Job summary
- Main area
- Mental Health
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 7
- Contract
- 5 months (Fixed term contract until 31st March 2027)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 354-CS-21987
- Employer
- Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Orchard House, Victoria Hospital (Other locations in Sussex consiedered)
- Town
- Lewes
- Salary
- £49,387 - £56,515 pa
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 12/10/2026 08:00
Employer heading
Family and Systemic Psychotherapist
NHS AfC: Band 7
Come and join us
We’re looking for people who share our values of compassion, accountability and optimism to help us provide high quality care for the patients, carers, families and communities we serve. We specialise in NHS mental health and learning disability services and we’re proud to make a difference every day.
At SPFT we put people first. We’ll do everything possible to help you feel respected, valued and included. You’ll have opportunities to learn, grow and gain new experiences to support your career, with access to lifelong learning and professional development.
We actively promote flexible working and understand how important work life balance is, especially in healthcare. Whether it’s part time hours, hybrid working or flexible start and finish times, we’ll explore what works for you and the role.
We recognise that tools like AI are becoming part of everyday life and you may choose to use them when preparing your application. We welcome this, as long as what you submit reflects your own experience, skills and voice. AI can be helpful for structuring or refining your answers, but it should not replace your own examples or create content that isn’t based on your real experience.
Our recruitment process is designed to get to know you, and we’ll explore your examples further at interview, so it’s important your application genuinely represents what you bring. You can read more about using AI in applications and interviews on our recruitment process page.
We’re shaping a workplace where ideas are encouraged, technology supports you and everyone has a voice in how we improve. If that sounds like the kind of organisation you want to be part of, we’d love to hear from you.
Job overview
This is an exciting opportunity for a Band 7 Family and Systemic Psychotherapist to join Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust on a full-time fixed-term contract until 31 March 2027. The post will focus on delivering systemic family consultation interventions for young people and their families within CAMHS across Sussex.
The postholder will provide brief, focused systemic interventions, to support young people, families and wider systems in addressing difficulties and promoting positive change.
The successful applicant will receive direct clinical and professional supervision from the Family and Systemic Therapy Professional Lead and will play a key role in expanding access to timely, evidence-based systemic support for children, young people and their families across Sussex. This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced systemic practitioner who is passionate about delivering high-quality family interventions and promoting systemic practice within integrated CAMHS teams.
Main duties of the job
Responsibilities will primarily focus on providing high-quality systemic family consultation and therapeutic interventions for children and young people with moderate to severe mental health difficulties, and their families, carers and wider networks. The post has been established as a fixed-term initiative to increase access to systemic interventions and reduce waiting times for families within CAMHS.
The postholder will deliver brief, focused episodes of care, typically offering between 3 and 6 systemic sessions, undertaking assessment, formulation and intervention with young people and their families. They will work closely with multidisciplinary colleagues to ensure timely access to support and effective care planning, while maintaining accurate and timely clinical records.
The successful applicant will receive direct clinical and professional supervision from the Family and Systemic Therapy Professional Lead and will contribute to the delivery of evidence-based systemic practice across Sussex CAMHS.
Working for our organisation
We provide mental health and learning disability care for children, young people and adults across Sussex and for children and young people in Hampshire.
Working in Sussex:
- Travel easily between stunning countryside, picturesque villages and seaside towns, with great access to Brighton and London
- Easy access to Gatwick and Heathrow plus excellent railway links across the UK
Our organisation is rated ‘outstanding’ for caring and 'good' overall by the Care Quality Commission. Our staff agree, with 82% of people in our recent staff survey telling us that they recognise that care for patients is our top priority.
See the attached ‘Partnership Perks’ document for details about our benefits package.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Recognised/accredited postgraduate level training in a psychological therapy as specified in one of the Appendices
- Professionally registered as specified in the same Appendix
Knowledge/Experience
Essential criteria
- Substantial experience of specialist psychological therapy (assessment, formulation and treatment), as specified in the same Appendix, maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse
- A high level of competence in applying a psychological therapy to complex difficulties appropriate for this therapy with the client group, and a proven track record of delivering positive outcomes in this therapy
- Experience of offering teaching, training and supervision within a demanding organisational context
- A clear and theoretically informed approach to supervision
- Experience of representing psychological therapy within the context of multi-disciplinary care within a complex organisational context
- Significant experience of working with the particular client group served by the team/service
- Knowledge of guidance and legislation in relation to the client group.
- A high-level specialist knowledge of the theory and practice of specialist psychological therapy as specified in the same appendix, as applied to the client group using this service
- Experience of the application of psychological therapy in different cultural contexts and experience of working within a multicultural framework
- Evidence of continuing professional development as equired by the professional registration/accrediting body specified in the same appendix
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
- John Cavanagh
- Job title
- Professional lead-family & systemic psychotherapy
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07738757213
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