CYP Clinical Psychologist | NELFT NHS Foundation Trust

North East London NHS Foundation Trust; Tonbridge; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare organization is recruiting a qualified Clinical or Counselling Psychologist for their Kent & Medway Adolescent Hospital MDT. The role involves providing specialized psychological services to children and adolescents, overseeing clinical assessments, and collaborating with multi-disciplinary teams to ensure effective mental health support. Candidates should be passionate about working in children's mental health and possess HCPC registration. The position also includes responsibilities for supervising trainees and contributing to service development.

Qualifications

• HCPC registration required.
• Experience supervising assistant psychologists and trainees preferred.
• Knowledge of psychological assessment and treatment methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Provide a comprehensive psychological service for children and adolescents.
• Supervise assistant psychologists and trainees.
• Conduct clinical assessments and treatment plans.

Skills

Qualified HCPC Clinical or Counselling Psychologist

Experience in child and adolescent mental health

Multi-disciplinary collaboration

Understanding of cultural differences

Therapeutic interventions

Education

Doctorate in Clinical Psychology

Job description

The post-holder will be a qualified fully registered HCPC Clinical or Counselling Psychologist with a passion for working in this area. As part of the QNIC recommended structure for inpatient CYP units, we are recruiting for these psychology posts into our Kent & Medway Adolescent Hospital MDT. The post holder will work very closely with Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services across inpatient and community in Kent NELFT, the Kent and Sussex provider collaborative and other stakeholders. The post holder will work very closely with the Kent NELFT Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) Service who offer specialist DBT assessments and interventions to YP and their families who are referred.

The post holder will be part of the ward MDT as well as linking with the Intensive Home Treatment team to ensure a smooth pathway for CYP between inpatient and community flow. The post holder will facilitate the therapeutic component of the ward programme with the MDT to ensure the clinical model is delivered with senior members of the Psychological Professions team.

The postholder will join a thriving psychological professions team across comprehensive CAMHS (inpatient and community). We have strong links with our local psychology training institute and on-going NHSE training for workforce expansion and upskilling.

Responsibilities

• To provide an efficient, effective, comprehensive and specialist psychological service for children and adolescents with emotional and mental health problems, their carers/parents, and families.
• Where appropriate to supervise assistant psychologists and trainees across the services.
• To contribute to multi-disciplinary assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with emotional and mental health problems, their carers/parents, and families.
• To undertake a range of clinical work, assessment work and parenting support.
• To contribute to audit and research.
• To actively engage in treatment and outcome monitoring, including the use of normed measures associated with CYP-IAPT.
• To work in clinical practice, making use of supervision, within the overall framework CYPMHS and the Trust’s policies and procedures.
• To act as an autonomous professional fully registered with the appropriate professional or regulatory body (e.g. HCPC).
• To use appropriate clinical understanding in assessing, jointly with colleagues in the multidisciplinary team, children, adolescents, and their families to formulate their strengths and difficulties and to determine the most appropriate treatment plan.
• To work alongside other colleagues in CYPMHS and in the care pathway to provide an in‑depth comprehensive assessment of the child’s, young person’s, and family’s functioning where there is a constellation of high dysfunction and entrenched difficulties in the family.
• To provide therapeutic interventions with due regard to issues of cultural, racial and religious difference and sexual orientation.
• To provide clinical assessment of children and young people with severe, highly complex and persistent mental health problems.
• To undertake observations of children in school settings as part of wider assessments.
• To provide therapeutic interventions (including parent/child work, group work, parent support input, psycho‑education and brief individual work with children and young people).
• To facilitate the development of a positive and ‘supportive’ team culture by taking responsibility for dealing effectively with potential conflict.
• To take an active interest in working parties and groups within the Trust to develop and improve service delivery, protocols, and guidelines.
• To participate in the audit process, linking in with the clinical governance agenda.

Values

• We are kind.
• We are respectful.
• We work together with our communities.

Probationary Period

This post will be subject to a probationary period. NELFT place great importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks, including mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers and attend a number of drop‑in sessions focusing on engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.

This advert closes on Monday 15 Dec 2025.