Job summary
We are delighted to invite an application for a Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy training post to be based in the South Beds Neuro-Developmental (NDT)Team with dedicated time to the Emotional and Behavioural (E&B) in Luton CAMHS.

Health Education England has confirmed funding for Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy Traineeship in South Beds. The funding can extend to 4 years of clinical training at an ACP accredited training school. Applications are invited from candidates who have been accepted onto a clinical training beginning September 2026. They will already be working with children and young people in a professional capacity and will have an interest in and some understanding of psychoanalytical thinking in Parent and Infant/Child relationship and its impact on further development. The post within the Emotional and Behavioural Team will focus on early specialist intervention with those children who may present with neurodevelopmental conditions.

Main duties of the job
The candidate will take up a post in the Neurodevelopmental Team with dedicated time into the Emotional and Behavioural Team (E&B) in Luton CAMHS team.

The successful candidate will be involved in the core work of the locality CAMHS teams alongside undertaking their psychotherapy training cases for the course of the 4 years clinical placement.

There will be opportunities to rotate across the different specialist teams (i.e. '0-5' Team; Primary Care Access Team; Eating Disorders; and Mental Health in Schools Team) with the aim of developing a specialism towards the end of the training.

About us
Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

The Team is part of a comprehensive stepped care approach to CAMHS care in Luton following the I Thrive model, with our first step access services offering Giving Advice and Getting Help services to schools, GP practices and Early Help services, and Getting More Help and Risk Management Services to those who require medium to long-term support from our multi-disciplinary teams.

Our clinic is readily accessible from North London or from Milton Keynes and Northampton (Mid Beds and Bedford). ELFT offers attractive recruitment packages and we are committed to offering our staff the opportunity to develop their skills. The Trust supports commuting into Luton and offers generous contributions towards Annual Rail Travel Cards.

Job responsibilities
You are encouraged to contact:

Luton CAMHS: Miguel Massa (Lead Child Psychotherapist and E&B Clinical Team Lead) Miguel.Massa1@nhs.net or Eugenia Baibazarova (Principal Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist) Eugenia.Baibazarova@nhs.net or Natalie Chakaduka (NDT Operational Lead) natalie.chakaduka@nhs.net

For details/informal visits. Tel 01582 708140

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• Honours Degree
• Observation Course or equivalent pre-clinical course already completed
• Only candidates who have been accepted on the IPCAPA training for the academic year beginning Sept'26 to be considered

Desirable

• previous relevant professional qualification

Experience
Essential

• Experience of working with infants/children/young people and their parents/carers with neuro-developmental conditions and providing interventions aimed at facilitating attachment and bonding
• Experience of work with children/families (pre-latency/latency/adolescent) in a range of community settings
• Experience in a mental health setting
• Ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, clinically sensitive information to children, young people and parents and other professional colleagues within and outside the NHS

Desirable

• Experience of multi-agency working (i.e. education, social care, community paediatrics, voluntary sector, etc)
• Experience in working with child development and community paediatric settings
• Experience of work with children/families with neurodevelopmental difficulties and learning difficulties
• Experience of working in an acute setting

Knowledge
Essential

• Some understanding of what a psychoanalytic approach involves
• Understanding of child development and the relevance of parent-child relationships and its stressors
• Awareness of impact of early childhood adversity on individual's development, health and well-being

Desirable

• knowledge of CAMHS and statutory services
• knowledge of safeguarding principles

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.

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).

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