Senior Perinatal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist/CBT Therapist

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

Job summary

A leading healthcare organization in the UK seeks a Senior Perinatal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist. This role focuses on delivering evidence-based psychological therapies to support women and families during the perinatal period. Candidates should have a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or equivalent, with skills in CBT and EMDR being advantageous. This full-time, permanent role is based in South London and offers a competitive salary alongside professional development opportunities.

Qualifications

• Registered with HCPC as Practitioner Psychologist.
• Post-graduate qualification and BABCP accredited as a CBT therapist.
• Experience in secondary care mental health services.

Responsibilities

• Provide psychological assessment to women and families during the perinatal period.
• Deliver evidence-based psychological therapies for maternal mental health.
• Contribute to a multi-disciplinary team.

Skills

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)

Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR)

Knowledge of perinatal mental health

Cultural sensitivity

Education

Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or equivalent

Post‑graduate qualification in CBT

Job description

Senior Perinatal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist/CBT Therapist

The closing date is 04 January 2026

The Perinatal Mental Health Service has a highly skilled team of perinatal psychological therapists who are committed to providing evidence‑based interventions to women, birthing people and their families that are accessible and acceptable to the diverse South London population. We are recruiting a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist/CBT Therapist to work in Lambeth and across the Trust as required.

Our psychological workforce and the therapeutic modalities that we offer are a key part of delivering the ambitions of the NHS Long Term Plan. This post focuses primarily on delivery of perinatal psychological therapies for maternal mental health problems, including Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR), Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). There is a focus on coproduction, quality, supervision and ongoing audit and evaluation, keeping the experience of service users at the heart.

The successful applicant will join a friendly and supportive psychological therapies service that offers excellent opportunities for research and continuing professional development.

We are committed to getting the very best out of our staff and supporting their career aspirations. Dependent on the role we offer ongoing training and development in different therapeutic modalities relevant to the area. Specialist perinatal psychology clinical and professional supervision will be provided from within the service.

Main duties of the job

We are looking for a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist or Accredited Cognitive Behaviour Therapist to provide psychological assessment and intervention to women, birthing people and their families in the perinatal period, as well as contribute to the multi‑disciplinary team.

We would like to hear from those who have experience delivering psychological therapies in secondary care or within an MDT setting, and are proficient in delivering NICE concordant interventions for depression, anxiety disorders, psychosis and bipolar affective disorder.

You will ideally have experience of working with women, birthing people and their families within the perinatal period and / or a keen interest to develop knowledge and skills in this area. Specialist perinatal supervision will be provided and you will join a friendly and supportive team of specialist perinatal psychologists and psychological therapists.

About us

Perinatal Mental Health Teams (PMHTs) are secondary care mental health teams that specialise in supporting women and birthing people in the perinatal period (pregnancy through until 12 months postnatal) who have severe and complex mental health difficulties.

We assess and treat a range of difficulties including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, psychosis, personality disorders and eating disorders. The service is designed to provide timely input to families to mitigate the impact of mental health disorder on the child.

We are a multi‑disciplinary team including psychiatry, psychology, nursing, occupational therapy, and nursery nursing. The service works closely with maternity/obstetric services as well as other agencies (e.g., health visiting and social services). We have close links with the Mother-Baby Unit (MBU) in‑patient unit at the Bethlem Royal Hospital.

This vacancy involves working from team base(s) in the Trust (not remote working).

Job responsibilities

Please see the full job description for further information.

This post is open to Clinical Psychologists, Counselling Psychologists and Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapists who have the relevant professional registration. Perinatal mental health experience is not essential, but desirable. Qualification/accreditation in one or more of the following is very relevant, although not essential: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR), Interpersonal Therapy (IPT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT).

Interviews for this vacancy will be held face to face (no online interviews).

Person Specification

Qualifications & Professional Registration

• Psychologist: Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or equivalent; OR MSc and PG Diploma in Counselling Psychology; Registered with the HCPC as Practitioner Psychologist and evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HCPC, if applicable.
• CBT Psychotherapist: Post‑graduate qualification and BABCP accredited as a CBT psychotherapist
• Completed training course in clinical supervision.
• Training in or experience of psychological interventions for complex presentations (e.g., EMDR, DBT, schema therapy).
• Training in or experience of providing family or couple interventions.
• Training in or experience of utilising video feedback to enhance mother‑infant interactions.

Experience

• Evidence of having worked as a clinical specialist under supervision in secondary care mental health services.
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and the delivery of Cognitive‑Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and other evidence based interventions with service users who have a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in the perinatal period.
• Experience of supervising assistant and trainee psychologists having completed the relevant training.
• Post‑qualification experience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities.
• Experience of carrying out post‑doctoral research, audit or service evaluation projects.
• Pre or post qualification experience of working in a specialist perinatal mental health service or mental health service in maternity.
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in the perinatal period

Knowledge

• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessments and interventions for women presenting with mental health difficulties in the perinatal period.
• Knowledge of the impact of maternal mental illness on the baby, including the impact on the mother‑infant relationship.
• Theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatment.
• Advanced knowledge of psychological assessment and clinical psychometrics.
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health issues, child and adult protection, and equalities.

Skills and Abilities

• To deliver psychological therapy across cultural and other differences.
• To select and administer specialist psychological assessments, interpreting and integrating complex data that require analysis, interpretation and comparison, drawn from several sources.
• 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, and for meetings as required.
• To plan allocation of tasks to assistant psychologists.

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.

Address

£64,156 to £71,148 a year per annum Incl. of HCAs

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full‑time

Reference number

334‑CLI‑7617533

Job locations

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust