Senior Therapy Lead

North London NHS Foundation Trust; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 81,000; Full time

Job summary

A community-based mental health service in Greater London is seeking a motivated practitioner psychologist or psychotherapist to lead psychological therapists within the Crisis Pathway. You will contribute to strategic direction and improve care for children and young people. The ideal candidate will have a doctorate or equivalent, relevant qualifications, and significant experience in a children’s mental health setting. Competitive salary and opportunities for professional development are offered.

Qualifications

• Doctorate or PhD in psychology or an AFT recognized four-year training in Systemic Psychotherapy.
• Professional healthcare registration relevant to qualification.
• Significant experience at Band 8a or higher in children’s mental health.

Responsibilities

• Lead psychological therapists on the pathway and influence strategic direction.
• Contribute to the strategic development of the Crisis Pathway.
• Provide supervision and consultation to other professionals.

Skills

Clinical skills working with children, young people & families

Excellent verbal and written communication skills

Ability to work across organisational boundaries

Skills in providing consultation

Good IT knowledge

Self-awareness and reflective ability

Awareness of national guidelines in CAMHS

Education

Doctorate / PhD / additional training in relevant profession

Professional healthcare registration (HCPC, UKCP)

Post-qualification training to supervisor level

Management or leadership training

Job description

NCEL CAMHS Home Treatment Team (HTT) provides a community based intensive provision as an alternative to in-patient care for children and young people. HTT service operates within the NHS Long Term Plan and NCEL objectives, focusing on improving access, reducing hospital admissions, and ensuring timely, community-based support for mental health needs. This specification is aligned with the recommendations outlined in the NHS England Guidance (2024) "Urgent and Emergency Mental Health Care for Children and Young People: National Implementation Guidance."HTT offers intensive, short-term interventions designed to stabilise the individual and their family environment, promoting recovery and preventing the need for inpatient care. The service ensures that care is delivered close to home, reducing unnecessary hospital admissions, and promoting recovery through tailored evidence-based interventions. The service operates under the governance of the NCEL Provider Collaborative.Following the temporary closure of Simmons House CAMHS inpatient service, as part of interim plans, North Central London (NCL) CAMHS HTT will enhance its current service provision to support alternative treatment pathways for young people.

Main duties of the job

• Contribute to the strategic development, planning and organization of the Crisis Pathway as a member of the senior leadership team, in line with local strategies and national priorities, working in partnership with a range of agencies and other senior management.
• Provide clinical and professional supervision for psychological therapist within the service and oversee the leadership of psychological therapists within the pathway.
• To provide highly specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals.
• To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care as well as delivering direct therapeutic interventions to young people and their families.
• To lead and develop psychologically informed provision across the NCL HTT including reflective practice, group supervision, and other ways of working.
• To work collaboratively with staff and service users, including via co-production to support service development.
• To provide teaching, workshops and training internally as needed.
• To support with audit and quality improvement

About us

The partnership betweenBarnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust (BEH)andCamden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust (C&I)is going from strength to strength since it was originally established in 2021 forming theNorth London Mental Health Partnership.

In order to meet the needs of the new Partnership services you may be required from time to time to work at different locations to your normal place of work. This may mean that you are required to work at any location that fall under Barnet, Enfield and Harringay Trust and Camden and Islington Trust. The Trust reserves the right to require staff to work at such other places or locations as it considers reasonable and necessary on a temporary or permanent basis.

Job responsibilities

We are looking for a motivated practitioner psychologist or systemic psychotherapist to provide leadership to the psychological therapists on the pathway, and to work within the senior leadership team to influence the strategic direction of the pathway. This is to promote psychological and trauma informed thinking within the care provided by teams across the pathway.

Please see the person specification/job description document for a detailed description of main responsibilities. This is not exhaustive however and other responsibilities can be included across BEH CAMHS as required.

Please note that we reserve the right to close this application early if a sufficient number of applicants is reached - please apply early to avoid missing out.

Person Specification

Qualifications and Registration

• Doctorate / PhD / additional training in relevant profession (counselling, forensic, clinical or educational psychology) or An AFT recognised four year training leading to a qualification in Systemic Psychotherapy/Family Therapy.
• Professional healthcare registration, related to qualification above. (HCPC, UKCP)
• Post-qualification training to supervisor level in one or more additional specialised areas of therapeutic practice relevant to children and young people.
• Specialist training in supervision that has led to 'approved' clinical supervisor status
• Management or leadership training

Skills & Abilities

• Well-developed clinical skills working with children, young people & families.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including communication sensitive information to young people, parents/carers and other professionals, and dealing with complaints.
• Skills in working effectively within and across organisational boundaries.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and nonprofessional groups. Skills in providing teaching/training and professional supervision
• Good computer skills,IT knowledge and knowledge of computer record systems
• A high degree of self-awareness and an ability to reflect on personal and professional attitudes and accept feedback.
• Awareness of current national guidelines and policies in the field of CAMHS and appropriate legislation
• Skills in facilitating reflective spaces or group supervision

Experience & Knowledge

• A significant number of post qualification years of experience at Band 8a or higher in a children / young person's mental health setting.
• Experience of clinical audits and developing action plans for improvement.
• Experience of child safeguarding and risk procedures and how these apply in CAMHS.
• Experience of representing psychological professions at policy level
• Experience of implementing trauma informed practice across systems
• Experience of leadership

Personal Qualities

• Proven qualities in sustaining the mental, emotional, and physical demands of specialized therapeutic work with distressed children, adolescents, and their families/carer networks

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.

£70,396 to £80,837 a yearPer annum including Outer London Allowance