Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Band 8a Highly Specialist Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist with additional specialist training or experience of working with Under 5s, to join the CAMHS Under 5s Service in West London NHS Trust, based in Hammersmith and Fulham.
We are looking for a Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist with a broad range of experience, including experience of working with families of children from birth up to the age of 5 years, offering skilled and multi-layered assessments and intervention. You will provide psychotherapy assessments and specialist psychotherapy treatment, often working jointly with parent/carer and child together.
If you are passionate about working with under 5s and are interested in working in establishing and growing a specialist mental health service for Under 5s, then we would welcome your application.
Main duties of the job
As a Highly Specialist Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, you will offer a high-quality child and adolescent psychotherapy service to children age 0-5s and their families and carers within the CAMHS 0-5s Team. You will liaise effectively with other CAMHS and Local Authority colleagues, as well as with others in the network supporting the child.
The CAMHS 0–5s team in Hammersmith and Fulham plays a key role in meeting the growing recognition of the needs of infants and young children, and the importance of early intervention. The service aligns with the NHS Long Term Plan through its focus on prevention, early support, and accessible community‑based care, delivered in partnership with local Family Hubs. This approach ensures that the service is responsive to the needs of the local population. Hammersmith and Fulham is a culturally diverse borough, and the post‑holder will contribute to ensuring that the service remains accessible, inclusive, and effective for all families.
You will receive regular supervision and line management from the relevant Head of Discipline. There are excellent opportunities for professional development.
As part of this role you will:
• offer assessments and intervention (individual, for parents, or joint sessions) according to your formulation
Working for our organisation
West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.
Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ 4,500 staff, of whom 56% are BME. Our turnover for 2023-24 is £426m.
The Trust is rated as ‘Good’ overall by the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as ‘Outstanding’.
The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached.
The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
1. Postgraduate accredited training in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy.
2. Eligibility for full membership of Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP).
3. Other related professional qualification or equivalent
4. Good relevant honours degree, or a recognised equivalent.
5. Qualifications/ training in specialist evidence-based approaches to working with children under 5 and their families (i.e. Parent-Infant Psychotherapy, Video feedback approaches, Solihull Approach, Watch Wait Wonder, Incredible years – toddler pre-school)
Experience
Essential criteria
6. Significant post qualifying experience of working within a multidisciplinary CAMHS.
7. Experience of offering efficient, effective and specialist early intervention assessment and treatment for children under 5 and their families
8. Experience of offering multi-disciplinary assessment and treatment of families with children Under 5 with complex mental health presentations, developmental and emotional difficulties
9. Experience of working in a number of ways i.e. assertive outreach/community settings, clinic based settings, Family Hubs or other appropriate environments
10. Experience of assessing risk and formulating safe and effective risk management plans
11. Experience of managing and supervising others in a clinical and performance management context including appraisals
12. Experience of offering consultation, teaching and training on infant mental health and attachment to multidisciplinary colleagues working in Early Years settings
13. Experience of delivering mental health awareness and bespoke CAMHS training and consultation to non CAMHS professionals
14. Experience of delivering specialist training to colleagues
15. Experience of management of child protection emergencies
Desirable criteria
16. Experience of audit and/or research
17. Experience of contributing to and implementing new service developments
18. Experience of developing operational protocols
Knowledge
Essential criteria
19. Knowledge of legislation relevant to the Children’s Act 2004, Mental Health Act 1983 & Safeguarding Guidelines
20. Evidence of continuous professional development as recommended by the ACP.
21. Knowledge of the legal issues relating to consent and capacity in children and young people.
22. An awareness and understanding of the issues facing infants, young children and their families
23. Knowledge of the various assessment tools used in CAMHS, including of specialist assessment measure used with Under 5s
24. Knowledge of the Care Programme Approach
25. Extensive knowledge of normal and abnormal child development and other relevant theories, practices, and research in the field of child and adolescent development and work with Under 5s
Skills
Essential criteria
26. Mental Health Assessment: Able to confidently and competently undertake specialist CAMHS assessments of Under 5s Understands developmental issues for children and able to adapt interventions accordingly
27. Assessment of risk/safeguarding: Understands the need for and able to competently assess risk Understands individual and service safeguarding responsibilities, policy and procedure
28. Engagement: Understands the elements of effective engagement and can apply these to working practice Demonstrates excellent written and verbal communication Able to foster strong therapeutic alliances Understanding of and commitment to the principles and practices of evidence based interventions Understanding of and commitment to service user involvement, patient led care and choice
29. Family and parenting work: Understands the need for and has experience of undertaking family and parenting work as part of CAMHS support
30. Cultural competence: Understands the importance of assessment that explores and considers individual cultural identity and associated support needs.
31. Consultation and Liaison: Experience of providing consultation and liaison support to colleagues, referral agencies and services responsible for the care, support and wellbeing of service users and their families/carers
32. Psychoeducation: Able to promote self-management and recovery by working with service users and their families to understand their condition and identify and reinforce strengths, resources and coping skills
33. Interdisciplinary work and partnerships: Able to work effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary team, actively engaging in and supporting duty and emergency rotas, peer support, training and skills development Able to build strong partnerships with external agencies and develop
34. Professional Development: Actively uses supervision and opportunities for development of skills
35. Specialist Assessment: Experience of undertaking specialist assessment at a level appropriate to the job Specialist assessment and treatment of Under 5s
36. Partnerships: Understanding of need for and ability to form effective working partnerships with internal and external partners
37. Policy and protocol: Ability to develop and implement clear and robust operational policy and protocol
38. Leadership: Ability to lead the development and implementation of new structures and process that impact on staff at all levels