Job overview

A permanent position has arisen within the Royal London Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for an experienced psychotherapist. The Unit consists of a multidisciplinary team of neonatologists, surgeons, junior doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, health care support workers and other members of the wider hospital team.

The Royal London Hospital serves a diverse community and equally consists of a large multi-disciplinary team with different backgrounds. It is therefore important that the post holder is able to demonstrate an ability to work with people from all backgrounds. Language and cultural barriers may need to be overcome with creative and empathic communication. 

The psychotherapist will have a psychoanalytic or psychodynamic background, will have experience working with individuals, couples and groups, and have significant experience working within the NHS. You will be joining the only psychotherapist on the Unit, however, it is important that the post holder is able to work autonomously and manage the demands of the role within the limitations of three days per week.

The role is based on the Neonatal Unit and you are expected to join any pre-existing clinical network and attend psychosocial, MDT meetings and safeguarding meetings across teams. You will have a chance to have clinical mentorship support. 

For more information please contact Deborah Jackson, Senior Nurse [email protected] or Dr Anup Kage – NICU Clinical Lead @ [email protected] 

Main duties of the job

1.    To provide a high quality specialist psychotherapy service to the parents / carers of babies on the NICU and the NICU staff team

2.    To provide specialist consultation, assessment and treatment for parents / carers of babies on the NICU

3.    To provide specialist consultation, supervision, debriefing and psychological support to the NICU staff team

4.    To develop and support the psychotherapeutic skills of the NICU staff via teaching, supervision and reflective spaces, support and consultation.

5.    To provide a psychotherapeutic perspective / expertise for NICU activities, including clinical care, team or service dynamics, systems, as part of case discussions, team meetings and in other relevant settings

Working for our organisation

Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain’s leading healthcare providers.  

The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation. Having lifted ourselves out of special measures, we now have the impetus and breathing space to chart a fresh course in which we are continually striving to improve all our services for patients.  

Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.  

We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment.