Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust – Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist
Closing date: 18 June 2026
Provide a qualified specialist child and adolescent psychotherapy service to children and young people with mental health problems across all sectors of care as part of a multi‑disciplinary CAMHS team. Deliver specialist psychotherapeutic assessment and therapy to service users, their families/carers and offer advice and consultation to non‑psychotherapist colleagues and the professional network involved in their support. Work autonomously within professional guidelines and the service’s policies and procedures, utilising research skills for audit and for supporting policy and service development.
Additionally provide generic CAMHS assessment and intervention, specialist psychotherapeutic interventions, and contribute to specialist support plans for looked‑after children. Undertake highly specialised assessments of children with complex mental health presentations.
Main Duties
* Evaluate and make decisions about treatment options considering theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors influencing the individual, family or group.
* Exercise autonomous professional responsibility for assessment, treatment and discharge of children and young people within psychologically based standard care plans.
* Contribute to a framework of understanding and care for all children and young people of the service, across all settings and agencies serving those with learning disabilities and mental health problems/challenging behaviour.
* Undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual children and young people.
* Act as care coordinator where appropriate, initiating planning and review of CAMHS care plans including children, their carers, referring agents and other network participants.
* Communicate sensitively with families, carers and professionals about assessment, formulation and treatment plans and monitor progress across uni‑ and multi‑disciplinary care.
Job Responsibilities
* Provide specialist psychotherapeutic assessments of children and young people referred to the team, integrating complex data from a variety of sources.
* Formulate and implement plans for formal treatment and/or management based on an appropriate conceptual framework and evidence‑based methods across all care settings.
* Deliver a range of psychotherapeutic interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, grounded in psychoanalytic psychotherapy principles and tailored to need.
About the Team
Kensington and Chelsea CAMHS is a well‑established multi‑disciplinary team featuring Emotional Disorders, Neurodevelopmental, Enhanced Treatment, Duty and Under‑5s sub‑teams. They use a diverse range of therapeutic interventions, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, systemic and family therapies, psychoeducation and multi‑family work, to provide accessible, flexible and responsive care.
Working Hours and Conditions
Clinic open from 8 am to 5 pm (standard working hours 9 am to 5 pm). Opportunities for home working, with clinicians expected to be in the clinic at least 60 % of working hours.
Training and Qualifications
* Masters level pre‑clinical training at an Association of Child Psychotherapists recognised training school; post‑graduate doctoral level training in clinical child psychotherapy at a training school accredited by the Association of Child Psychotherapy or Association of Child Psychotherapists Statement of Equivalence.
* Pre‑qualification training and qualifications in relevant fields in health, social care or education settings.
Experience
* Specialist psychotherapeutic assessment and treatment experience in children, adolescents, and parents within community, primary care, outpatient or inpatient settings.
* Experience working with a wide variety of children and adolescents (0–18) and a full range of clinical severity and complexity.
* Experience in different CAMHS tiers and applying child psychotherapy in diverse cultural contexts.
Skills and Knowledge
* Advanced psychotherapeutic assessment, intervention and management skills.
* Excellent oral and written communication of complex, clinically sensitive information to clients, families, carers and professional colleagues.
* Knowledge of legislation related to children and adolescents, including child protection procedures and policies.
* Ability to tolerate anxiety without premature action and to appreciate the role of supervision.
* Awareness of working within a managed system, NHS, Social Care and Education structures, and national policies and frameworks.
* Skills in providing consultation to professional and non‑professional groups.
* Knowledge of research methodology, outcome research design and critical interpretation of research findings.
Other
* Ability to establish good working relationships in a multi‑disciplinary setting.
* Ability to employ mechanisms of clinical governance appropriately to support and maintain clinical practice.
* Ability to teach and train others and present the work of child psychotherapists in public, professional and academic settings.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and requires a Disclosure to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Salary: £58,133 to £65,261 per annum (pro‑rota) including HCAS.
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