Job summaryThe Children and Young People's (CYPS) Directorate in Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is offering an exciting opportunity for a Band 7 Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist to join the well-established multi-disciplinary NEH CYPS Community Team. You will be based in Aldershot with an expectation to travel to Leatherhead or other bases if needed.
This post will be suitable for a highly motivated Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist interested in ensuring excellent psychological care is accessible for children and young people with complex mental health needs from diverse backgrounds. This is a permanent full time (37.5 hours) post. Applications are invited from Child & Adolescent Psychotherapists registered with the Association of Child Psychotherapists and to those currently in training who expect to become registered in 2026.
The post-holder will be part of a multi-disciplinary team delivering specialist interventions for children and young people experiencing complex, chronic and/or severe mental health difficulties. The post-holder will provide evidence-based psychotherapy interventions. The post-holder will contribute to service-development through service-evaluation and audit, taking into consideration service-user participation.
All our staff have regular supervision and access to a wide variety of CPD opportunities.
Main duties of the job- To provide specialist psychoanalytic psychotherapy, parent/child psychotherapy, short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy, state of mind assessments, psychoanalytic parent work and psychoanalytical consultations.
- To supervise and teach trainees and colleagues within the service.
- To provide advice and consultation to schools and other organisations as required.
- To lead therapeutic groups for parents and children.
- To work autonomously within ACP guidelines and trust policies.
- To develop audit and research activities and to propose and implement policy changes within the area served by the team.
About usSurrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is the leading provider of mental health, learning disability, neurodevelopmental and drug and alcohol services in Surrey and North East Hampshire. We support people of all ages and are passionate about providing high quality care that is delivered at the right time as close to home as possible to help people recover and stay well.
We are one of the top 10 mental Health, Learning Disability and Community Trust to work for nationwide. Our Trust is an inclusive and supportive employer that offers a wide range of staff networks, flexible working, free parking and excellent health and wellbeing support. We also provide a wide range of opportunities to help staff develop and progress.
Surrey is a beautiful county lying just 30 minutes away from Central London and from the South Coast. Our historic market towns and bustling districts are enveloped in wonderful countryside, and our excellent road and rail networks bring the rest of the country within easy reach. For international travel, both Gatwick and Heathrow airports are nearby.
Please note that we reserve the right to close posts as soon as sufficient applications are received.We look forward to receiving your application!
Job responsibilities- To be professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of clinical work and care. To maintain high standards of care in all areas of practice in accordance with ACP Standards, professional guidelines and Trust Policies and Procedures. To act within the Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act (2005). To be aware of and implement Safeguarding Adult and Safeguarding Child policies, procedures and legislation
- To provide specialist individual or group child and adolescent psychotherapy, parent/child psychotherapy and psychodynamic parent interventions to families referred to the service, incorporating complex information from other professionals. To make decisions about treatment options considering evidence -based research, theory, practice and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes which have impacted on the child and their family
- To assess, formulate and implement plans for the treatment and/or management of the full range of children and young peoples mental health problems based upon an appropriate conceptual framework and employing methods based upon evidence
- To work in ways which are sensitive to and appropriate for the needs of families from a wide range of racial, cultural and religious backgrounds.
- To actively involve people in developing and agreeing their own care plan, to act as an advocate and ensure that there is proper regard for their dignity, choice, self-esteem, racial, cultural, sexual and religious needs and preferences.
- To undertake comprehensive risk assessments and develop effective risk formulations and risk management plans.
- To provide advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing to a care plan
- To provide training, supervision or consultation as appropriate to multi-disciplinary team colleagues working with patients, their families and professional networks
- To provide advice, consultation and training to other members of the multi- disciplinary teams and for staff working the client group across a range of services and agencies, where appropriate
- To contribute to conducting clinical audit, quality assurance and research, maintaining current knowledge of research findings in accordance with ACP guidelines.
- To use theory, research and evidence based literature, e.g. NICE guidelines, to inform evidence-based practice in work with patients, families and their networks
- To undertake and initiate project management including complex audit and service evaluation with colleagues within the services to help develop service provision
Person SpecificationQualificationsEssential- Doctoral Level ACP Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy Training
- Registration with the Association of Child Psychotherapists
Desirable- Additional trainings in adjunctive therapeutic models
ExperienceEssential- Professional experience working with children, adolescents and their families where children are experiencing complex mental health difficulties
- Experience of exercising clinical responsibility for child and young people's care within a mental health context
- Experience of clinical practice within NHS mental health services
- Experience of supervision and consultation
- Experience of completing routine outcome measures
- Experience of undertaking parent and child psychotherapy
- Experience of working with children of all ages and with parents
Disclosure and Barring Service CheckThis 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.
UK RegistrationApplicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
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.Applicants must have current UK professional registration. 
