Job summary
Important Sponsorship Information for this post: We are unable to offer a certificate of sponsorship for this post.

Training information for this post: Successful applicants must attend a 5-day Dialectical Behavioural Therapy Foundational Training W/C 23rd November 2026 or 15th March 2027, unless the applicant has already been in receipt of the foundational or intensive DBT training.

The Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Service provides assessment, treatment; training and consultation in relation to young people aged 12 to 18 who present with persistent self-harm and suicidal behaviour, which maybe in the context of an emerging Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Many of the young people seen will present with complex needs including high risk behaviours. All young people seen will have a comprehensive assessment to inform decision making and planning for the future. Each team member will have a small caseload, but the team will support each other via consultation meetings and supervision. Within the DBT service each clinician will play an active role in all aspects of the service, including assessment, treatment (individual therapy, skills group, phone coaching) teaching, training, research, and service development.

Main duties of the job
Please see detailed job description and main responsibilities section for further detail of the main duties of the job.

About us
Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children's centres, schools and people's homes.We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

• We're Kind
• We're Fair
• We Listen
• We Care

Job responsibilities

• To provide specialist DBT to the service users of the Oxleas CAMHS DBT Service, including specialist assessment and intervention for young people referred to the service. To contribute to service evaluation, policy development, audit, evaluation, and research in the area of self-harm and BPD. To provide clinical supervision, teaching and consultation as appropriate.
• To use and maintain skilled standards of professional clinical practice in the treatment modalities required by the children and young people with emerging BPD and be a resource to the whole service in maintaining the skills of others.
• The post holder will manage their own caseload and provide specialist DBT interventions for young people. They will be responsible for the provision of skills training groups for young people and parents/carers.
• The post holder will be responsible for supporting staff within the team to achieve positive clinical outcomes for young people and their families. These outcomes will be evidenced by research and performance indicators such as activity data, targets, and quality measures.
• They will work in partnership with schools, social services departments, as well as local and national services to support integrated practice and service delivery.
• To contribute to training, research and audit and interpret complex data to develop own and others understanding of child and adolescent mental health disorders, in particular emerging BPD in young people.
• To contribute to service development across teams and within Oxleas.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• Doctoral level training in clinical psychology, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by the BPS
• Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council
• Completion of further post-doctoral post-qualification specialist training including training in supervision of trainee clinical psychologists

Desirable

• DBT training - Foundation or Intensive Level training with the DBT British Isles Training
• Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology

Experience
Essential

• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity
• Completion of at least two years post-doctoral post-qualification supervised clinical experience with adolescents with complex mental health difficulties and/or young people with a first episode psychosis

Desirable

• Experience of delivering DBT
• Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision
• Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts

Skills
Essential

• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
• Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
• Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology
• Ability to use CYP IAPT outcome measures and integrate these meaningfully into therapy

Desirable

• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc).
• High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies, including DBT
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health

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: Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
Address: Highpoint House, Shooters Hill, London, SE18 3RZ, United Kingdom
Employer's website: http://oxleas.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact:
Consultant Psychologist and Clinical Lead
Dr Rebecca South
rebecca.south@nhs.net
02032605211

Details
Date posted: 25 September 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 8a
Salary: £63,665 to £70,887 a year pa
Contract: Fixed term
Duration: 12 months
Working pattern: Full-time, Flexible working
Reference number: 277-8304008-CYP
Job locations: Highpoint House, Shooters Hill, London, SE18 3RZ, United Kingdom

Supporting documents
Privacy notice: Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)

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