Job summary
- Main area
- Applied Psychology
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8b
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 24.4 hours per week (Option for working extended hours e.g. to compress hours across three days)
- Job ref
- 334-CLI-8315939
- Employer
- South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Wallace Health Centre
- Town
- London
- Closing
- 27/10/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Principal Family and Systemic Psychotherapist
NHS AfC: Band 8b
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We deliver specialist services in the London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Wandsworth and Richmond.
We are committed to provide a high quality and specialist care to our service users and we are recognised for our care and treatment we provide. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’.
We launched our five-year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives in 2021 together with Our Care Improvement System as our quality management system methodology to make a positive impact on patient care, outcomes and staff experience. By joining SLaM, all staff will get the opportunity to be part of this exciting improvement journey supported with learning and development to harness everyone’s potential as change makers.
The trust recognises the unique and valuable contribution that people with lived experience of mental illness can bring to a role. We therefore welcome applications from people with lived experience and consider them as an asset to the Trust.
Our Values
We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values and our promise to be caring, kind, polite, prompt, honest, listen and do what I say I’m going to do is at the heart of everything we do. When you join us, you’ll be part of something special.
As a Trust we are happy to talk flexible working.
Job overview
This Principal Family and Systemic Psychotherapist role will develop and lead our family and carer offer across our five Community Neighbourhood Teams in Lewisham.
It will focus on delivering a range of high quality evidence-based therapies to clients, families and carers, including Open Dialogue, Carer Support, Family Intervention for psychosis, and Systemic Family Therapy.
It will also support our wider community development work alongside our local familes, carers and partner organisations.
Main duties of the job
§ To provide, develop and ensure the systematic provision of a highly specialist family and systemic psychotherapy service (including Family Intervention for psychosis) across adult community services in Lewisham, including specialist assessment, treatment, planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes.
§ To provide clinical supervision and consultation as appropriate. To contribute to service evaluation, audit, research and policy development.
§ To ensure that systems are in place and working effectively for the clinical and professional supervision and support of all other family and systemic psychotherapists, trainees and honorary staff within the service area as appropriate (or responsibility for a specific area of clinical expertise).
§ To work as an autonomous professional within AFT, UKCP, and HCPC guidelines and guided by principles and policies or procedures, taking full responsibility for interpreting policies within defined parameters.
Working for our organisation
About South London and Maudsley:
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well as substance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London and are part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. Our scope is unique because it is built on three major foundations: care and treatment, science and research, and training.
SLaM employ around 5000 staff and serve a local population of 1.1 million people. We have more than 230 services including inpatient wards, outpatient and community services.
By coming to work at SLaM, you will gain experience of being part of an organisation with a rich history and international reputation in mental health care. You will have access to professional development and learning opportunities, and have the chance to work alongside people who are world leaders in their field. SLaM delivered more than 14,000 training experiences in 2014; providing an extensive range of learning opportunities for staff at all levels. In addition, our working relationship with King's Health Partners allows those working at the Trust to get involved in academic research.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
KR 1 Clinical and Client Care
· To liaise with other agencies and service providers in relation to the provision of systemic psychotherapy, family intervention, family work and systems/family-oriented services as appropriate to the role.
KR 2 Contributing to team or service clinical functioning
· To co-ordinate and chair, service and directorate meetings related to families and carers, to ensure effective functioning and review outcomes and progress, as appropriate.
KR 3 Policy and service development
· To implement policies and service changes related to families and carers.
· To identify aspects of the service which could be improved and initiate and implement service development projects, that affect a range of professions or services.
KR 4 Care or management of resources
· To take care of, and use carefully, the Trust’s equipment and physical resources.
· To ensure that the post-holder has sufficient resources by estimating future needs and requesting or ordering supplies as needed.
KR 5 Management and supervision
· To provide professional leadership to more junior family and systemic psychotherapists and other professionals, as appropriate.
· To be responsible for the day-to-day supervision or co-ordination of an agreed workload of more junior family and systemic psychotherapists.
KR 6 Teaching and Training
· To plan and undertake teaching and training of pre and post-qualification family and systemic psychotherapists and specialised training to other professions as appropriate.
KR 7 Record-keeping and Information Governance
· To ensure that all information generated by own work is recorded as required by Trust policies and local procedures.
· To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- • Post-graduate qualification in relevant mental health/social welfare profession and demonstrable practice in this field (A/I)
- • Masters level qualification in Family and Systemic Psychotherapy or equivalent qualification, accredited by UKCP (A/I)
- • Additional training in a specialised area of systemic practice through formal post-qualification training (PG Diploma or equivalent), OR a combination of specialist short courses, OR an evidenced portfolio of supervised practice–based learning in a specialist area of clinical practice, assessed by an experienced clinical supervisor to be of equal level to a Postgraduate Diploma. (A/I/R)
- • Registered with the UKCP as Systemic Psychotherapist and evidence of continuing professional development as required by the UKCP. (A/I)
- • Accredited by AFT to supervise qualified Systemic and Family Psychotherapists (A/I)
Desirable criteria
- • Completion of post-graduate certificate Family Intervention in Psychosis training. (A/I)
Experience
Essential criteria
- • Evidence of having worked as a qualified systemic family psychotherapist under supervision in adult community multi-disciplinary services. (A/I/R)
- • Experience of specialist systemic assessment, formulation and intervention with individuals and families with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature, including psychosis and complex trauma. (A/I)
- • Experience of supervising trainee family and systemic psychotherapists, having completed the relevant training. (A/I)
- • Experience of providing teaching and training to family and systemic psychotherapists or other professional groups. (A/I)
- • Experience of working with, and addressing issues of, diversity, including experience of working within a multicultural framework. (A/I)
Desirable criteria
- • Experience of supervising and managing qualified professionals. (A/I)
- • Experience of developing and leading community mental health teams/services. (A/I)
- • Record of publications in either peer reviewed, academic or professional journals/books (A/I/R)
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- • Highly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised systemic and psychological therapies for complex adult mental health presentations, including psychosis. (A/I/R)
- • Advanced theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatment complex adult mental health presentations, including psychosis. (A/I/R)
- • Advanced knowledge of assessment techniques for working with adults with complex mental health presentations. (A/I/R)
- • Advanced knowledge of a wide range of systemic and family models and interventions. (A/I/R)
- • Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health issues and child protection. (A/I/R)
Skills
Essential criteria
- • Highly specialist skills in the selection and use of complex assessments, interpreting and integrating complex data that require analysis, interpretation and comparison, drawn from several sources, on which opinion may differ. (A/I/R)
- • To communicate skilfully and sensitively complex and sensitive information with clients, families, carers, and colleagues, overcoming sensory, emotional and cultural barriers to communication. (A/I/R)
- • Advanced consultation skills to work with the multi-professional team or other professional groups. (A/I/R)
- • Skills in providing teaching and training to other professional groups. (A/I/R)
- • Advanced 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. (A/I/R)
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
- Dr James Duffy
- Job title
- Consultant Clinical Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07976460826
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