Job summary
Due to on-going investment, a structure review and subsequent expansion of the Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy Team within West London CAMHS, an excitement opportunity has arisen for a Band 7 Specialist Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist to join Ealing CAMHS (Child and Family Team 0.4 WTE and Neurodevelopmental team 0.6 WTE).
We are looking for amotivated and enthusiastic Childand Adolescent Psychotherapist with a broad range of experience of working in a multi-disciplinary, multi-agency and multi-cultural context, including experience of working with children and families who present with a high levelofcomplexity and require skilled assessments and intervention.You will provide psychotherapy assessments and specialist psychotherapy treatment including Short Term Psychotherapy (STPP) and parent work, alongside specialist NDT and more generic clinical assessments and treatment.
The needs of young people and families will be at the centre of thinking about the service, and you will work together with service users and colleagues to ensure that the service best meets the needs of its population. Ealing is a culturally diverse borough and you will be involved in ensuring that the service is accessible and effective.
Main duties of the job
Ealing CAMHS is a borough-located service, and operates as part of a wider three-borough CAMHS service, including Hounslow CAMHS and Hammersmith and Fulham CAMHS, within West London NHS Trust. The service prides itself in thinking and implementing creative and innovative ways of delivering care, and there are opportunities to be involved in quality improvement projects, audit and research.
Ealing CAMHS is supportive and welcoming team with a well-established psychotherapy discipline. The service consists of a Child and Family Tam, Adolescent Team and a Neurodevelopmental Team. All three teams are multi-disciplinary, including psychiatry, nursing, family therapy, child psychotherapy, psychology, child and adolescent psychiatry, as well as CAMHS practitioners. .
You would be joining a welcoming child and adolescent psychotherapy team in West London who are committed to service improvement, staff well-being, and who value diversity in our workforce. We have good links with the training courses and offer placements to trainees within our service.We welcome enquiries about the post to Ivana Ruzic, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and CAMHS Head of Child Psychotherapy Ivana.Ruzic@nhs.net 0208 483 1979
About us
West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.
Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ over 5,000 staff, of whom 59% are BME. Our turnover for 2024-25 is over £500m.
The Trust is rated as 'Good' overallby the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as 'Outstanding'.
The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached.
The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached.
The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Good relevant honours degree, or a recognised equivalent.
- Other related professional qualification or equivalent.
- Postgraduate accredited training in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy.
- Eligibility for full membership of Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP).
- Keyboard skills (physical skills)
Desirable
- Keyboard skills (physical skills)
Experience
Essential
- Pre-qualification professional experience with children, adolescents and families (e.g. clinical/educational psychology, teaching, social work).
- Experience of work with complex family situations where there is a threat of abuse and breakdown.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups with presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity and across the age range of 0-18, including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
- Experience of professional teaching and training.
Desirable
- Experience of assessment and intervention with individuals with neurodevelopmental difficulties
- Experience of work with therapeutic groups of children.
- Substantial experience of work with families where the parents are mentally ill.
- Experience of work with therapeutic groups of children.
Knowledge
Essential
- Good knowledge of relevant theories, practices and research in the field of child and adolescent development and psychotherapy and ability to apply them to relevant work situations.
- Evidence of continuous professional development as recommended by the ACP.
Desirable
- Knowledge of adult mental health problems.
- Knowledge of research methodology.
- Specialist areas of knowledge based on further training and experience.
Skills
Essential
- Ability to communicate clearly and effectively with patients, staff, administrators and managers about highly complex and sensitive matters in situation of potential conflict or psychological/emotional pain, and where mental health problems affect relationships.
- Capacity to listen to other points of view effectively about highly complex issues through reports, publication or public presentation.
- Good level of analytic skills and understanding of unconscious processes and their impact on the individual, group and institutional processes.
- Ability to remain still and maintain intense concentration in clinical settings with children, adolescents, parents/carers and families where there may be high level of distress, verbal and physical aggression or chaotic activity
- Ability to integrate available highly complex clinical information into a coherent formulation and to apply it in treatment and clinical management.
- Ability to monitor and assess risk and act accordingly.
- Writes clear records and observes policies, procedures and guidelines.
- Ability to plan and organise own workload and time.
- Ability to plan, co-ordinate and organise aspects of service activities.
- IT and internet research skills.
- Ability to conduct audit and research.
- Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues to plan, evaluate, monitor and develop services
Other requirement
Essential
- Must be able to contain anxiety without recourse to premature action.
- Personal experience of Psychoanalysis
- Has a good judgement about when to act to ensure safety.
- Works independently but can involve colleagues appropriately.
- Continues to think clearly in situations of high level of emotion and stress.
- Can process own emotional reactions as possible information about the patient's or family's emotional state
- Contains and works with organisational stress and ability to 'hold' the stress of others.
- Familiar with and works within ACP's Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics
- Work autonomously within overall framework of policies and procedures.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Good relevant honours degree, or a recognised equivalent.
- Other related professional qualification or equivalent.
- Postgraduate accredited training in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy.
- Eligibility for full membership of Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP).
- Keyboard skills (physical skills)
Desirable
- Keyboard skills (physical skills)
Experience
Essential
- Pre-qualification professional experience with children, adolescents and families (e.g. clinical/educational psychology, teaching, social work).
- Experience of work with complex family situations where there is a threat of abuse and breakdown.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups with presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity and across the age range of 0-18, including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
- Experience of professional teaching and training.
Desirable
- Experience of assessment and intervention with individuals with neurodevelopmental difficulties
- Experience of work with therapeutic groups of children.
- Substantial experience of work with families where the parents are mentally ill.
- Experience of work with therapeutic groups of children.
Knowledge
Essential
- Good knowledge of relevant theories, practices and research in the field of child and adolescent development and psychotherapy and ability to apply them to relevant work situations.
- Evidence of continuous professional development as recommended by the ACP.
Desirable
- Knowledge of adult mental health problems.
- Knowledge of research methodology.
- Specialist areas of knowledge based on further training and experience.
Skills
Essential
- Ability to communicate clearly and effectively with patients, staff, administrators and managers about highly complex and sensitive matters in situation of potential conflict or psychological/emotional pain, and where mental health problems affect relationships.
- Capacity to listen to other points of view effectively about highly complex issues through reports, publication or public presentation.
- Good level of analytic skills and understanding of unconscious processes and their impact on the individual, group and institutional processes.
- Ability to remain still and maintain intense concentration in clinical settings with children, adolescents, parents/carers and families where there may be high level of distress, verbal and physical aggression or chaotic activity
- Ability to integrate available highly complex clinical information into a coherent formulation and to apply it in treatment and clinical management.
- Ability to monitor and assess risk and act accordingly.
- Writes clear records and observes policies, procedures and guidelines.
- Ability to plan and organise own workload and time.
- Ability to plan, co-ordinate and organise aspects of service activities.
- IT and internet research skills.
- Ability to conduct audit and research.
- Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues to plan, evaluate, monitor and develop services
Other requirement
Essential
- Must be able to contain anxiety without recourse to premature action.
- Personal experience of Psychoanalysis
- Has a good judgement about when to act to ensure safety.
- Works independently but can involve colleagues appropriately.
- Continues to think clearly in situations of high level of emotion and stress.
- Can process own emotional reactions as possible information about the patient's or family's emotional state
- Contains and works with organisational stress and ability to 'hold' the stress of others.
- Familiar with and works within ACP's Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics
- Work autonomously within overall framework of policies and procedures.
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.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
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.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
