Under 5s Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist

NHS; Wembley; On-site; GBP 51,000 - 59,000; Part time

Job summary

An innovative service is seeking passionate child psychotherapists to join a pioneering team focused on providing vital mental health support for families with young children. This role offers the chance to work collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary environment, delivering evidence-based therapies and consultations while contributing to the development of a new service. Ideal candidates will have a strong understanding of infant mental health and a commitment to professional growth. Join us in making a meaningful impact in the lives of families in Hillingdon and Brent.

Qualifications

• Masters level training in child psychotherapy is essential.
• Experience in multidisciplinary team settings is crucial.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist early intervention psychotherapy for children Under 5.
• Contribute to multi-disciplinary assessments and treatment planning.

Skills

Psychotherapeutic assessment

Communication skills

Infant mental health knowledge

Interdisciplinary working

Education

Masters level preclinical training

Postgraduate doctoral level training in clinical child psychotherapy

Job description

Job summary

The Brent Harrow Hillingdon Under 5s CAMHS Team is a new service, commissioned to provide brief parent-infant and parent-child psychotherapy to families with babies and young children in Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon. It is an expansion of the successful Under 5s CNWL service that operates in Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea. The team is multi-disciplinary, though run as a psychoanalytic service.

We are looking for ACP accredited child psychotherapists with experience of and passion for Under 5s work. They will be part of embedding our service in Hillingdon and Brent Children's Centres, making relationships with families and local stakeholders. You will offer brief psychotherapy to families and consultation to professionals and parents. The opportunity to retain clinical work with latency and adolescent cases is available through the child psychotherapy service in Hillingdon and Brent CAMHS. We accept and encourage applications from people qualifying in Summer 2024.

To find out more about working in CAMHS please Click here for video.

Main duties of the job

The role involves a creative and passionate approach to service development, and offers the opportunity of being part of a pioneering initiative. We are looking for clinicians with a sound understanding of infant mental health, and who are open to growing and developing in this field. As this is a brand-new service, we are looking forward to growing and developing together with you.

We are advertising a 0.8 (4 days/week) Band 7 posts for the Boroughs of Hillingdon and Brent. The post holder will be based within Hillingdon and Brent CAMHS teams and in one of the local Children's Centres.

The service aims to provide an accessible, destigmatising, culturally sensitive infant/young child mental health perspective through:

• consultation to parents and professionals
• specialist assessment
• 6 session brief work with Under 5s and their families, using evidence-based treatment
• interagency partnership working
• teaching and training in infant mental health and early attachment.

About us

The Child Psychotherapist role requires a motivated, organised and enthusiastic professional interested in supporting a lively Under 5s clinical team. They will be part of a Multi-Disciplinary Team undertaking clinical functions in line with their clinical expertise to implement the project under the guidance of the Band 7 Child Psychotherapist and Lead of the project.

The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.

Date posted

02 May 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£51,883 to £58,544 a year per annum (pro rata P/T) inc HCAS

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

333-G-CA-1548

Job locations

Hillingdon CAMHS Minet Clinic / Brent CAMHS Monks Park

Avondale Drive / Monks Park

Hayes / Wembley

UB3 3NR

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

• To provide an efficient, effective, comprehensive and specialist early intervention psychotherapy assessment and treatment service for children Under 5 and their families with highly complex and persistent infant mental health problems and presentations beyond ordinary developmental expectations, their carers/parents and families within care pathways as relevant.
• To contribute to multi-disciplinary assessment and treatment of families with children Under 5 with complex infant mental health presentations, developmental and emotional difficulties.
• To offer consultation, teaching and training on infant mental health and attachment to multidisciplinary colleagues.
• To contribute to audit and research.
• To actively engage in outcome monitoring, including the use of normed routine outcome measures associated with CYP IAPT.
• To work in clinical practice, making use of supervision, within the overall framework of the CAMHS Directorates and the Trusts policies and procedures.

Person Specification

Training & Qualifications (Essential):

• Masters level preclinical training at an Association of Child Psychotherapists recognised training school; postgraduate doctoral level training in clinical child psychotherapy at a training school accredited by the Association of Child Psychotherapists or Statement of Equivalence.

Experience (Essential):

• Experience of specialist psychotherapeutic assessment and treatment of children, adolescents and their parents as a full member of a multidisciplinary team located in community, primary care, outpatient or inpatient setting.
• Substantial experience of working within a CBT and/or MANTRA or CAT framework with patients who present with problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity.
• Supervised experience of delivering evidence-based therapies for eating disorders and common comorbid conditions.
• Experience of interdisciplinary working within the NHS.

Knowledge and Skills (Essential):

• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychotherapeutic assessment, intervention and management.
• Well-developed skills in effective communication, orally and in writing, of complex, highly technical, and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, families, carers, and colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Knowledge of legislation relating to children and adolescents, including child protection procedures and policies.
• Ability to tolerate anxiety without premature action, appreciating the role of supervision.
• Awareness of working within a managed system.

Other (Essential):

• Ability to form good working relationships within a multidisciplinary setting.
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance to support and maintain practice.

Attitudes, Aptitudes, Personal Characteristics (Essential):

• Maintaining professionalism in highly emotive and distressing situations, including verbal abuse and threats of physical abuse.

Additional notes on requirements such as DBS checks, UK registration, sponsorship, and further details are included in the original description but have been summarized here for clarity.