Band 8a Highly Specialist Adult Psychotherapist

NHS; London; On-site; GBP 64,000 - 72,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in London is seeking a Highly Specialist Adult Psychotherapist to join their Adult Psychotherapy Service. The successful applicant will work with patients in primary care and general psychiatry, providing specialized assessments and psychodynamic treatment. This role offers opportunities for professional growth, including reflective practice and supervision. Candidates must hold a relevant psychoanalytic qualification and have strong communication skills.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Professional development opportunities

Supportive team environment

Qualifications

• Experience in assessment and treatment in an outpatient setting.
• Ability to provide individual psychodynamic psychotherapy management.
• Knowledge of relevant legislation and national treatment guidelines.

Responsibilities

• Provide psychodynamic psychotherapy treatment for patients with complex needs.
• Engage with multidisciplinary staff teams for patient consultation.
• Contribute to the development of high-quality services.

Skills

Effective communication skills

Knowledge of psychotherapy research

Ability to work autonomously

Education

BPC accredited qualification as a Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist

Qualification in a core profession (medical, psychology, etc.)

Relevant honors degree or equivalent

Tools

Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Band 8a Highly Specialist Adult Psychotherapist

An opportunity has arisen for the successful applicant to be appointed to a new 0.5 w.t.e. 8a post in Adult Psychotherapy in the Hammersmith and Fulham Psychotherapy Service.

The H&F Psychotherapy Service serves the adult population of Hammersmith and Fulham and provides psychotherapy expertise to primary care and mental health services operating within the borough. It has a longstanding tradition of close joint working with community psychiatry colleagues for the provision of outpatient psychotherapy treatment for patients with complex needs. It has an ethos of integrating psychotherapy treatment and psychoanalytic thinking with psychiatric care. It provides a range of direct clinical care through individual, group and systemic psychotherapy.

The Psychotherapy service is situated in the Claybrook Centre, an outpatient community psychiatry building. The post holder joins an experienced team comprising of a Consultant Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy, a part time Principal Adult Psychotherapist, two part-time Principal Psychotherapists in Group and Systemic Psychotherapy and a part-time Highly Specialist Adult Psychotherapist.

The successful applicant will offer psychotherapy assessment and psychodynamic psychotherapy to patients from primary care but also patients who are in general psychiatry.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will also have an opportunity to take active role in linking and providing consultation to the community psychiatry MINT teams and primary care about the management of complex cases.

There are opportunities for further development in reflective practice, supervision, teaching and audit according to the post holder's interests.

It is essential that the post holder is able to work at the Department on Thursday as this is the day of the department team meetings.

To contribute to the development of a high quality, responsive and accessible service for the patients referred and treated in the department

To provide specialist assessments for psychodynamic psychotherapy for referred patients, including risk assessment, making appropriate use of complex data from a variety of sources including referral information, liaison with other teams and agencies. To communicate in a timely way, the outcome of the assessment and therapy to the patient, the referrer, the multidisciplinary team and other involved agencies as appropriate.

To provide individual psychodynamic psychotherapy treatment and management for patients with severe and complex needsusing sensitivity, skill and an understanding of unconscious processes

To provide expert clinical consultation to clinicians across the service (MINT) and primary care regarding the psychoanalytically informed care of patients.

To engage and contribute to the team's meetings.

About us

West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.

Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ over 5,000 staff, of whom 59% are BME. Our turnover for 2024-25 is over £500m.

The Trust is rated as 'Good' overallby the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as 'Outstanding'.

The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.

Job responsibilities

The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached

The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.

Person Specification

Qualifications and Training

• A BPC accredited (or equivalent) qualification as a Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist or Psychoanalyst (or being close to obtaining this)
• Qualification in a core profession e.g. medical, psychology, social work, nursing, teaching or extensive clinical experience at post-qualification level.
• Relevant honours degree or a recognised equivalent.
• Recognised further training in other modality or type of psychotherapy e.g. group psychotherapy

Experience

• A personal analytical psychotherapy or psychoanalysis of at least three times per week and of sufficient intensity and duration to be able to work according to psychoanalytic principles with the most difficult and demanding cases
• Experience in assessment and treatment, including individual psychoanalytic psychotherapy, in an outpatient setting
• Experience in carrying own caseload in psychoanalytic psychotherapy, working independently and autonomously as a specialist practitioner.
• Experience in offering consultation, staff support and reflective practice to multidisciplinary staff teams and other professionals.
• Experience of clinically supervising, teaching and training junior staff and trainees.
• Experience of representing psychotherapy within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
• Experience of the application of psychodynamic thinking in different cultural contexts.

Knowledge and Skills

• Well-developed ability to effectively communicate highly sensitive and/or technical information to patients, as well as to professional colleagues within and outside the NHS both orally and in writing.
• Knowledge of psychotherapy research and relevant national treatment guidelines.
• Knowledge of relevant legislation and policy and its implication for clinical practice, professional management and service development.
• Evidence of on-going commitment to relevant CPD.
• Ability to respond flexibly to service developments and patient needs.
• Knowledge of and respect for other psychological treatment models employed in the NHS together with an understanding of the role of psychodynamic psychotherapy in a modern NHS Mental Health Service
• Adequate keyboard skills and an ability to use Word, email and internet. Some familiarity with other software such as Excel and PowerPoint
• Ability to respond flexibly to service developments and patient needs.
• Knowledge of different pathways of care and mental health provision available in statutory and non-statutory sectors.
• Knowledge of psychiatric diagnoses and treatments.
• Knowledge of audit and research design and methodology, including techniques of analysing quantitative and qualitative data.
• Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychotherapeutic approaches to the care of specific difficult to treat groups including personality disorder

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

£64,156 to £71,148 a yearper annum pro rata inclusive of 20% HCAS