Specialist DBT Therapist

NHS; London; On-site; GBP 54,000 - 61,000; Full time

Job summary

A major NHS mental health service in London is seeking a full-time Specialist DBT Therapist to deliver comprehensive Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) to clients with complex psychological issues. The role includes individual therapy, group training, and collaboration with care teams. Applicants should have relevant qualifications and experience in DBT and working with diverse populations.

Benefits

Access to professional development

Experience with a leading mental health organization

Qualifications

• Experience of psychological assessment and treatment of complex psychological needs.
• Experience of working with clients with Borderline/Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder.
• Knowledge of psychological assessment and formulation.

Responsibilities

• Provide 1:1 DBT therapy to clients.
• Co-facilitate DBT skills training groups.
• Consult with teams on DBT implementation.

Skills

DBT Therapy

Crisis management

Cultural competency

Team collaboration

Education

Entry-level qualification in psychological therapy

Intensively trained in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy

Job description

Job summary

We are pleased to offer a full time, permanent, band 7 Specialist DBT Therapist post in our Southwark Service. This post offers the opportunity to join a friendly team of committed clinicians and to work with complex presentations and includes the management of risk, personality difficulties, complex trauma, mental health and social inequalities.

An important part of the role is supporting CMHT colleague in the work they do with clients with Borderline Personality Disorder who may present with high risk and interpersonal challenges. This is an ideal post to apply these skills as well as to provide training and education to care coordinators and teams.

The DBT service delivers the full DBT programme, consisting of weekly individual therapeutic work, group sessions, phone consultation as indicated, and weekly DBT team consultation.

A commitment to considering the impact of a client's cultural context is essential working in Southwark. We welcome applicants with experience in working with a diverse population and a desire to reach out to under-represented groups.

Main duties of the job

To offer 1:1 DBT therapy to clients from the Southwark DBT WL and to co-facilitate skills training groups

To offer regular consultation to teams eg CMHTs offering DBT understandings of BPD and enhancing the skills of the teams in these spaces

To offer planned training and education to care coordinators and teams in DBT

To attend and contribute to the weekly DBT Consult space

To contribute to the efficient running of the service in use of the systems and processes in place

To help contribute to the development of the service to perform at its maximum efficiency and effectiveness

About us

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well as substance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London and are part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. There are very few organisations in the world that have such wide-ranging capabilities working with mental illness.

SLaM employ around 5000 staff and serve a local population of 1.1 million people. We have more than 230 services including inpatient wards, outpatient and community services. Currently, we provide inpatient care for approximately 5,300 people each year and treat more than 45,000 patients in the community in Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark; as well as substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich.

By coming to work at SLaM, you will gain experience of being part of an organisation with a rich history and international reputation in mental health care. You will have access to professional development and learning opportunities, and have the chance to work alongside people who are world leaders in their field. In addition, our working relationship with King's Health Partners allows those working at the Trust to get involved in academic research.

Details Date posted

30 July 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£54,320 to £60,981 a year per annum Incl. of HCAs

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

334-CLI-7271994

Job locations

Walworth Road CMHT, Chaucer Community Resource Centre

13 Ann Moss Way, London

London

SE16 2TH

Job description Job responsibilities

To provide a specialist Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) service to clients with Borderline/Emotionally-Unstable Personality Disorder (BPD/EUPD) and comorbid difficulties associated with underlying emotional dysregulation. The job will entail delivering comprehensive DBT (individual DBT sessions, DBT skills training [group sessions], DBT telephone coaching and attending weekly DBT Team Consult meetings), planning and delivering DBT-S groups within the community teams, conducting specialist assessments and comprehensive monitoring of clinical outcomes. The job will also require the post holder to offer consultation to other professionals and teams as appropriate, and plan and deliver training or teaching as needed. The post holder will also be required to contribute to service evaluation, audit and research.

Our values and commitments:

Key Responsibilities:

Clinical

• To deliver comprehensive DBT, including individual DBT sessions, skills training (group and individual), and out-of-hours DBT telephone coaching. This work will also include delivering Prolonged Exposure (DBT-PE) for trauma, for clients with comorbid PTSD.
• To provide specialist assessment and clinical formulation to clients with significant difficulties with emotional and behavioural dysregulation, particularly clients with Borderline/Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (BPD/EUPD) who engage in suicidal and parasuicidal behaviour and have co-morbid difficulties (e.g. substance misuse, eating difficulties, anger control problems).
• To design and deliver adjunctive therapy groups, both for clients in the DBT Service and for appropriate clients in the Southwark Assessment and Liaison primary mental health team (e.g. DBT Steps Group, Managing Emotions groups), monitoring outcomes and modifying and adapting interventions, drawing on principles and skills from DBTICBT.
• To work as an autonomous professional within Health Care Professions Council {HCPC) and the policies and procedures of the Trust and both the wider and local DBT Service, taking responsibility for own work including treatment and discharge decisions, under guidance from both DBT Consult and individual DBT supervision.
• To attend and contribute fully to the weekly DBT Consult team meetings. To work as an effective team member (being non-defensive, willing, fallible, open, supportive of others etc.)
• To liaise with referrers, GPs and other professionals concerned with clients to develop and review treatment plans and care plans.
• To assess and monitor risk regularly in sessions and draw up appropriate risk management plans and adapt these plans accordingly, particularly for clients with multiple services involved.
• To be responsible for delivering DBT-informed psychological interventions with carers (or families as appropriate) of referred clients, including offering 'Family Connections' groups.
• To support DBT clients' care coordinators in the community teams and offer consultation to other team members with queries in relation to DBT service provision.
• To advise other members of the DBT Service, the wider borough community services (Lewisham, Croydon and Lambeth), and appropriate other services (e.g. PCMHTs, local CAMHS services, acute wards) on specialist psychological care of clients with BPD/EUPD and related difficulties. To communicate complex and sensitive information skilfully, compassionately and thoughtfully to clients and carers, taking account of any sensory and

cultural barriers to communication in line with clients' wishes.

Teaching training, and supervision

• To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more senior member of the DBT Service according to HCPC and Trust guidelines.
• To attend and participate fully in the DBT Consult team meetings on a weekly basis.
• To provide specialist training in DBT-informed ways of working with complex/high risk clients to other professions as appropriate.
• To provide consultation and support for DBT-informed work undertaken by Band 6 community team members or assistant psychologists linked to the DBT Service.
• To provide supervision for the DBT-informed work of other multi-disciplinary staff as appropriate.

Management, recruitment, policy and service development

To identify any aspects of the service which could be improved and contribute to the service development through undertaking and participating in appropriate projects.

To manage agreed workload of assistant psychologists, as required, under supervision from the Band 8a or a more senior DBT clinician.

To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services:

To participate in clinical governance initiatives as agreed by the Directorate clinical governance committee and team.

Research and service evaluation

To contribute to the development of the DBT Service through undertaking service evaluation and audit.

To contribute to the development of systematic outcome measurement, assessment, implementation and assisting other staff in the implementation of same.

To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.

General Responsibilities

To ensure own Continuing Professional Development in line with Trust Continuing Personal and Professional Development Plan requirements.

To maintain an up-to-date knowledge of current developments in DBT and in professional and clinical practice and of relevant legislation and policies.

To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry.

To comply with the HCPC 'Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics' and ensure professional development in line with the HCPC 'Standards for Continuing Professional Development' and 'Standards of Proficiency'.

To ensure that all services provided are acceptable and accessible to the diverse communities which make up the Treatment Service in Southwark.

Job description Job responsibilities

To provide a specialist Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) service to clients with Borderline/Emotionally-Unstable Personality Disorder (BPD/EUPD) and comorbid difficulties associated with underlying emotional dysregulation. The job will entail delivering comprehensive DBT (individual DBT sessions, DBT skills training [group sessions], DBT telephone coaching and attending weekly DBT Team Consult meetings), planning and delivering DBT-S groups within the community teams, conducting specialist assessments and comprehensive monitoring of clinical outcomes. The job will also require the post holder to offer consultation to other professionals and teams as appropriate, and plan and deliver training or teaching as needed. The post holder will also be required to contribute to service evaluation, audit and research.

Our values and commitments:

Key Responsibilities:

Clinical

• To deliver comprehensive DBT, including individual DBT sessions, skills training (group and individual), and out-of-hours DBT telephone coaching. This work will also include delivering Prolonged Exposure (DBT-PE) for trauma, for clients with comorbid PTSD.
• To provide specialist assessment and clinical formulation to clients with significant difficulties with emotional and behavioural dysregulation, particularly clients with Borderline/Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (BPD/EUPD) who engage in suicidal and parasuicidal behaviour and have co-morbid difficulties (e.g. substance misuse, eating difficulties, anger control problems).
• To design and deliver adjunctive therapy groups, both for clients in the DBT Service and for appropriate clients in the Southwark Assessment and Liaison primary mental health team (e.g. DBT Steps Group, Managing Emotions groups), monitoring outcomes and modifying and adapting interventions, drawing on principles and skills from DBTICBT.
• To work as an autonomous professional within Health Care Professions Council {HCPC) and the policies and procedures of the Trust and both the wider and local DBT Service, taking responsibility for own work including treatment and discharge decisions, under guidance from both DBT Consult and individual DBT supervision.
• To attend and contribute fully to the weekly DBT Consult team meetings. To work as an effective team member (being non-defensive, willing, fallible, open, supportive of others etc.)
• To liaise with referrers, GPs and other professionals concerned with clients to develop and review treatment plans and care plans.
• To assess and monitor risk regularly in sessions and draw up appropriate risk management plans and adapt these plans accordingly, particularly for clients with multiple services involved.
• To be responsible for delivering DBT-informed psychological interventions with carers (or families as appropriate) of referred clients, including offering 'Family Connections' groups.
• To support DBT clients' care coordinators in the community teams and offer consultation to other team members with queries in relation to DBT service provision.
• To advise other members of the DBT Service, the wider borough community services (Lewisham, Croydon and Lambeth), and appropriate other services (e.g. PCMHTs, local CAMHS services, acute wards) on specialist psychological care of clients with BPD/EUPD and related difficulties. To communicate complex and sensitive information skilfully, compassionately and thoughtfully to clients and carers, taking account of any sensory and

cultural barriers to communication in line with clients' wishes.

Teaching training, and supervision

• To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more senior member of the DBT Service according to HCPC and Trust guidelines.
• To attend and participate fully in the DBT Consult team meetings on a weekly basis.
• To provide specialist training in DBT-informed ways of working with complex/high risk clients to other professions as appropriate.
• To provide consultation and support for DBT-informed work undertaken by Band 6 community team members or assistant psychologists linked to the DBT Service.
• To provide supervision for the DBT-informed work of other multi-disciplinary staff as appropriate.

Management, recruitment, policy and service development

To identify any aspects of the service which could be improved and contribute to the service development through undertaking and participating in appropriate projects.

To manage agreed workload of assistant psychologists, as required, under supervision from the Band 8a or a more senior DBT clinician.

To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services:

To participate in clinical governance initiatives as agreed by the Directorate clinical governance committee and team.

Research and service evaluation

To contribute to the development of the DBT Service through undertaking service evaluation and audit.

To contribute to the development of systematic outcome measurement, assessment, implementation and assisting other staff in the implementation of same.

To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.

General Responsibilities

To ensure own Continuing Professional Development in line with Trust Continuing Personal and Professional Development Plan requirements.

To maintain an up-to-date knowledge of current developments in DBT and in professional and clinical practice and of relevant legislation and policies.

To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry.

To comply with the HCPC 'Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics' and ensure professional development in line with the HCPC 'Standards for Continuing Professional Development' and 'Standards of Proficiency'.

To ensure that all services provided are acceptable and accessible to the diverse communities which make up the Treatment Service in Southwark.

Person Specification Qualifications Essential

• oEntry-level qualification in applied psychological therapy/mental health/social welfare profession and demonstrable practice in this field that has been accepted for the purposes of professional registration

Desirable

• oIntensively trained in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
• oAccredited with SfDBT

Experience Essential

• oExperience of psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature (A/I/E)
• oExperience of working with adult clients with a range of difficulties using CBT principles/skills (A/I/E)
• oExperience of working with, and addressing issues of, diversity
• oExperience of receiving regular clinical supervision across a range of client needs
• oExperience of working with clients with Borderline/Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (BPD/EUPD)

Desirable

• oExperience of developing and carrying out research projects (A/I/D)
• oExperience of delivering comprehensive Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (A/I/D)
• Person with lived experience of mental health challenges

Knowledge/Skills Essential

• oKnowledge of psychological assessment and formulation
• oSpecialist and transferable psychological skills and knowledge relevant to working with clients with Borderline / Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (BPD/EUPD)
• oTheoretical knowledge of CBT and psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatment
• oTheoretical knowledge of DBT
• oKnowledge of key legislation relating to mental health issues and Borderline/Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (BPD/EUPD)

Desirable

• oAbility to develop and use complex multi-media materials for skills groups, presentations in public, professional and academic meetings
• oRecord of publications in academic or professional journals/books

Person Specification Qualifications Essential

• oEntry-level qualification in applied psychological therapy/mental health/social welfare profession and demonstrable practice in this field that has been accepted for the purposes of professional registration

Desirable

• oIntensively trained in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
• oAccredited with SfDBT

Experience Essential

• oExperience of psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature (A/I/E)
• oExperience of working with adult clients with a range of difficulties using CBT principles/skills (A/I/E)
• oExperience of working with, and addressing issues of, diversity
• oExperience of receiving regular clinical supervision across a range of client needs
• oExperience of working with clients with Borderline/Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (BPD/EUPD)

Desirable

• oExperience of developing and carrying out research projects (A/I/D)
• oExperience of delivering comprehensive Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (A/I/D)
• Person with lived experience of mental health challenges

Knowledge/Skills Essential

• oKnowledge of psychological assessment and formulation
• oSpecialist and transferable psychological skills and knowledge relevant to working with clients with Borderline / Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (BPD/EUPD)
• oTheoretical knowledge of CBT and psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatment
• oTheoretical knowledge of DBT
• oKnowledge of key legislation relating to mental health issues and Borderline/Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (BPD/EUPD)

Desirable

• oAbility to develop and use complex multi-media materials for skills groups, presentations in public, professional and academic meetings
• oRecord of publications in academic or professional journals/books

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Additional information 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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details Employer name

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Walworth Road CMHT, Chaucer Community Resource Centre

13 Ann Moss Way, London

London

SE16 2TH

Employer's website

https://www.slam.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details Employer name

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Walworth Road CMHT, Chaucer Community Resource Centre

13 Ann Moss Way, London

London

SE16 2TH

Employer's website

https://www.slam.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)