Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a permanent Band 8a Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist to join our multi disciplinary dynamic CAMHS service. Consideration will also be given too newly qualified child and adolescent Psychotherapist for whom this would be a development post moving to a Band 8a following 2 years post qualification.
The role of the Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist is to ensure delivery and development of a high-quality specialist assessment and intervention underpinned by a psycho-analytical framework to compliment the range of psychological/therapeutic services within the multi-disciplinary service.
We offer a specialist service to families and young people through face-to-face contacts or indirectly by liaising closely with statutory and voluntary organisations. The Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist will provide assessment, consultation, training, groups and individual interventions for parents/carers and infants, young children and their families and clinical supervision.
Postholders will demonstrate an attitude which respects and values service users’ and their carers and have a clear understanding of professional boundaries. The post holder will embrace the core values of the organisation.
Main duties of the job
1. Ensure that interventions are planned in an integrated and co-ordinated manner particularly where dependent on other external agencies identified through supervision or complex case discussion.
2. To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals, to assist in the formulation, management and treatment of service users.
3. To provide reports and communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients.
4. Following consultation be responsible for developing care packages including assessing, planning, intervention and evaluation. Ensuring active involvement of parents and infants
5. To provide specialist psychotherapeutic assessments of referred families and identify collaboratively the most appropriate treatment for them
6. Participate in the development / delivery of a programme of training for other professional groups working in parent infant mental health service
7. Lead on programmes of audit and research within the team and implement the findings
8. Lead on areas of service development
9. Deputise for the Clinical Lead in their absence
10. To provide Clinical Supervision both internally and externally
11. To contribute to the training experience of trainee Child Psychotherapists / Clinical Psychologists as appropriate.
Working for our organisation
Greater Manchester Mental Health (GMMH) Foundation Trust employs over 7,000 members of staff, who deliver services from more than 122 locations.
We provide inpatient and community-based mental health care for people living in Bolton, the city of Manchester, Salford, Trafford and the borough of Wigan, and a wide range of specialist mental health and substance misuse services across Greater Manchester, the north west of England and beyond.
Greater Manchester is one of the world's most innovative, original and exciting places to live and work. From the beauty of the surrounding countryside to the heart of the vibrant inner city with great shopping, entertainment and dining options.
Wherever you go you will experience a great northern welcome with people famed for their warmth, humour and generosity.
Our people enjoy their work, have opportunities to learn and develop their skills and are encouraged to generate new ideas that improve care for our service users.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
See attached detailed job description and person specification:
Staff benefits
12. Pay Enhancements – 30% additional for Evenings (8pm onwards) and Saturdays and 60% additional for Sundays and Bank holidays.
13. 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays rising to 29 after 5 years and 33 days after 10 years
14. Excellent pension
15. Cycle to work scheme
16. Salary sacrifice car scheme
17. Wellbeing programme
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
18. Masters level preclinical training at a 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 OR Doctoral level Clinical Psychology accredited by BPS / HCPC
Desirable criteria
19. Pre-qualification training and qualifications in relevant fields in health, social care or education settings
Experience
Essential criteria
20. Experience of specialist psychotherapeutic assessment and treatment of families as a full member of a multidisciplinary team located in community, primary care, outpatient or inpatient setting .
Desirable criteria
21. Experience of working with families ante / perinatally
The Trust mandates all post holders who require a DBS for their role to subscribe to the DBS Update Service. You will be required to enrol for this service for a fee of £16 per year and maintain registration throughout your employment with GMMH.
Applicants are encouraged to apply for posts at Greater Manchester Mental Health who have direct experience of mental health, learning disability or drug and alcohol services either as a service user or a carer.
The Trust is also committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults and requires all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
We are aspiring to ensure our workforce is representative of the diverse communities that we serve, and we are strongly committed to removing barriers to employment for candidates from under-represented groups, for example BAME, Disabled and LGBT+ communities. If you would like to have an informal chat about the recruitment process for this role or would value some additional support, we’d love to hear from you.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) when writing job applications
A candidate may utilise the help of AI when writing job application. The assessment of an application is made on its entirety and most times AI-generated content does not fully grasp the context and requirements of the job one applies for thus producing inaccurate and misleading information, especially in the supporting statement section of an application that can lack real life examples of one’s achievements, success and challenges.
We have added a disclaimer to our application process advising that the use of AI is monitored. GMMH reserves the right to follow up with a candidate at the interview on specific responses and those examples used in the supporting statement to explore it further.
Sponsorship
We are proud to be an approved sponsor for the Skilled Worker visa. Applications from individuals who require sponsorship will be considered alongside all other applications. Please be aware that not all roles are eligible for sponsorship. You can review the list of eligible roles and salary requirements on the UK Government’s website – click .
If you are offered a role with us and you require sponsorship, we will check your eligibility in line with the information on the above website. Your offer of employment could be withdrawn if the role is not eligible for sponsorship, and you are not otherwise able to evidence your right to work in the UK.
The Home Office introduces new changes from 22/07/2025 that impact the health and care sector, you may wish to familiarise with it.
Do you have experience outside the NHS?
We want to attract and retain people with diverse skills and experience, to deliver inclusive healthcare services to our communities.
We will consider relevant experience outside the NHS to calculate your salary on appointment.