Job summary
- Main area
- Psychological Practitioner/Therapist
- Grade
- Band 7
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm)
- Job ref
- 395-PP191-25
- Employer
- NELFT NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Child and Adolescent Family Centre
- Town
- Chadwell Heath
- Salary
- £47,810 - £54,710 per annum (plus HCAS)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 23/03/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist
Band 7
Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London, and Essex. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.
The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for five consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT.
Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, in this video
Job overview
We are seeking an enthusiastic, creative, and resilient Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist to join our busy and dynamic CAMHS team in Redbridge. This post will hold a key role in the service as part of the i-THRIVE informed model of delivery. We have a growing and supportive therapy team and are looking for a child and adolescent psychotherapist who is passionate about supporting young people’s mental health and well-being to join us in the delivery of high quality and effective CAMHS interventions. Redbridge is a multi-ethnic and culturally diverse community reflected in our caseloads and applicants with experience of working with diversity are welcome.
The post-holder will be a postgraduate-qualified Child and adolescent Psychotherapist and must hold accreditation with the Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP).
We welcome applicants who are in their last year of training and offer a comprehensive support package to newly qualified clinicians including regular individual supervision, being part of the trust-wide child psychotherapy meetings as well as opportunities for further CPD. The contribution of child and adolescent psychotherapy as part of the MDT is valued both in the service and in the trust. The Trust actively supports staff wellbeing and monthly group reflective practice sessions take place in the CAMHS team.
Main duties of the job
The post-holder will be directly involved and responsible for delivering both short-term and longer-term clinical interventions within their professional sphere of expertise in CAMHS. This may include individual psychotherapy, parent work, group work, and school observations of children. They will be responsible for assessment, treatment and systematic outcome measurement as well as supporting generic CAMHS work.
They will ensure that a high quality, timely, accessible, and evidence-based service is available to all service users who need it throughout the CAMHS service. The post-holder will also offer advice and consultation on children’s care to non-psychotherapist colleagues and the professional network involved in their support. The post holder will work autonomously within their professional guidelines and the overall framework of the service's policies and procedures.
The post-holder will establish and maintain excellent working relationships with wider mental health and wellbeing services.
Working for our organisation
Our Values 2025 - 2030
Working with our colleagues, patients and carers we have co-produced three new values that we aim to embed within our culture here at NELFT.
They are:
- We are kind.
- We are respectful.
- We work together with our communities.
These three values help us to strive to provide the best care by the best people.
Probationary Period
This post will be subject to a probationary period.
Starting with Us
NELFT places great importance on new starters being properly welcomed into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks, including mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process, new starters will also have the opportunity to meet the executive team, senior managers, and attend several drop-in sessions focusing on engagement, health and wellbeing, and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.
High Cost Area Supplement - Outer London
This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (with a minimum of £4,714 to a maximum of £5,941 p.a. pro rata for part time).
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
• To act as an autonomous professional fully registered with the appropriate professional or regulatory body (e.g. HCPC).
• To use appropriate clinical understanding in assessing, jointly with colleagues in the multidisciplinary team, children, adolescents, and their families to formulate their strengths and difficulties and to determine the most appropriate treatment plan.
• To work alongside other colleagues in CYPMHS and in the care pathway to provide an in-depth comprehensive assessment of the child’s, young person’s, and family’s functioning where there is a constellation of high dysfunction and entrenched difficulties in the family.
• To provide therapeutic interventions with due regard to issues of cultural, racial and religious difference and sexual orientation.
• To provide clinical assessment of children and young people with severe, highly complex and persistent mental health problems providing therapeutic interventions ,work with parents/carers/networks of referred children and young people
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Successful completion of a post-graduate training (e.g. clinical psychology, family therapy, child, and adolescent psychotherapy, Systemic therapy, CBT therapist)
- To be eligible for registration as a full member of the appropriate professional body (e.g. HCPC, AFT, ACP, BABCP)
Experience
Essential criteria
- Extensive experience of working with challenging children/young people requiring skilled and complex interventions.
- Extensive experience of working with children and adolescents with co-morbid difficulties and special needs
- Extensive experience of working therapeutically with parents/carers/familie s of children and young people with complex mental health problems
- Experience of using observation & assessment skills
- Experience of carrying out generic assessment with other colleagues in the multi -disciplinary team
- Experience of initiating, organising and planning inter -agency meetings aimed at setting in place a treatment package tailored to the individual needs of a child/young person.
- Experience of specialist assessment carried out autonomously in order to determine the most appropriate treatment plan from a range of options for the child/young person.
- Experience of providing professional teaching and training for other professionals working with the client group within the service and within related agencies
- Experience of providing clinical interventions in different cultural contexts
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- An awareness of NHS Priorities and Issues
- Good working knowledge of Outlook, Word, Excel, Power point, Access Electronic diary, email and office management systems
- High level knowledge of the theory and practice of short term and long term in clinical interventions in CAMHS
- Excellent knowledge of emotional, developmental, mental health problems and life span issues.
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to children and adolescents and safeguarding procedures and policies.
- Knowledge of NHS, Social Care and Education structures, national policies and frameworks, evidence based practice including NICE guidance
- Knowledge of risk management and ability to monitor and assess risk and act accordingly to ensure safety.
- Knowledge of research methodology and outcome research methodology and outcome research design and ability to critically interpret research findings
- Knowledge of electronic record systems, ie Rio
Skills
Essential criteria
- Ability to communicate clearly and effectively highly complex and sensitive matters to patients, which give rise to psychological distress.
- Highly developed ability to integrate complex clinical information into a coherent formulation.
- ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information
- Ability to tolerate anxiety without recourse to premature action whilst appreciating the role of the supervisor.
- Capacity to work alone, involving colleagues and manger as relevant
- Ability to plan and organise own workload and time.
- Capacity to write clear records and observe policies, procedures and guidelines
- Ability to use outcome monitoring across all clinical work.
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
If you require any additional support during the application process please contact [email protected]. We are happy to make reasonable adjustments to support you throughout the recruitment journey.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Sarah Birch / Ben Dholakia-Wellens
- Job title
- Senior Child Psychotherapist / Psychology Lead
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 03003001618
- Additional information
Please get in touch for an informal discussion if you would like further information about this role or to arrange a visit. The post is advertised as permanent and full-time, although part time hours/condensed hours may be considered. We look forward to hearing from you.
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