Mental Health Practitioner Therapy Trainee – (ASC/LD) | Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust

Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust; Stevenage; On-site; GBP 20,000 - 25,000; Full time

Job summary

A health service organization in Stevenage seeks a Child and Young People’s Mental Health Practitioner Therapy Trainee to join a 1-year training program focusing on Autism Spectrum Condition and Learning Difficulties. Candidates must be eligible to work in the UK and possess a driving licence. The role includes both academic coursework and practical clinical work, significantly impacting the lives of children and families.

Benefits

Wellbeing initiatives

Lifestyle savings

Qualifications

• Candidates must be eligible to live and work in the UK.
• Must hold a full, valid UK driving licence.
• Experience or understanding of Autism Spectrum Condition or Learning Difficulties.

Responsibilities

• Apply theoretical knowledge to practical clinical interventions.
• Work with children, young people, and their families.
• Engage in both academic and service-based training.

Skills

Eligibility to live and work in the UK

Full, valid UK driving licence

Education

Completion of a relevant academic course

Job description

Overview

Child and Young People’s Mental Health Practitioner Therapy Trainee – Autism Spectrum Condition or Learning Difficulties (ASC/LD).

This is a 1-year fixed term contract. The successful candidate must be able to start the post on 12th January 2026. Step2 is an Early Intervention Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service working towards improving the mental health and emotional wellbeing of children and young people in Hertfordshire.

Training Programme

We have an exciting opportunity for a CYP Psychological Trainings: Therapy Trainee (ASC/LD) 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 1-year position, allowing services to employ trainees to support specialist pathways to bridge the gaps in CYP mental health support. This is a unique opportunity to apply 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.

Training Information

Course start date: 19th January 2026. The post holder will be expected to have 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. The position will be based at Starfish House, 3 North Road, Stevenage, SG1 4AT/Step2 Early Intervention CAMHS, with travel across the county of Hertfordshire. Successful candidates will also be expected to travel to Anna Freud in Central London (Rodney St, N1 9JH) for teaching during the training year. More information about the course content and the different modalities can be found on the Anna Freud webpage: https://www.annafreud.org/ucl-postgraduate-study/ucl-postgraduate-programmes/child-and-young-person-iapt-therapy-pg-dip/

Role Details

For details of the role please see the attached Job Description & Person Specification document.

Working Arrangements

We offer our staff a number of great benefits, wellbeing initiatives and lifestyle savings accessible via our benefits and wellbeing portal. For more detail, please read our ‘HCT Benefits’ document attached to the vacancy adverts. The Trust is committed to gold standard recruitment. Please read our ‘Supplementary Information’ document attached to the vacancy adverts.

Application Process

This is a dual application process. In addition to applying for this position with Step2, you must also complete a UCL application for the Course Team to review. The Course Team will liaise with us on whether you meet the academic requirements for the course during the recruitment process. You will only be offered a UCL training place if you are successful in securing this post and you meet the university training requirements. For further information on how to apply, review the attached document ‘UCL CYP PT Therapy - Application Guidance for Candidates’ for the university application link and more information on how to apply. Also review the additional documents for more information on the role, person specification and working for Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust.

Eligibility and Requirements

• Candidates must be eligible to live and work in the UK.
• Candidates must hold a full, valid UK driving licence and have access to a car to use for business purposes (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010).
• Privacy notice: As you also apply for a training course that is delivered by Anna Freud and UCL, your data may be shared with them for the purpose of processing your application and enrolling you onto this Programme.
• Candidates who have not applied to the university by the closing date of this advert will not be eligible for offer of an interview.
• Direct UCL application link: https://evision.ucl.ac.uk/urd/sits.urd/run/siw_ipp_lgn.login_enc?0qhYzuG1h9udTFM8i9sPhtGiUgIR6D6iP0QBDHq24aUE7Anl4FtDGBDmc3LlBtzaVi6cWmaNYWo=

Important notices

Candidates are advised to avoid use of ChatGPT or similar AI support when completing your application. This vacancy may close early if we receive a high volume of applications. This advert closes on Sunday 21 Sep 2025.