The closing date is 12 May 2026
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a committed, enthusiastic, dynamic Trainee Forensic Psychologist to join our community Forensic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (FCAMHS).
The FCAMHS community team base is in Peterborough, with a second base in Cambridge and the opportunity to work from home. The service is regional, covering the East of England region (Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire). It works in partnership with wider agencies to ensure integrated care provision across health, social care, education, and youth justice to optimise outcomes for children/young people presenting with high‑risk or concerning behaviours and suspected mental health or neurodevelopmental concerns.
The post holder will be part of a multi‑disciplinary team supported by a Senior Leadership Team that includes a Consultant Psychiatrist, Consultant Psychologist, Clinical Psychologist, and Forensic Psychologist.
The ideal candidate will have a strong work‑team ethic, a sense of accountability, and the ability to work flexibly using initiative. Excellent communication skills, confidence to liaise with other professionals, and the capacity to handle variety in work are essential.
Main duties of the job
You will work alongside qualified psychologists to provide highly individualised consultancy to networks where children and young people's behaviour and mental health needs have caused concern. Your work plan will be informed by your stage in training and will provide opportunities to demonstrate core competencies across all four domains.
Under direct supervision you will be expected to work independently to provide formulation, risk assessment, occasional assessments, and direct intervention, alongside clinically related administration and data analysis within the framework of team policies and procedures. While direct intervention is limited within the service, there are opportunities to fulfil some components of core role 1 and excellent opportunities in a unique position to provide core role 3 and 4.
With proven experience of supporting both Clinical and Forensic trainees, CPFT will provide the necessary support to ensure development within the role alongside your progress working towards qualified status.
About us
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health and social care organisation dedicated to providing high‑quality care with compassion to improve the health and wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting and empowering them to lead a fulfilling life.
Our clinical teams deliver many NHS services, not only via inpatient and primary care settings but also within the community. These services include children’s, adult and older people’s mental health, forensic and specialist mental health, learning disabilities, primary care and liaison psychiatry, substance misuse, social care, research and development.
As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all sectors of the community, particularly from under‑represented groups including people with long‑term conditions and members of our ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ communities.
Please be advised we reserve the right to close adverts earlier than the closing date should we receive sufficient applications.
Regrettably, we cannot offer sponsorship for all our job roles. If you apply for a role that we cannot offer sponsorship for, unfortunately your application will be rejected from the process.
For further information on CPFT, please visit our website at www.cpft.nhs.uk
Job responsibilities
Please note for this role you will be required to travel independently around the county meeting strict time deadlines. You will need to hold a full UK driving licence and have use of a vehicle. You cannot use public transport for this role as this is not a reliable form of transport and will not allow you to meet service needs. Please confirm in your application that you meet the specified criteria.
Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities.
* Complete consultations (within competency and with supervision) with staff from a range of backgrounds where a child or young person’s behaviour and mental health needs have caused concern.
* Utilise relevant psychological theories to advise relevant assessment and interventions, devise appropriate care plans and consider FCAMHS role for the network.
* Complete relevant risk assessment, psychometric assessments and Clinical Professional Judgement tools with children/young people and their parents/carers, alongside high‑quality formulation.
* Maintain excellent professional boundaries while supporting highly complex networks.
* Attend multi‑disciplinary meetings to share own case‑load updates and contribute to the consideration of responses for other children and young people open to the service.
* Receive and actively engage in regular clinical supervision to support stage and development as well as career goals in attaining Registered status.
* Support FCAMHS colleagues with the internal and external training programme, especially in relation to offending and high‑risk behaviours and mental health needs.
* Assist in conducting audits, collecting data and statistics, development of audit and/or research projects.
* Liaise with children/young people and families/carers to develop co‑production.
* Be responsible for personal record keeping, processing and storage of data, ensuring all appropriate data collection is up to date and used in accordance with GDPR.
*DVLA have a number of reciprocal arrangements with overseas countries, for further information please visit the DVLA website.
Person Specification
Education / Qualifications
* Upper second‑class honours degree or higher in psychology & MSc in Forensic Psychology accredited by the British Psychological Society.
* Working towards registered Forensic Psychologist status (BPS stage 2 training, or Doctoral training programme) or be prepared to enrol on a course that meets the above requirements in agreement with CPFT.
Experience
* Experience of working with children who have mental health difficulties.
* Experience of working with individuals with complex needs including neurodiversity, learning disabilities, personality disorders and forensic needs.
* Experience of working across a range of settings including prison, probation, community services and NHS mental health settings.
* Experience and knowledge of psychological theories and psychometric testing.
* Proficiency in conducting risk assessment and highly detailed psychological formulation as well as high skill in report writing.
* Experience working with children and young people in secure accommodations, mental health services, community specialist services or other related settings.
Knowledge & Skills
* Understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with mental health challenges.
* Ability to apply existing psychological knowledge, underpinned by theory, to a mental health context.
* Ability to prepare for and use supervision appropriately and effectively.
* High level communication skills (written and verbal) including the ability to communicate and work in settings where the atmosphere may be highly emotive.
* Expertise within specialism, underpinned by theory, knowledge acquired through degree, supplemented by short specialist courses, clinical supervision of practice.
* Knowledge of legislation relating to children and young people requiring Local Authority care.
Personal Qualities
* Ability to self‑reflect to improve own personal development and practice.
* Ability to work independently, reliably and consistently with work agreed and managed at regular intervals.
Other
* Ability to travel independently around Cambridgeshire and Peterborough area meeting required timescales. A full driving licence and access to a vehicle is essential.
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 to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
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