Job summary
- Main area
- Mental Health
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8a
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 30 hours per week
- Job ref
- 363-SSLB6875101-A
- Employer
- East London NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- North Beds CAMHS
- Town
- Bedford
- Salary
- £53,755 - £60,504 PRO RATA
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 08/06/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Systemic Family Therapist
NHS AfC: Band 8a
ELFT has long been recognised as a centre of excellence for mental and health care, innovation and improvement. So it is a very exciting time for you to come and work for us. Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.
Job overview
We are looking for a creative, forward thinking and motivated Systemic Family Therapist to join our friendly and professional multi-disciplinary Emotional & Behavioural CAMHS Team based in Bedford, within the North Bedfordshire Specialist CAMHS Service. Our team is inclusive and we consciously think about varying contexts we work within (i.e. racial, cultural and socio-economic factors). Our work is underpinned by strong values to treat each other, service users and agency partners with respect and care. We would be happy to consider requests for flexible working, for example taking into account any caring responsibilities.
Main duties of the job
The post-holder will be offering assessments, screen for autism, co-facilitating the family therapy clinic, co-facilitating groups (e.g. NVR and parent sessions), and therapeutic treatment to young people with moderate to severe mental health difficulties. They will involve parent/carers, schools and other agencies as appropriate. In addition, the post holder will offer consultations, clinical supervision, and internal CPD. You will require a high degree of professional autonomy, organization, and self-management, and the ability to work well in a team. You will be supported by regular clinical and management supervision sessions, access to a variety of internal CPD sessions, and annual performance appraisals. You will also participate in weekly clinical discussions with the teams, monthly complex case discussions and a monthly reflective space.
Working for our organisation
Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see attached JD & PS for more details on role and responsibilities.
The successful candidate will be part of the discipline they have trained in or intend to develop in, and will receive specialist clinical supervision. There are opportunities to take part in discipline-specific meetings within Bedfordshire CAMHS and ELFT.
Person specification
Education/ Qualification/ Training
Essential criteria
- Qualification in appropriate mental health/social welfare profession such as Social Work, Nursing, Psychology, Psychiatry, Teaching OR AFT-agreed equivalent
- Masters or Doctoral level qualification in Systemic Psychotherapy or AFT agreed equivalent
- UKCP Registration
- Evidence of CPD
- Registration as Clinical Supervisor by Association for Family Therapy
Experience
Essential criteria
- Post-qualifying experience
- Experience of working with a wide variety of patient groups across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse
- Experience of working with children and young people in an emotionally demanding environment
- Experience of working with children and young people and their families in a therapeutic context
- Experience of working with children, young people and families in emotional crisis
- Knowledge and experience with working with child protection issues and serious mental health problems
- Experience of risk assessment and risk management
Desirable criteria
- Experience of self-harm assessment and intervention with both individual child/adolescent and their families
- Experience of teaching and training systemic psychotherapy
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Evidence of continuing professional development as required by UKCP/AFT guidelines
- Knowledge of and skill in using a wide variety of systemic theories and interventions and the ability to use these appropriately in relation to client need and work setting
- Sufficient knowledge of other modalities to engage appropriately with colleagues and their work with clients
- Up-to-date knowledge of relevant legislation , and ethical issues, including The Children Act 1989, and strategic frameworks and their implications for both clinical practice and professional management
- Knowledge of current developments in systemic family therapy, in clinical psychology and in psychiatry generally, in working with children and adolescents with serious mental health problems.
- Knowledge of current developments in the assessment and treatment of a range of serious mental illnesses, including psychotic disorder, schizophrenia, obsessive/compulsive disorder, schizo-affective disorder and other related issues
- Ability to develop and maintain highly specialist knowledge of clinical aspects of child and adolescent mental health
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge of current development in CAMHS
- Masters or Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology consistent with systemic practice
Skills
Essential criteria
- Skills in the use of complex methods of specialist systemic assessment and treatment of individuals, couples, family systems and groups, frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
- A specialist level of clinical skill
- Skills in applying systemic theory to work with individuals, couples, family systems, groups and organisations
- Well developed skills to communicate effectively, orally and in writing at an age appropriate level, complex, highly technical and /or clinically sensitive information to children, adolescents, their families, carers and professionals within and outside the NHS including reports for the Courts
- Ability to communicate distressing and unwelcome information to children, adolescents and their families
- Ability to work flexibly across service boundaries and CAMHS Tiers
- Ability to work with a racially and culturally diverse community in a wide variety of contexts including highly specialist skills for working therapeutically in family homes
Desirable criteria
- Ability to teach basic family therapy concepts
- Skills in live supervision of both systemic psychotherapists and multi-disciplinary colleagues
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.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Teresa Pacchiega
- Job title
- Clinical Team Lead for EB3
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01234 893300
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