Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist

Job summary

To provide a qualified specialist child and adolescent psychotherapy service to children and young people with mental health problems across all sectors of care as part of a multi-disciplinary CAMHS team. Providing specialist psychotherapeutic assessment and therapy to service users and their families/carers and advice and consultation on their care to non-psychotherapist colleagues and the professional network involved in their support. The post holder will work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the service's policies and procedures. They will utilise research skills for audit to support policy and service development; and undertake research within the area served by the service and of relevance to young people their families and carers.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will provide generic CAMHS assessment and intervention as well as providing specialist psychotherapeutic interventions and contributing to specialist support plans for the care of children and young people who are looked after. They will contribute to highly specialist assessments of children with complex mental health presentations.

About us

• Evaluate and make decisions about treatment options considering both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group
• To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of children and young people whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.
• Contribute directly and indirectly to a framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all children and young people of the service, across all settings and agencies serving children and young people with learning disabilities and mental health problems/challenging behaviour
• To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual children and young people.
• Act as care coordinator, where appropriate, taking responsibility for initiating planning and review of CAMHS care plans including children and young people, their carers, referring agents and others involved in the network of care.
• Communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of children and young people under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni and multi-disciplinary care.

Details

Date posted

03 September 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£53,751 to £60,651 a year Pro rota per annum incl. HCAS

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

333-G-CA-1588

Job locations

Minet Clinic Hillingdon CAMHS

23 Avondale Drive

Hayes

UB3 3NR

Job description

Job responsibilities

• Provide specialist psychotherapeutic assessments of children and young people referred to the team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources
• Formulate and implement plans for the formal treatment and/or management of the child/young persons problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings
• Be responsible for implementing a range of psychotherapeutic interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across teams employed individually and in synthesis, grounded in the principles and techniques of psychoanalytic psychotherapy. These will include long and short-term interventions as appropriate to need
• Evaluate and make decisions about treatment options considering both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group

Job description

Job responsibilities

• Provide specialist psychotherapeutic assessments of children and young people referred to the team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources
• Formulate and implement plans for the formal treatment and/or management of the child/young persons problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings
• Be responsible for implementing a range of psychotherapeutic interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across teams employed individually and in synthesis, grounded in the principles and techniques of psychoanalytic psychotherapy. These will include long and short-term interventions as appropriate to need
• Evaluate and make decisions about treatment options considering both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group

Person Specification

Training and Qualifications

Essential

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

Desirable

• Pre-qualification training and qualifications in relevant fields in health, social care or education settings

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
• Experience of working with a wide variety children, adolescents across the whole age range (0-18) and their parents, and presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity and complexity

Desirable

• Experience of working in different CAMHS Tiers.
• Experience of the application of child psychotherapy in different cultural contexts.

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychotherapeutic assessment, intervention and management.
• Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to children and adolescents including child protection procedures and policies
• Ability to tolerate anxiety without recourse to premature action whilst appreciating the role of the supervisor
• Awareness of the implications of working within a managed system

Desirable

• Knowledge of NHS, Social Care and Education Structures, National policies and frameworks
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
• Knowledge of research methodology and outcome research design and ability to critically interpret research findings

Other

Essential

• Ability to form good working relationships with others in a multidisciplinary setting
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice.

Desirable

• Ability to teach and train others and present the work of child psychotherapists within public, professional and academic settings

Person Specification

Training and Qualifications

Essential

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

Desirable

• Pre-qualification training and qualifications in relevant fields in health, social care or education settings

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
• Experience of working with a wide variety children, adolescents across the whole age range (0-18) and their parents, and presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity and complexity

Desirable

• Experience of working in different CAMHS Tiers.
• Experience of the application of child psychotherapy in different cultural contexts.

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychotherapeutic assessment, intervention and management.
• Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to children and adolescents including child protection procedures and policies
• Ability to tolerate anxiety without recourse to premature action whilst appreciating the role of the supervisor
• Awareness of the implications of working within a managed system

Desirable

• Knowledge of NHS, Social Care and Education Structures, National policies and frameworks
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
• Knowledge of research methodology and outcome research design and ability to critically interpret research findings

Other

Essential

• Ability to form good working relationships with others in a multidisciplinary setting
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice.

Desirable

• Ability to teach and train others and present the work of child psychotherapists within public, professional and academic settings

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

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Minet Clinic Hillingdon CAMHS

23 Avondale Drive

Hayes

UB3 3NR

Employer's website

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

Employer details

Employer name

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Minet Clinic Hillingdon CAMHS

23 Avondale Drive

Hayes

UB3 3NR

Employer's website

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