Highly specialist family & systemic psychotherapist

Highly Specialist Family & Systemic Psychotherapist

Band 8a

Main area Mental Health Grade Band 8a
Contract Permanent
Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref 351-BAY903-MS-C

Site Westgate House, Hillside Health Centre Town Skelmersdale
Salary £57,528 - £64,750 per annum (subject to confirmation)
Salary period Yearly
Closing 15/06/2026 23:59

Our Vision is to provide the best mental health, learning disability, autism, community, and physical health services for the populations we serve.

As an integrated Trust, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT) delivers a comprehensive range of services, including:

• Primary and secondary mental health care for children and adults, including specialist inpatient child and adolescent mental health provision, perinatal mental health, and forensic services with low and medium secure care.
• Specialist mental health inpatient care for individuals with learning disabilities, alongside specialist community support for children and adults with learning disabilities and autism, including intensive support.
• Extensive community physical health and well‑being services for children and adults, covering prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and long‑term condition management.

The Trust offers opportunities for a wide range of professionals, including medics, mental health nurses, children’s nurses, allied health professionals, psychology, and others.

Please note that we are willing to consider applications from candidates suitable for a development opportunity. Appointment would be at Band 7, with progression to Band 8a after a 12‑month period upon successful completion of the required development objectives.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service in Central Lancashire as we refresh our therapeutic offer across the locality. The post holder will be based in Skelmersdale but will lead the development of systemic practice and family therapy within the Skelmersdale and Preston area. We welcome Family Therapists with experience in supervision and in working in community CAMHs.

Providing highly specialist family therapy to an individual caseload, offering specialist advice, systemic supervision and consultation regarding formulations and intervention will be integral to the role. Collaboration with a highly specialist family therapist in our third team, in Chorley & South Ribble, will provide an opportunity to develop specialist clinics across the locality.

Main duties of the job

As a valued member of our team you will be supported in nurturing an area of specialist interest relevant to your role and the service, and contributing to the clinical leadership of the service. Opportunity for peer support, including a well‑established peer support group for systemic and family therapists within the organisation. You will also have access to individual clinical supervision and CPD in line with professional requirements.

We will support opportunities to offer placements for trainee systemic and family therapists. All clinicians working in our service have an agreed job plan, which protects core clinical commitments and allocated time for agreed projects.

The post is predominantly office/clinic based with some opportunity for remote working, requires travel to different sites across the Central Lancashire footprint, and will be based at Westgate House, Skelmersdale, and in Ellen House, Preston.

Working for our organisation

LSCFT values diversity and inclusion, recognising that talent from varied backgrounds creates a flexible, creative and effective workforce. We actively challenge discrimination and welcome applications from all, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, religion, belief or sexual orientation. Our aim is to reflect the communities we serve, so we particularly encourage applications from under‑represented groups. We also welcome individuals with lived experience relevant to the role or service area, as your insight brings authenticity to our services.

LSCFT supports flexible working, believing that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We consider working patterns such as term time, part time, compressed hours and flexi‑time.

The wellbeing of our people is at the heart of everything we do. We offer a wide range of resources, tools and support to help you thrive both in and out of work.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Qualification (postgraduate or undergraduate) in a relevant mental health / social welfare profession and demonstrable practice over a minimum of 3 years within that profession
• Masters level qualification in Family and Systemic Psychotherapy, accredited with UKCP.
• UKCP registration maintained through meeting relevant AFT CPD requirements.

Knowledge

• Knowledge of and skill in using a variety of approaches within systemic practice (social constructionist, narrative, solution focused, etc.) to work with individuals, couples, family systems, groups and organisations.
• Knowledge of child development and mental health issues including neurodevelopment and attachment.
• Skills in systemic psychotherapy/family based assessment, intervention and management requiring sustained and intense concentration.
• Skills in providing consultation/supervision to other systemic psychotherapists and multidisciplinary colleagues.
• Knowledge and skills of risk management and ability to perform a clinical risk assessment.

Experience

• Substantial practice in relevant first profession.
• Minimum of 2 years as a family and systemic psychotherapist within Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services, or similar specialist service, with practice supervised by a senior family/systemic psychotherapist.
• Experience delivering evidence‑based approaches with children and young people.
• Experience working within a multidisciplinary and multi‑agency working environment.
• Experience supervising staff in systemic or other psychological approaches.
• Experience maintaining professionalism in highly emotive and distressing situations, including verbal and physical abuse threats.

Contact

Dr Beverley Dayus, Consultant Clinical Psychologist – Beverley.Dayus@lscft.nhs.uk
Kylie McDonald, Head of Clinical Service – Kylie.McDonald@lscft.nhs.uk