Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
High Intensity CBT Therapist
The closing date is 05 May 2026
This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced and passionate CBT Therapist to join Brent Talking Therapies Service (IAPT) located in the diverse and vibrant community of the London borough of Brent. Our team is key in the work we do and service provided to the population of Brent.
You will have opportunities for regular clinical supervision from the senior leadership team, specialist supervision for PTSD and training opportunities such as Behavioural Couples Therapy, MBCT and LTC. You will provide clinical supervision to our Step 2 team, including qualified and trainee psychological wellbeing practitioner and will receive supervision training to equip you in doing this. Our Step 3 team also provide supervision for our trainee clinical psychologists and CBT trainees on placement with our service.
Wellbeing is important within our service, and we are a diverse, collaborative and cohesive team. We offer flexible working patterns including onsite and remote working.
Main duties of the job
You will hold a Step 3 caseload of anxiety disorders, and depression and offer CBT treatment in line with NICE guidance. At Step 3 we offer treatment digitally and face-to-face in order to best meet the needs of our service users. In your role you will be involved with our duty team and screening referrals, have regular supervision, regular reflective practice, monthly team CPD and monthly sub‑team and wider team meetings, a chance to be involved in areas of interest including perinatal, community outreach, young adults, older adults, long-term health conditions, and LGBTQ+.
There are opportunities for training, plus career progression within the team. The ability to deliver therapy in local languages is desirable.
You must be BABCP accredited or have attended a BABCP accredited CBT training course to be eligible for this post. If you are working towards accreditation, you will also be considered for the post as long as you meet the short‑listing criteria and can demonstrate you are on track to meeting the course requirements.
You will be expected to participate in extended hours clinics offered by the service which include evening clinics.
About us
The catchment area of the post is the London borough of Brent. The main hub for the service is based at Fairfields House in Kingsbury and there is a satellite hub at Bell House in Willesden Green.
We operate an agile working policy where staff combine remote working and being on‑site to deliver face‑to‑face appointments and other service commitments that require a hub‑based presence.
The post‑holder will work full‑time hours and may be required to work at any time between 8am and 8pm on weekdays including an evening clinic as required by the service.
Benefits of working for CNWL
* 27 days of annual leave, plus bank holidays, with an increase to 33 days with continuous service
* NHS discount
* Opportunities for career progression
* New starters will have a 13‑week probation period which is a supportive process to allow individuals to learn and work within the key aspects of their role over a period of time
Job responsibilities
CLINICAL Provide specialist psychotherapeutic assessment of patients referred to the CNWL Talking Therapies Brent Service for CBT, based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex psychological data from a variety of quantitative and qualitative sources including self‑report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi‑structured interviews with patients and others involved with their care. Formulate and implement plans for the specialist psychotherapeutic treatment and/or management of patients' mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of those problems derived from a broad theoretical knowledge of cognitive behaviour therapy, and employing methods based upon evidence of proven efficacy. It is expected that the postholder will treat patients across the range of severity. Be responsible for implementing a range of specialist cognitive‑behaviour therapy interventions for individual patients and groups, adjusting and refining psychotherapeutic formulations as practice and experience demand, and drawing upon different explanatory models and objective cognitive behaviour therapy measures to maintain a number of provisional models while maintaining ethical and legal standards. Comply with caseload and set activity requirements which include number of contacts and recovery rates, for an HI post as per IAPT national guidelines and Local IAPT implementation board. Regular and prompt entry of clinical data relating to patients on caseload and make it available for supervision and for the patient as appropriate. Regularly monitor and evaluate therapy programmes and progress, using objective measures where appropriate, and communicate this to the referring agent and other professionals involved as appropriate. Evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical, developmental and cultural processes and systems, which have shaped the individual. Include family members and others involved in clients' problems in therapy programmes, where necessary. Assess and deliver therapy programmes in the community or GP Surgery and other settings within the service, as discharging patients as appropriate and arrange follow‑up as appropriate on completion of therapy. Ensure outcome and follow‑up of treatment is communicated to the referring agent and other professional involved as appropriate. Exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment, discharge and onward referral of patients whose problems are managed by psychotherapeutic interventions. Assess and manage clinical risk to self and involve other agencies as appropriate. Adhere to BABCP, HPC BPS and other relevant professional codes of conduct, policy and guidance. Maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data‑entry and recording, report writing for the purposes of personally generated clinical, audit, teaching and research and research information. Exercise responsibility for professional self‑governance in accordance with the HPC, BPS and BABCP and other relevant professional codes of practice and conduct and Trust policies and procedures. Develop and maintain knowledge of local resources and relationships with relevant statutory, voluntary and community groups and consultation with colleagues from CNWL Talking Therapies Brent Service and other relevant teams and agencies. Develop and propose innovative responses to identified needs of the diverse and multi‑cultural community the service serves in collaboration and consultation with colleagues from CNWL Talking Therapies Brent Service and other relevant teams.
Person Specification
Education and qualifications
* Substantial specialist knowledge, theory and skills of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy acquired through diploma / degrees with BABCP accreditation
* Must be fully or provisionally accredited with the BABCP or have completed a BABCP accredited high intensity CBT course or diploma programme
* Critical understanding of the relevance of studies of human development, psychopathology, psychology, social issues and evidence‑based practice.
* Supervisor qualification from a substantial Counselling and/or IAPT modality supervision course, as a supervisor for Counselling, CfD, DIT, IPT, Couples Therapy, EMDR or CBT
* Additional training in specialist areas related to primary care mental health e.g. LTC, Perinatal, CBT principles, clinical risk assessment
Other
* Ability to produce highly‑quality professional results to specified deadlines and other time constraints
* Ability to concentrate intensively for substantial periods during patient contact, teaching / supervision sessions, team meetings, preparing written work etc
* Ability to manage effectively frequent exposure to highly distressing/emotional circumstances.
* Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance, as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour
* To work effectively and compassionately within a large team
Previous Experience
* Experience or knowledge of community liaison and working within diverse communities and groups within the Brent Borough including with people from Black and Ethnic minority backgrounds and with various stakeholders
* Experience or knowledge of working with vulnerable people and/or communities and those experiencing loss, bereavement and mental health difficulties
* Experience of working in an IAPT service or other primary care setting
* Specialist experience acquired through having conducted 200 hours of supervised assessment and therapy during training
* Experience of teaching, training and supervision
* Experience of specialist cognitive behavioural psychotherapeutic assessment and treatment of adult patients in a mental health setting and presenting with problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity
* Specialist psychotherapeutic working experience.
* Experience of working within a primary care/community setting
* Research skills and knowledge and aptitude.
* Experience of the application of psychotherapy in different cultural contexts
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.
£55,524 to £62,652 a year per annum incl. HCAS
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