Overview
We are seeking a compassionate and dedicated Lead Psychotherapist to join our team. The ideal candidate will possess strong communication skills and a deep understanding of creating therapeutic environment.
The Lead Psychotherapist plays a pivotal role in embedding and maintaining the therapeutic and psychodynamic framework at LIFE's children's home. This role supports the emotional recovery of children through direct therapeutic input, while also clinically holding the care team by delivering supervision, formulation, and reflective practice.
Working closely with the Responsible Individual, Registered Manager, Clinical supervisor and the Creative Therapist, the Lead Psychotherapist ensures the therapeutic culture remains alive, adaptive, and aligned with Enabling Environments principles. This position is central to the psychological safety of both young people and staff, and it provides essential clinical oversight for high-risk and relationally complex care.
Direct Therapeutic Work
* Provide weekly one-to-one psychodynamic therapy to the child (1 hour per week).
* Produce weekly therapeutic report to the local authority in regard to the young person.
* Contribute to ongoing therapeutic treatment planning, risk assessment and review.
Clinical Oversight & Case Management
* Facilitate monthly psychodynamic case formulations with the team.
* Review treatment plans and therapeutic risk assessments weekly.
* Review incident reports and self-harm logs, contributing reflective insight with the staffing team.
* Participate in DoLS reviews and attend relevant statutory or clinical meetings (this is planned)
* Review the child's DoLS care arrangements, DoLS step down plan and meetings.
* Deliver psychologically informed workshops to the staffing team to develop thinking when planned with management and there is a need.
Supervision & Team Support
* Provide weekly clinical supervision to the in-house Creative Therapist.
* Participate in a weekly dyadic meeting with the Registered Manager for clinical-operational cohesion.
* Support reflective practice spaces and offer ad-hoc psychological consultation to the team as needed.
* Attend weekly management reflective practice.
Model Development
* Lead the therapeutic contribution to the home's journey towards Enabling Environments accreditation.
* Support the embedding of trauma-informed and psychodynamic thinking in daily care
* Contribute to the psychological holding of the staff team during emotionally intense or high-risk periods.
* Offer training and psychoeducation to staff where needed.
Essential Requirements
* Professional qualification in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy, Counselling Psychology, child and family therapy or a related clinical discipline.
* Current registration with a recognised professional body (e.g., UKCP, HCPC, BACP, BPS).
* Minimum 5 years post-qualification experience delivering therapeutic interventions with children, families, and care-experienced young people.
* Specific experience working with:
* Looked-after children and young people in residential settings.
* Domestic abuse, intergenerational trauma, and attachment disruption.
* Risk behaviours including self-harm and suicidal ideation.
* Families navigating complex trauma dynamics.
* Experience providing clinical supervision and leading reflective spaces.
* Deep understanding of psychodynamic principles and psychologically informed environments.
* Confidence in interpreting and contributing to safeguarding and multi-agency processes.
* Ongoing commitment to external clinical supervision.
* Ability to deliver both in-person and remote therapeutic work.
* Proven practical experience working as a Psychotherapist or in a similar role is preferred.
* Strong communication skills, both verbal and written, are crucial for effective client interaction.
* Proficiency in IT systems for maintaining client records and documentation is required.
* Familiarity with developing care plans tailored to individual client needs is highly desirable.
* A commitment to providing empathetic support and maintaining professional boundaries is essential. We invite qualified candidates who are passionate about making a difference in the lives of others to apply for this rewarding opportunity as a Psychotherapist.
Job Type: Part-time
Pay: £45,000.00-£60,000.00 per year
Expected hours: 16 – 20 per week
Benefits:
* On-site parking
* Work from home
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Hertford SG14 2PL