Go back Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Trainee Dialectical Behavioural Therapist
The closing date is 31 August 2025
We are delighted to offer an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic practitioner to train in Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) with a view to applying for a Band 7 role upon completing their training and accreditation in DBT.
You would be joining a friendly and supportive team of clinicians across 2 DBT teams who pride ourselves on delivering high quality care and promoting recovery. We are committed to continuing professional development and self-care, and ensuring staff are able to achieve the right work-life balance. All psychological therapists within the service are embedded within clinical teams, contributing to MDT care planning and the delivery of trauma informed care, and offering psychological assessment and evidence-based therapies. Within the service, we offer a range of therapies, including: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), family interventions, Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).
You would complete postgraduate training in DBT, alongside offering a clinical service to patients under supervision. You will specialise in offering therapy to service users experiencing emotional dysregulation, including those with a diagnosis of emotionally unstable personality disorder. You will deliver full-package DBT as part of a team, including group work and phone coaching.
Main duties of the job
You will also help deliver DBT-informed interventions such as emotional coping skills groups and other tasks across psychological services in the division. You will attend DBT consult regularly, which will be a further source of learning and support. You will help deliver a Family Connections group for relatives and carers of those experiencing difficulties linked to emotion dysregulation. Alongside your direct clinical work, you will offer consultation, supervision and training to other team members.
We are seeking applicants with a core professional training in mental health (nursing, occupational therapy or social work or similar such as Clinical Associate Psychologists) and some experience of working with people with a diagnosis of emotionally unstable personality disorder. Applicants should have solid experience in mental health and strong interpersonal skills, together with the motivation and aptitude to complete a postgraduate qualification in psychological therapy.
Flexible working arrangements are possible, including some remote working according to clinical need.
Informal enquiries and visits welcome.
On successful completion of High Intensity training course it is not Trust policy to automatically uplift this Band 6 post to Band 7 Therapy posts. However through a competency-based assessment process, those who successfully pass the course will be offered the opportunity to apply for Band 7 Therapy post when vacancies arise.
About us
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a newly established organisation, bringing together expertise from across mental health, learning disabilities, community, and physical health services. We are dedicated to delivering compassionate, high-quality, and accessible care to the diverse communities of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
With over 13,000 dedicated staff working across more than 300 sites, we place patients and staff at the centre of everything we do. Our goal is to create an integrated healthcare system that improves accessibility and ensures more consistent care for patients. By working together, we aim to improve patient outcomes, drive innovation, and meet the unique needs of the populations we serve.
Our Trust unites services from Southern Health, Solent NHS Trust, Isle of Wight NHS Trusts community and mental health teams, as well as Hampshire CAMHS, originally part of Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. This transformation enables us to deliver more seamless care across the region, ensuring that patients receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time.
Join us as we embark on this exciting journey to shape the future of healthcare across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. We are deeply committed to our CARE values of compassion, accountability, respect, and excellence, and offer outstanding opportunities for career development, training, and collaborative working.
Job responsibilities
Further information about the Trust and this role can be found on the Job Description and Person Specification document attached. It is important to us that we ensure our recruitment processes are accessible and inclusive to everyone - if as a potential candidate you are concerned a person specification may prevent or restrict your application for employment as a result of unintentional barriers on the grounds of your sex, race, age, sexual orientation, religion/belief or disability please initially contact the Trust's Recruitment team - detailed in the advert. The Trust will seek to resolve this issue wherever possible.
We are happy to talk Flexible Working - all requests for flexible working options can be discussed as part of the interview process.
Person Specification
Qualifications
* A recorded/registered qualification in one of the following at graduate level in nursing, social work, occupational therapy, art therapy or within a psychological therapy.
* Training in DBT, DBT-informed interventions or other approaches to working with people with emotional dysregulation or a diagnosis of personality disorder
* Training in delivering Family Connections
Experience
* Demonstrable experience of working in mental health services.
* Experience of working with people who experience emotional instability and have a diagnosis of emotionally unstable personality disorder.
* Experience of effectively managing own caseload and time.
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.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
#J-18808-Ljbffr