Principal Family and Systemic Psychotherapist

NHS; Welwyn Garden City; On-site; GBP 66,000 - 78,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare trust in mental health is seeking a Principal Family and Systemic Psychotherapist to provide high-quality service to children and adolescents. You will lead evidence-based interventions and work within a multidisciplinary team. Ideal candidates should possess a postgraduate qualification and UKCP registration, and have experience in child mental health. The position offers a salary range of £66,653 to £77,094 per annum.

Qualifications

• Minimum three years post-qualification experience as a systemic psychotherapist.
• Registration with UKCP is required.
• Experience working with children/adolescents and their families.

Responsibilities

• Provide high standard of service to children and families.
• Assess and treat complex emotional and psychological problems.
• Lead on evidence-based therapy provision across clinics.

Skills

Systemic Therapy

Clinical Supervision

Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Interagency Collaboration

Education

Post-graduate qualification in mental health/social welfare

Masters/Doctoral in Systemic Psychotherapy

Job description

HPFT) specialist Children and Young People\'s Mental Health Service (CYPMHS - formerly known as CAMHS).

Principal Family and Systemic Psychotherapist

The closing date is 20 October 2025

HPFT) specialist CYPMHS offers a range of psychological therapies across four community-based tier 3 teams, a crisis assessment/treatment team (C-CATT), an Eating Disorder Team, an inpatient unit (Forest House) and a Targeted Team for looked after children. We have close links with other agencies including the local tier 2 CYPMHS, school link workers, Mental Health Support Teams, and children\'s social services.

As a service, we promote continuing professional development (CPD) and research opportunities. We offer placements to trainees within all psychological therapies and have strong links with local training courses. We value clinical supervision, both peer group and individual. We are an innovative and dynamic service, working as a multidisciplinary team to address new challenges, and we are looking for an enthusiastic Systemic Psychotherapist to join us in going forward.

Main duties of the job

As a senior clinician in the team, you would work closely with the Consultant Psychologist and the Quadrant Leadership Team to lead the clinical work within the wider team as well as manage your own core and specialist caseloads, whilst taking an active role in developing systemic psychotherapy provision in the team and the wider service. You would have close links with the professional lead for systemic psychotherapy and would join the systemic psychotherapy professional network within HPFT CAMHS. Locally, you would be working within a multidisciplinary team.

About us

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of \'Outstanding\' from the Care Quality Commission.

Our family of over 4,500 members of staff provide health and social care for people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. Everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout:

Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.

Job responsibilities

The post-holder will be a member of the multi-disciplinary clinic team and will provide a high standard of service to children, adolescents and their families/carers and to professionals from other organisations.

They will be responsible for assessing and treating children, young people and their families/carers in relation to a range of highly complex emotional, psychological and behavioural problems

The post holder will be responsible for the continued development of the specialist systemic psychotherapy resources within the clinic and for the work undertaken by them.

Providing clinical and professional supervision to less experienced systemic psychotherapists, students and systemic psychotherapists trainees within their local quadrant MDT and also across quadrants as necessary and as agreed with the Consultant Lead Family and Systemic Psychotherapist.

The post-holder will offer Core and Specialist/Specific work (according to CAPA definitions) within the quadrant, and Specialist/Specific work as part of a CYPMHS-wide therapeutic team as appropriate

The post-holder will lead on the provision of a specific model of evidence-based therapeutic intervention across the CAMHS clinics (for example Specialist provision - in line with CAPA model - of Systemic Therapy, Child Psychotherapy, CBT, IPT).

Person Specification

Knowledge, Training Experience

• Post-graduate qualification in appropriate mental health/social welfare profession (e.g. nursing, psychology, psychiatry, social work) or equivalent, and demonstrable practice over a minimum of 4 years.
• Masters/Doctoral level qualification in Systemic Psychotherapy or equivalent.
• Minimum of three years post-qualification experience as a systemic psychotherapist.
• Experience of working with children and/or adolescents and families in a relevant mental health or social welfare setting or equivalent.
• Registration with UKCP
• Additional specialist training in mental health (e . g .Eating Disorders, PTSD, ADHD, self -harm) and evidence of continuing professional development
• Knowledge of and skill in using a wide variety of systemic theories and interventions and the ability to use these appropriately in relation to client need and work setting
• Knowledge of research design and methodology consistent with systemic practice to at least Masters level.
• General knowledge of the literature and research concerning mental health interventions.
• Formal training in provision of supervision.
• Post graduate qualification in systemic supervision.

Areas of Experience and Knowledge

• Experience of self-harm assessment and intervention with both individual child/adolescent and their families
• Knowledge and experience of a range of clinical interventions with Children/Adolescents, their carers and professional networks
• Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision
• Experience of service quality monitoring (e . g . clinical audit, evaluative research etc.).
• Awareness of current relevant legislation and National Service Frameworks and their implications for clinical practice
• Experience in providing consultation to professionals outside CYPMHS
• Experience and knowledge o f CYP -IAPT and Thrive
• Experience of providing a specific model of evidence -based therapy within Specialist CYPMHS as a Specialist/Specific intervention
• Awareness of Child Protection Procedures
• IT Skills
• Experience of working as a senior member of a multi -disciplinary team and/or Herts -wide CYPMHS service and/or with wider professional networks and agencies.
• Experience of leading the development and provision of a psychological therapy service within a CYPMHS MDT

Communication Skills

• Substantial experience of multi-disciplinary team working and interagency collaboration
• Highly developed skills to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, at an ageappropriate level, complex and highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to children, adolescents, their families, carers, and professionals within and outside the NHS, including reports for courts and case conferences
• Skills in providing consultation to professional and non-professional groups
• Sufficient knowledge of other modalities to engage appropriately with colleagues and their work with clients
• General knowledge of the literature and research concerning mental health interventions with Children and adolescents.
• Ability to work with children and young people whose behaviour is personally challenging
• Ability to establish and maintain professional relationships and boundaries with young people.
• Ability to think clearly and express self.
• Highly developed ability to work and communicate effectively with others in order to convey complex and clinically sensitive information to family members of all ages, and to a wide range of lay and professional persons, within and outside the NHS.
• Ability to use supervision effectively and to work collaboratively with supervisor, setting appropriate goals, in accordance with professional ethical guidelines and Trust policies.

Analytical Skills

• Ability to prioritise case referrals, assess and discharge effectively
• Understanding of Risk Assessment and Management.
• Ability to assess reports and clinical information and provide clear and concise information tailored for different audiences
• Skills in professional supervision to meet UKCP requirements: skills in offering live supervision or both systemic psychotherapists and multi -disciplinary colleagues.

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.

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

£66,653 to £77,094 a yearper annum, pro rata (5% HCAS included)