and Cycle to Work
- Day One Flexible Employer
The Trust supports and actively encourages flexible working for all employees. We offer many options and you are encouraged to ask the recruiting manager what is possible for this role. If appointed, you will have the opportunity to apply for a flexible working request from the first day of your employment
Join our Staff bank
What is Staff Bank?
Our EPUT NHS staff bank is an entity managed by the trust that hires clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals to take on shifts at our trust hospitals and community settings. Here at EPUT we maintain our own bank of specialist staff to ensure that we are able offer safe and effective care at all times.
All our permanent staff are automatically enrolled onto the staff bank however this does not mean you have to work any additional shifts, but the option is there for you if you wish.
If you are joining our Trust in a fixed term role, please indicate on your New Starter Paperwork that you wish to join our staff bank.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification for a detailed list of responsibilities.
Person specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Doctoral level training in applied psychology, as accredited by the BPS.
- HCPC Registered
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology and research design.
- Evidence of continued professional development as recommended by the relevant professional or registering body
Desirable criteria
- Formal training in supervision of other psychologists/ Psychotherapists as appropriate to their training and qualifications
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, eating disorders etc).
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health speciality
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.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Dr Rob McCarney
- Job title
- Consultant Clinical Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
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