Highly Specialist Family and Systemic Psychotherapist

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust; Greater London; On-site; GBP 64,000 - 72,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent NHS Trust in mental health is seeking a Highly Specialist Family and Systemic Psychotherapist to provide systemic family therapy to service users over 65. The role involves comprehensive assessments and interventions, working closely with a multidisciplinary team. Candidates should be registered with the UKCP, with substantial experience in therapy related to complex mental health needs. Opportunities for professional development are provided, alongside a competitive salary package.

Benefits

Access to professional development opportunities

Participation in innovative mental health initiatives

Qualifications

• Recognised qualification in a core mental health profession.
• Completed training course in clinical supervision.
• Significant experience in individual and group therapy.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist psychological assessments and interventions.
• Contribute to the effective working of the Psychology & Psychotherapy Service.
• Implement policies and procedures in area of work.

Skills

Communication

Clinical supervision

Assessment and treatment

Consultation

Family therapy

Education

Masters level qualification in Family and Systemic Psychotherapy

Registered with the UKCP as Systemic Psychotherapist

Post-graduate qualification in relevant mental health profession

Job description

Go back South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Highly Specialist Family and Systemic Psychotherapist

The closing date is 16 December 2025

This is an exciting opportunity to join the secondary mental health Psychology & Psychotherapy Service for Older People as a Senior Family Therapist registered with UKCP for 0.6 WTE. The role involves the provision of systemic family therapy to service users over the age of 65 (and their families). Referrals present with various complex and chronic mental health presentations, and sometimes other comorbid physical conditions, as well as social care needs.

The older adult family therapy clinic sits within the wider Psychology and Psychotherapy Service for Older Adults. The clinic offers therapy to couples, families and their support systems across the 4 boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham and Croydon. Referrals are seen in two clinic bases; Lewisham and Croydon.

Staff in the Psychology & Psychotherapy service work alongside the CMHTs for older adults. We are therefore looking for an enthusiastic Senior Family Therapist who is aware of the importance of close working relationship with Multi‑Disciplinary Team colleagues. You must show an understanding of the issues older adults and their families experience, as well as an interest in working with older adults and their networks, although prior experience with this age‑group is not essential.

You will be expected to work autonomously, with service users and their families and to support other professionals by offering supervision, consultation, and systemic formulation.

Main duties of the job

• To provide highly specialist systemic psychotherapy to Older Adults and their families under the care of the Psychology & Psychotherapy Service for Older Adults; including specialist assessment, treatment, planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes.
• To contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment.
• To provide clinical supervision and consultation as appropriate.
• To promote service evaluation, audit and research.
• To work as an autonomous professional within AFT and UKCP guidelines and codes of conduct, and guided by the policies and procedures of the service, taking responsibility for own work including treatment and discharge decisions with support of clinical supervisor
• To be active in the provision of staff support within their area, including but not limited to Critical Incident Staff Support and Reflect‑Support‑Resolve. To participate, as a recipient, in staff support work when appropriate.

About us

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well as substance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London and are part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. There are very few organisations in the world that have such wide-ranging capabilities working with mental illness. Our scope is unique because it is built on three major foundations: care and treatment, science and research, and training.

SLaM employ around 5000 staff and serve a local population of 1.1 million people. We have more than 230 services including inpatient wards, outpatient and community services. Currently, provide inpatient care for approximately 5,300 people each year and treat more than 45,000 patients in the community in Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark; as well as substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich.

By coming to work at SLaM, you will gain experience of being part of an organisation with a rich history and international reputation in mental health care. You will have access to professional development and learning opportunities, and have the chance to work alongside people who are world leaders in their field.

Job responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

KR 1 Clinical and Client Care

To provide specialist psychological assessments, formulations and interventions for clients (individuals, couples, families and social networks where the identified client has complex mental health needs).

To provide culturally appropriate psychological or psychotherapeutic interventions with carers or families of referred clients when required.

To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans.

To provide reports, including relevant formulation, opinion and interventions, in order to inform referrers and, where appropriate, service users and their families.

To select and deliver evidence‑based specialist therapeutic interventions, drawing from a spectrum of ideas and models, monitoring outcome and modifying and adapting interventions as necessary, based on the highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, couple, family or group.

To promote psychological support for carers (or families as appropriate) of referred clients.

KR 2 Contributing to team or service clinical functioning

To contribute to the effective working of the Psychology & Psychotherapy Service for Older Adults and to a psychologically/psychotherapeutically informed framework for the service.

To contribute to the team or services delivery of accessible and acceptable services to diverse local communities.

To be proactive in challenging discrimination and support the development of culturally competent services.

To liaise with referrers, GPs and other professionals concerned with clients in order to develop and review care plans.

To liaise with the service/s MDT and other professionals.

KR 3 Policy and service development

To implement policies and procedures in own area of work, and to propose improvements or beneficial changes.

To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities.

To contribute to service development through undertaking and participating in appropriate projects.

KR 4 Care or management of resources

To take care of, and use carefully, the Trusts equipment and physical resources.

To ensure that the post-holder has sufficient resources by estimating future needs and requesting or ordering supplies as needed.

To ensure the cleanliness and safe functioning and use of equipment that will be used by clients or other persons.

To monitor and advise clients on the safe use of materials and processes.

To ensure adequate confidential and safe storage for artefacts produced during the therapy process in line with professional guidelines.

To be responsible for obtaining, storing and maintaining all materials and equipment for the provision of therapy in work setting within budgetary constraints.

KR 5 Management and supervision

To be responsible for the allocation and/or clinical supervision of the work of a paid assistant if required, under supervision from a more senior therapist.

To supervise trainees within own area of specialism after completion of the relevant Supervision Training.

KR 6 Teaching and training

To provide occasional specialist training in psychological/psychotherapeutic approaches to care to other professions as appropriate.

To disseminate research/service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.

KR 7 Record‑keeping and Information Governance

To ensure that all information generated by own work is recorded as required by Trust policies and local procedures.

To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry.

KR 8 Research and development

To undertake regular complex service evaluation, audits or research relevant to service needs.

KR 9 Maintaining professional standards and continuing professional development

To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more senior therapist according to discipline, professional body and Trust guidelines.

To maintain own Continuing Professional Development in line with professional body and Trust Personal Development Plan requirements and professional Standards for Continuing Professional Development.

To maintain an up‑to‑date knowledge of current developments in professional and clinical practice and of relevant legislation and policies.

To comply with professional body Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics/Standards of Proficiency.

KR10 General

To travel to .(e.g. home visits, community placements, meetings) as appropriate and across the Trust when required.

To be aware of risk relating to aggressive and challenging behaviour amongst the client group, and follow trust policies relating to its management.

[Delete where not relevant to the post] To work flexibly which may include offering some regular commitment to late clinics or Saturday working, within the overall Job Plan.

To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations (such as challenging behaviour, abuse etc) and to support others involved in such situations through Trust‑wide approaches including Critical Incident Staff Support and Reflect‑Support‑Resolve.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Recognised qualification in one of the core mental health professions, e.g. psychiatric nursing, clinical psychology, medicine, social work and occupational therapy OR to have equivalent relevant experience and demonstrable competence to work in the mental health field in the NHS.
• Post‑graduate qualification in relevant mental health/social welfare profession and demonstrable practice in this field
• Masters level qualification in Family and Systemic Psychotherapy or equivalent qualification, accredited by UKCP
• Registered with the UKCP as Systemic Psychotherapist and evidence of continuing professional development as required by the UKCP. (A/I)
• Completed training course in clinical supervision and/or Accredited by AFT to supervise qualified Systemic and Family Psychotherapists (A/I)

Experience

• Experience of receiving clinical supervision across a range of client needs.
• Experience of assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature.
• Experience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities. This may have been gained through work, research, volunteering and / or lived experience
• Experience of developing and carrying out audit/research projects.
• Significant post‑qualification/graduation experience including experience of individual and group therapy with people with complex mental health needs.
• Experience of working with Older Adults
• Experience of working in Secondary Health Care

Knowledge

• Theoretical knowledge of Mental Health presentations and the evidence base for relevant interventions with individuals, families and networks.
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of family and systemic psychotherapy, psychological assessments, formulations and interventions for a range of diagnostic groups and Mental Health presentations.
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to older adult mental health issues, child and adult protection, and equalities.
• Knowledge of factors affecting acceptability and accessibility of mental health care.
• To deliver psychological/psychotherapeutic therapy across cultural and other differences.

Skills

• To communicate skilfully and sensitively complex and sensitive information with clients, carers and colleagues overcoming barriers to communication including sensory, and emotional difficulties, cultural differences and hostility to or rejection of information.
• To plan and schedule assessment and interventions for individual clients and groups and carers .
• Skills in providing teaching and training to other professional groups.
• Consultation skills to work with the multi‑professional team or other professional groups and sensitively managing, a number of people's needs simultaneously within the context of therapeutic work/consultation
• Specialist practitioner skills in Family Therapy

Abilities

• Ability to work effectively within a multi‑disciplinary team, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles.
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate
• Ability to develop and use complex multi‑media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic meetings
• Ability to maintain concentration and to remain in restricted positions for long periods during observations, assessments and psychological interventions, and to deal with unexpected interruptions or changes during these.
• Ability to manage emotionally stressful situations such as working with victims of abuse or trauma, or with people who engage in severe self‑harming or aggressive behaviour.

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.

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

£64,156 to £71,148 a yearper annum inclusive of HCAs