CAMHS Practitioner. CYP’s PT: Therapy Trainee Practitioner (IPT-A)

Whittington Maternity Voices Partnership; London Borough of Islington; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

Whittington Health NHS Trust is offering a CAMHS Practitioner CYP-PT Therapy Trainee (IPT-A) role in Islington CAMHS. This NHS AfC Band 6 fixed-term, 12-month, full-time position (37.5 hours per week) is based at Northern Health Centre, London.

The post is part of the NHS England funded CYP Psychological Training Programme, with training at UCL/Anna Freud Centre and teaching at Anna Freud Centre in Central London. Start January 2027; travel between sites. NHSE funds salary and training costs.

Qualifications

• Postgraduate level training required for IPT-A.
• Two+ years post-qualification experience in youth mental health.
• UK professional registration is required.

Responsibilities

• Provide IPT-A therapy to adolescents within CAMHS.
• Balance training commitments with clinical workload.
• Work with diverse communities and use interpreters when needed.

Skills

Communication skills

Safeguarding knowledge

Multidisciplinary collaboration

IPT-A principles

Education

MH professional registration

Degree or equivalent

Job description

CAMHS Practitioner. CYP’s PT: Therapy Trainee Practitioner (IPT-A)

NHS AfC: Band 6

Main area CAMHS Practitioner CYP-PT Therapy Trainee (IPT-A) Grade NHS AfC: Band 6 Contract 12 months (fixed term for one year from the start date) Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 220-WHT-8312299

Employer Whittington Health NHS Trust Employer type NHS Site Northern Health Centre Islington CAMHS, Town London Salary Per Annum Including HCAS Closing 28/10/2026 23:59

Please note in order to progress your application, your data will be processed by our 3 rd party recruitment providers – North London Partners Shared Service, who conduct recruitment activities on behalf of Whittington Health NHS Trust.

By applying for this role, you accept in the event you are successful that your personal data may be transferred from the Trust to another NHS organisation where your employment transfers within the NHS. This is in accordance with the streamlining programme which is aimed at saving you time and improving efficiencies within the NHS when your employment transfers.

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We recognise that AI tools can support accessibility, equity and confidence for applicants. However, it’s important that examples and responses genuinely reflect your own experience and abilities, as these will be explored further during the selection process. AI must not be used to provide misleading or false information during any stage of the application journey.

Whittington Health NHS Trust is committed to ensuring that its recruitment processes are carried out with integrity, transparency, and fairness for all applicants. To help maintain these standards, we ask candidates to provide accurate and truthful information throughout the recruitment process.

If incorrect or misleading information is identified, this may affect the progression of an application, any employment offer, or continued employment. As part of our due diligence, the company may verify the information provided by applicants and take appropriate act ion where necessary.

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Our service has an exciting opportunity for a CYP Psychological Trainings: Therapy Trainee (Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depression in adolescents, IPT-A) to join our team as part of the NHS England (NHSE) funded Children and Young People (CYP) Psychological Training Programmes.

This government-funded initiative promotes the growth and skill of the child mental health workforce to meet much needed demand. NHSE covers salary and training costs for a one-year full-time position, allowing services to employ trainees to support specialist pathways to bridge the gaps in CYP mental health support.

This training post involves part time working as a Practitioner in Islington CAMHS and part time studying with the University College London(UCL)/Anna Freud Centre undertaking a programme of training in Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depression in adolescents (IPT-A). This is a unique opportunity to apply your learning from weekly teaching into practical clinical interventions working with clients in the service making a direct impact in the lives of children, young people and their families.

The post holder will hold an appropriate training case load and complete the necessary assignments to meet the course requirements. The post holder will work with people with different cultural backgrounds and ages, using interpreters when necessary and should be committed to equity, diversity and inclusion.

Main duties of the job

We are seeking highly motivated candidates who are enthusiastic about making a difference to children and young people’s mental health through evidence-based interventions based on NICE Guideline recommended treatment. You will be committed to the CYP Psychological Training Programme core principles: accessibility, accountability, participation, awareness and evidence-based practice and in providing an inclusive and effective service for children and young people, along with a dedication to equity, diversity and inclusion.

This role will be best suited for applicants that are able to balance a very busy work and study schedule. You will be an employee at Islington CAMHS but also enrolled on a Postgraduate Diploma course.

Please note: The position will be based at Islington CAMHS, Northern Health Centre, 580 Holloway road, London, N7 6LB; but successful candidates will be expected to travel to Anna Freud in Central London (Rodney St, N1 9JH) for teaching during the training year.

Working for our organisation

Islington CAMHS is an integrated multi- disciplinary service providing a child and family mental health service to the population of Islington across the 0-18 year age range. The service provides a range of community based, multi-disciplinary interventions and specialist treatments and consultation to partnership agencies. Our local Future in Mind Transformation Plan has been refreshed and we are recruiting to meet the aspirations of the new plan, including work force development and early intervention. The population we serve come from the 40,500 children and young people in Islington. 60% are from ethnic backgrounds other than white British which accounts for the other 40%. 120 different languages are spoken in the homes of Islington children. Islington is the 4th most deprived Local Authority in London and 12th most deprived local authority in England.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached JD/PS for job description and main duties.

Training Information
This full-time training will begin in January 2027 with around 2.5 days a week for academic work (teaching and personal study), and 2.5 days based at the service seeing clients (children, young people, and carers) related to training assignments. Trainees will be both an employee of the service and an enrolled student with UCL/Anna Freud. Upon completion, qualified trainees will receive a UCL Postgraduate Diploma.

As this is a Postgraduate level training, you will be required to study and perform at academic level. Applicants must be prepared to work towards their studies outside of protected study time (such as on weekends and after work).

Candidates will need to be available to start by Tuesday 12th January 2027 (with the course starting on the 18th January 2027).

Person specification

Education/qualifications

• Qualifications that demonstrate a capacity to complete academic work at postgraduate diploma level.
• Registered/accredited Professional Qualification in a MH profession
• Degree or equivalent

Skills and abilities

• Ability to communicate effectively and sensitively with children, young people, and their families, whilst considering social differences.
• Ability to maintain a reflective stance in emotive/challenging interactions with children and their families.
• Capability to complete academic work at postgraduate diploma level, including IELTS or equivalent to the appropriate level for students with English as a foreign language (Level 2) https://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/english-language-requirements
• Understanding of evidence-based practice and the ability to demonstrate how this influences clinical practice

Knowledge and experience

• Two or more years of post -qualification experience working therapeutically with young people and/or their families in a mental health setting
• Knowledge and understanding of issues relating to safeguarding
• Experience of multi agency working and liaising across internal & external agencies
• Basic knowledge and understanding of IPT -A principles
• Demonstrates an understanding of child and adolescent development and its significance for emotional well-being and mental health
• Ability to work within a team and foster good working relationships with colleagues inside and beyond the service
• Motivation to learn and be challenged

Other

• Commitment to using data and relevant measures to assess clinical outcomes
• Ability to balance the academic demands of the course with clinical placement demands

SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN AND ADULTS

To comply with the Trust’s Safeguarding Children and Adults policies, procedures and protocols. All individual members of staff (paid or unpaid) have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults This will require you to:

• Ensure you are familiar with and comply with the London Child Protection Procedures and protocols for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people.
• Ensure you are familiar and comply with theLondon Multi Agency Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Pan London Procedures.
• Ensure you are familiar and comply with local protocols and systems for information sharing.
• Know the appropriate contact numbers and required reporting lines.
• Participate in required training and supervision.
• Comply with required professional boundaries and codes of conduct

Whittington Health is committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Our processes –

• Closing dates are given as a guide; we are within our right to close adverts early so please ensure you submit your application as soon as possible to avoid delay.
• If you do not hear from us up to 3 weeks after the closing date of the job unfortunatelythis means you have not been successfullyshortlisted for interview. If your require feedback on your application please contact the appointing manager detailed in the body of the advert.
• Please check your emails regularly as all correspondence from us will be via trac.systems – occasionally these emails will go into your Junk folder.
• Employment at Whittington Health is offered subject to successful completion of a 6 month probationary period for all staff with the exception of GMC Registered Doctors.

Other important information –

• You must already have the right to work in the United Kingdom or fully meet the eligibility criteria for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route. We welcome applications from candidates who require visa sponsorship; however, we can only consider these where all UKVI requirements are met. Before applying, please ensure that both you and the role satisfy the relevant UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) points‑based system criteria, as applications that do not meet these requirements cannot be progressed. For more information about the criteria, please click here
• Applications are welcome from people wishing to job share or work flexible patterns. We are committed to equal opportunities.
• In submitting an application form, you authorise WhittingtonHealth NHS Trust to confirm any previous NHS service details via the Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process should you be appointed to the post.

If you are offered a role with one of the NLPSS partner trusts, as part of pre-employment checks youridentity and right to work documentation will be verifiedremotely (in most circumstances), using a certified identity verification service provider TrustID. You will be asked to capture an image of the relevant documents as well as a “selfie” using your smartphone/tablet (if available) for facial matching. TrustID will also perform a digital address check using Trunarrative and Equifax, which is a soft check and does not leave a footprint on your credit rating. For more information, visit www.trustid.co.uk

Please note that during the recruitment process your Identity Documentation (i.e. passport, driving licence, visa, etc.) will be scanned using a device which recognises UV, Infrared and Machine Readable Zone security features of the documents provided

The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.

We would welcome applications from individuals who are from underrepresented groups in the organisation

Employer certification / accreditation badges

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.

Application numbers

This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. Please complete and submit your application in good time to avoid disappointment.

Name Maria Clara Vejarano-Brill Job title IPT-A Modality Lead Email address [e-mail] Additional information

The closing date for applications is: 28th October 2026

For further information or discussion about this post, please contact Maria Clara Vejarano-Brill ([e-mail]) or Charles Beaumont ([e-mail]).