Senior Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist - Preceptor Opportunity

NHS; Barnstaple; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

An established healthcare provider is seeking a Senior Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist to enhance mental health services for children and young people. This role offers the chance to work within a supportive multi-disciplinary team, providing specialized psychotherapy and assessments to those facing complex mental health challenges. You will be part of a vibrant network dedicated to clinical excellence and professional development, with opportunities for specialized training. If you are passionate about making a difference in the lives of young people and their families, this position is perfect for you.

Benefits

Preceptorship opportunity

Regular clinical supervision

Dedicated job planning time

Access to specialist training opportunities

Qualifications

• Qualified Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist with experience in complex assessments.
• Skilled in providing clinical supervision and working collaboratively in teams.

Responsibilities

• Provide high-quality assessments and psychotherapy to children and families.
• Contribute to service development and quality improvement initiatives.

Skills

Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy

Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

Clinical Supervision

Multi-disciplinary Team Collaboration

Complex Assessments

Trauma-informed Practice

Education

Doctorate Level ACP accredited training in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy

Full member of Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP)

Post qualification specialist therapy training

Job description

Senior Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist - Preceptor Opportunity

We are delighted to be recruiting a Senior Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist to join the Mood, Emotions and Relationships (MERs) Pathway within Children and Family Health Devon (CFHD). This 0.8 WTE post is based in North Devon and is offered at Band 8a, or at Band 7 under a preceptorship, subject to meeting criteria to progress.

This is an exciting opportunity to shape and develop the psychotherapeutic offer within a multi-disciplinary team working with children and young people experiencing moderate to severe mental health needs. You will join a growing network of CAPTs within CFHD, with a Principal CAPT providing clinical leadership, and a strong culture of shared learning, CPD, and peer support.

While this role is based in North Devon, there may be opportunities in the future to consider other psychotherapy roles across CFHD, depending on service need and professional interests.

In line with our commitment to high-quality and diverse therapeutic provision, we are also offering access to specialist training opportunities, including EMDR, based on individual clinical interests and service priorities.

We Offer:

• A preceptorship opportunity for early career psychotherapists to develop into an 8a role.
• A friendly and well-established CAPT network, with strong links to national bodies and local training placements.
• Regular clinical supervision and line management, along with dedicated job planning time.

Main duties of the job

• Provide specialist psychoanalytic psychotherapy, offering high-quality assessments, formulations, and interventions to children, young people, and families.
• Contribute advanced psychological thinking to multi-disciplinary team discussions, care planning, and joint working.
• Offer consultation and supervision to team members, supporting trauma-informed, formulation-driven practice.
• Take part in service development, audits, and quality improvement initiatives, shaping the future of the MERs pathway.
• Maintain a complex caseload, working flexibly to meet the individual needs of young people experiencing a wide range of mental health difficulties.
• Support and promote co-production, inclusive practice, and participation, ensuring the voice of children and families informs service delivery.
• Engage in regular supervision, CPD, and reflective practice, contributing to your own development and that of the wider CAPT profession within CFHD.

This role is ideal for a qualified or newly qualified CAPT looking to work within a collaborative team and supportive service, with a strong focus on clinical excellence, relational approaches, and shared leadership.

If you are a compassionate, reflective, and committed Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, we would love to hear from you.

About us

Children and Family Health Devon (CFHD) comprises an Alliance of NHS organisations working together to improve health outcomes for children and young people in Devon.

CFHD provides integrated care and treatment for children and young people across physical and mental health which are provided by Torbay and South Devon Foundation Trust and Devon Partnership Trust. We are working closely with other organisations and providers to ensure we deliver locality and county-wide based integrated access to all of our services, based on the i-Thrive Framework.

CFHD works closely with our local universities of Plymouth, Exeter & the Peninsula Medical School where we support students in clinical training placements and in addition support our own staff to undertake post graduate training.

Our integrated care and treatment has been developed and refined in partnership with children, young people and their families/carers.

Job responsibilities

You will be a qualified and experienced Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist ready to move into a Senior role. You will have a passion for working with children, young people and families with complex needs. You will have the knowledge and skills to undertake complex assessments and deliver skilful psychotherapy interventions. You will have experience in supporting the development of others through supervision and training and be keen to further develop this. You will be a reflective practitioner with strengths to bring to a multi-disciplinary team and consultative work. You will be committed to service user participation and collaborative working with children, young people, parents, carers and families. You will have a good understanding of safeguarding across the lifespan. You will be motivated to further develop your leadership skills to contribute to quality improvement and service development within your pathway and the wider service.

Mood, Emotions and Relationships Pathway

The appointed Senior Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist will work within a strong multi-disciplinary team, providing assessments and therapy to children with severe, chronic and enduring mental health concerns such as depression, anxiety-based disorders and Trauma. You would be expected to work with children, young people and families to understand their experiences and presenting concerns in order to formulate and provide an appropriate evidence-based intervention. You will work with other agencies as required and be able to assess and respond to clinical and safeguarding risks as needed. You will contribute to team discussions and complex case consultations, bringing enhanced formulation skills as well as knowledge and experience to support the team processes, reflections and formulation.

As a Senior Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, you will require a high degree of professional autonomy and self-management. You will provide clinical supervision to Trainee Psychotherapists when possible as well as Band 7 colleagues and colleagues from other disciplines where appropriate. You will use your clinical leadership, audit and research skill to take a lead in areas of service development to support a culture of Quality improvement.

The multi-disciplinary teams include registered Mental Health Practitioners from a range of backgrounds including Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Social Work and creative therapies, Child & Adolescent Psychotherapy colleagues, Systemic Psychotherapists, Clinical Psychologists, CBT Therapists and Psychiatrists.

Person Specification

Experience

• Experience of working collaboratively with service users and their families/carers, including using goal-based care and routine outcome measures in practice.
• Experience of working collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary team and across agencies
• Experience of working with a wide variety of child mental health problems, across the whole age range, reflecting all levels of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems and verbal abuse
• Experience of undertaking specialist mental health assessment and therapeutic interventions for children and young people with highly complex mental health problems; including risk assessments
• Experience in providing effective clinical supervision, teaching, training and assessing in clinical practice.

Qualifications

• Doctorate Level ACP accredited training in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy
• Full member of Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP).
• Post qualification specialist therapy/assessment training relevant to children and young people
• Post qualification training or proven equivalent experience in supervision.

Other

• An Enhanced DBS Check will be required for this role.
• Ability to travel across Devon.

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.