Job summary
- Main area
- Psychotherapy
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 7
- Contract
- Fixed term: 12 months (Permanent offer pending commissioning contracts being signed.)
- Hours
- Full time
- Part time
- Job share
- Flexible working
- Job ref
- 333-G-CA-1687
- Employer
- Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Monks Park Health Centre
- Town
- Wembley
- Salary
- £53,751 - £60,651 per annum incl HCAS pa pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 14/04/2026 23:59
- Interview date
- 21/05/2026
Employer heading
Parent-Infant Psychotherapist/Child Psychotherapist
NHS AfC: Band 7
CNWL (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust) has almost 8,000 staff providing integrated healthcare to a third of London's population, Milton Keynes and areas beyond. We involve service users, carers, the public, staff and partner organisations in the way that we are run.
Our catchment area spans diverse communities, with over 100 first languages spoken. It contains areas of great affluence as well as areas of much deprivation. We are committed to providing services that meet the needs of the people who use them, and we actively encourage involvement from local people who can help make a difference. We’re proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME and people with disabilities to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.
We are recognised locally, nationally and internationally for providing high quality, innovative healthcare. We aim to employ only the best people, and our experts are frequently called upon to contribute to national health strategy and policy, and many models of our care have been adapted for use in other countries.
We offer a generous relocation package (subject to eligibility assessment) and flexible working options, including bank assignments for most roles. For more information on these and other benefits of working for us, see our Benefits, Reward and Wellbeing page
Become part of our team. We care for you as much as you care for others.
CNWL NHS Foundation Trust are committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices to protect children and vulnerable adults.
Job overview
The Brent Parent and Infant Relationship Service (PAIRS) is a new service in CNWL. We are recruiting a Parent-Infant Psychotherapist/Child Psychotherapist to join this recently established team. The post-holder will be based in Brent CAMHS and will have clinics in the community and in Family Hubs/Wellbeing Centres across Brent.
In line with the Start 4 Life/Best Start in Life Programme, PAIRS offers support to infants in the first two years of life (including in pregnancy) and their caregivers experiencing parent-infant relationship difficulties. This includes infants with mental health and emotional wellbeing needs and parents with mild to moderate mental health concerns past or present, risking the parent-infant relationship. This service also extends to fathers, co-parents and the overall familial relationship with the infant, with the infant remaining the focus of the work.
The service is delivered by a reflective and nurturing team comprising a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, Lead Parent-Infant Psychotherapist, Parent-Infant Psychotherapist, and Assistant Psychotherapist.
Main duties of the job
To participate in the development and delivery of an effective PAIRS team and the development of productive working relationships throughout the Trust.
To be responsible for the assessment of infants and families and the delivery of specific parent-infant psychological interventions to infants and parents to promote the quality of their relationships. This will include parent-infant psychotherapy, therapeutic groups, consultation, reflective supervision, offering teaching and training and joint working with multiagency colleagues. This may also include video work (e.g. video interactive guidance), parent work and short term generic CAMHS input.
To be an effective team member whilst working on their own initiative.
To participate in the review and development of clinical policies, protocols and guidelines and identify improvements to service provision.
To participate in the audit process, linking in with the clinical governance agenda.
To contribute to the training experience of trainee psychotherapists and students from other disciples on placement, as appropriate.
This post necessitates working directly and indirectly with parents who have vulnerable infants and are experiencing complex mental health difficulties. Some clients/patients may be difficult to engage and their behaviour may significantly challenge the integrity and welfare of the post holder.
Working for our organisation
Here at CNWL CAMHS, our focus is to create a community and a shared identity as CNWL CAMHS, facilitating an environment for our Child, Adolescent and Family Specialised Workforce to thrive.
Investing in our staff is important to us at CNWL and in CAMHS we have appointed a Workforce Business Transformation Manager as well as a Head of Therapies to support the career development as well as involving staff in creative decision making on roles and team or profession structures. We are currently in the process of creating CAMHS specific career pathway maps and workforce strategy to build on our Trust vision, showing how we will achieve our CNWL goals within CAMHS.
Our Trust-wide CPD programme offers opportunities for staff to develop their skills.
We take flexible working seriously, and will always be open to discussion to meet our workforce's competing work-life demands #TalkAboutFlex
Please note the post necessitates the post holder to travel regularly across Brent and when necessary, to local community amenities or independent sector establishments often transporting test materials, audio-visual and IT equipment.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To provide an efficient, effective, comprehensive and specialist Parent-Infant Psychotherapy assessment and treatment to service users, and support and signposting to parents, to promote the quality of parent-infant relationships.
to undertake parent-infant assessments and contribute to team discussions about initial assessments.
To undertake parent-infant assessments contribute to team discussion about initial assessments and possible interventions. To provide dyadic, triadic and group interventions flexibly which are adapted to the needs of infants and their caregivers in complex and varying degrees of illness and distress.
To offer consultation, reflective spaces, teaching and training on parent-infant mental health and attachment to multi-disciplinary/agency colleagues as required.
To contribute to audit and research.
To actively engage in outcome monitoring, including the use of routine outcome measures associated with this specialist client group.
To work in clinical practice, making use of supervision, within the overall framework of the CAMHS Directorate’s and the Trust’s policies and procedures.
Person specification
Training & Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Masters level preclinical training at an Association of Child Psychotherapists recognised training school; post graduate doctoral level training in clinical child psychotherapy at a training school accredited by the Association of Child Psychotherapy or Association of Child Psychotherapists Statement of Equivalence AND/OR Training in Parent-Infant Psychotherapy accredited by the BPC/UKCP
Desirable criteria
- Pre-qualification training and qualifications in relevant fields in health, social care or education settings
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of specialist psychotherapeutic assessment and treatment of children, adolescents and their parents as a full member of a multidisciplinary team located in community, primary care, outpatient or inpatient setting
- Experience of working with a wide variety child, adolescents across the whole age range (0-18) and their parents, and presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity and complexity
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working in different CAMHS Tiers
- Experience of working with parent-infant psychotherapy
- Experience of the application of child psychotherapy in different cultural contexts
Knowledge & Skills
Essential criteria
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychotherapeutic assessment, intervention and managementSkills in the use of complex methods of psychotherapeutic assessment, intervention and management
- Knowledge of infant mental health
- Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to children and adolescents including child protection procedures and policies
- Ability to tolerate anxiety without recourse to premature action whilst appreciating the role of the supervisor
- Awareness of the implications of working within a managed system
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge of NHS, Social Care and Education Structures, National policies and frameworks
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
- Knowledge of research methodology and outcome research design and ability to critically interpret research findings
Other
Essential criteria
- Ability to form good working relationships with others in a multidisciplinary setting
- Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice
Desirable criteria
- Ability to teach and train others and present the work of Parent-infant mental health within public, professional and academic settings
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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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
- Andrea Katz
- Job title
- Parent-Infant Psychotherapist /Co-lead Brent PAIRS
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07483 172 904
- Additional information
Ben Yeo
Parent-Infant Psychotherapist /Co-lead Brent PAIRS
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