Principal High Intensity CBT Therapist (Step 2 Clinical Lead)

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust; City Of London; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS Trust in London is seeking an experienced Step 2 Clinical Lead for the Lambeth NHS Talking Therapies. The role involves managing clinical services, supporting team development, and providing high-quality care to residents. Ideal candidates will have extensive NHS experience and skills in psychological assessments and leadership. The position offers a fixed-term contract for 13 months.

Qualifications

• Extensive NHS Talking Therapies experience required.
• Must provide NICE-recommended interventions.
• Ability to manage complex cases and lead teams.

Responsibilities

• Plan and manage delivery of IAPT services.
• Support and develop clinical work of the team.
• Ensure the efficient use of resources.

Skills

Clinical expertise in IAPT

Leadership and management

Psychological assessments

Collaboration with services

Education

Relevant clinical qualification

BABCP/BPS/HCPC registration

Job description

Overview

A Vacancy at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. A fixed term opportunity has arisen to cover the Step 2 Clinical Lead role at Lambeth NHS Talking Therapies for a fixed-term period of 13 months to provide maternity cover. The post-holder will work within the Lambeth NHS Talking Therapies Service, which provides a wide range of IAPT services to Lambeth residents and operates a stepped care service model.

The Step 2 Clinical Lead will be an experienced psychological therapist with extensive NHS Talking Therapies (IAPT) experience. They will be part of the management team, work closely with the service lead and deputy service lead, and play a key role in supporting, guiding and developing the clinical work of the Step 2 team, with a focus on continuing service improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Plan, manage and evaluate the delivery of services within Lambeth Talking Therapies.
• Assess service need for a service area, and current and future capacity.
• Plan and manage recruitment to meet service needs.
• Monitor and evaluate service activity and outcomes.
• Ensure efficient use of resources through design and refinement of systems and processes and adoption of new ways of delivering care.
• Design and implement new care pathways in collaboration with referrers and other services.
• Develop and update policies and procedures for high-quality clinical services.
• Commission and monitor external provision of services as agreed.

Team Management

• Agree job plans, performance targets and development goals with your team and monitor progress through the appraisal process.
• Foster a supportive, performance-focused team ethos through leadership, meetings and supervision.
• Assume responsibility for staff well-being and address issues through formal and informal systems.
• Induct new team members, ensure training and support, and review progress regularly.
• Ensure a programme of clinical training and development for the team is in place and regularly refreshed.
• Maintain good two-way communication between staff and service management.
• Lead team meetings.

Service Leadership

• Share responsibility for the direction and development of the service; participate in monthly service management meetings and lead team and whole-team meetings.
• Provide regular reports on activity and performance; identify areas for improvement and initiate service development projects.
• Lead on recruitment of CBT therapists, PWPs, administration staff, assistant psychologists and trainees.
• Contribute to user consultation and engagement in planning and developing services.
• Respond to patient complaints appropriately and professionally; participate in clinical governance initiatives.
• Promote a culture that values outcome measures and service user involvement to improve clinical practice.
• Keep abreast of local and national developments in mental health services and lead proactive responses in LTT.
• Travel across the Trust as required and contribute to cross-service initiatives.

Clinical

• Provide expertise in a highly specialist clinical area contributing to treatment of clients with anxiety disorders or depression within an IAPT framework.
• Deliver NICE-recommended, formulation-driven interventions for depression and anxiety disorders; consider social support, employment and voluntary work in therapy.
• Provide highly specialist assessment and formulation for clients with complex needs (including personality disorders, addiction and trauma).
• Provide psychological reports with formulation, opinion and interventions to inform referrers and service users where appropriate.
• Deliver and monitor highly specialist evidence-based treatments, adapting interventions as needed; collect and interpret outcome data to inform treatment planning.
• Travel to community settings and across the Trust as required; maintain a clinical caseload in line with activity targets.
• Communicate complex information sensitively with clients, carers and colleagues, considering cultural and sensory barriers.
• Maintain clear, accurate records in line with service protocols; manage risk and develop risk management plans.
• Refer more severe cases to the secondary care psychological therapies service and ensure clear referral pathways within the IAPT team.

Teaching, Training and Supervision

• Receive regular clinical and professional supervision according to BABCP/BPS/HCPC and Trust guidelines.
• Contribute to the knowledge base within Lambeth IAPT by staying aware of current developments and applying them in practice.
• Provide professional, managerial and clinical supervision to HI CBT therapists, PWPs, trainees, assistant psychologists and junior staff, including live supervision.
• Deliver outcome-focused supervision to supervised staff and participate in LI and HI supervisors groups.
• Provide service-level risk management and contribute to on-call risk rota; develop risk management plans.
• Provide specialist training to other professions as appropriate and plan teaching for pre/post-qualification psychologists and other professionals.
• Supervise the psychological work of multi-disciplinary staff as appropriate.

Research and Service Development

• Support a culture that values outcome measures and evidence-based practice; encourage critical evaluation of practice and undertake research.
• Use theory and literature to support practice and disseminate findings to inform clinical practice.
• Contribute to service development through evaluation and audit; disseminate findings through presentations and publications.

Professional

• Work autonomously as a professional, adhering to HPC/BABCP guidelines and service policies; take responsibility for own work and discharge decisions.
• Maintain Continuing Professional Development in line with BPS/BABCP/UKCP and Trust requirements.
• Stay informed about advances in CBT and IAPT; work within CBT principles and the Clinical Governance Framework.

General

• Participate in IAPT service and Lambeth Directorate meetings; lead investigations into Serious Untoward Events as required.
• Respond professionally to emotionally distressing situations and support others involved.
• Travel to GP practices and service meetings as appropriate; occasional evening and Saturday work may be required.
• Advert closes on Tuesday 30 Sep 2025.