NELFT North East London Foundation Trust

Systemic Family Therapist

The closing date is 12 January 2026

Job summary

The post-holder will be a post-graduate qualified family therapy practitioner; fully registered with the appropriate professional or regulatory body (e.g. HCPC, ACP, AFT), plus an additional post-graduate qualification in systemic family practice.The post-holder will provide specialist treatment and assessment within their professional sphere of expertise. They will be responsible for assessment, treatment, and systematic outcome measurement of CAMHS service users and the clinical supervision of junior clinicians within the team, where required.

They will ensure that a high quality, timely, accessible, and evidence-based service is available to all service users who require this input, throughout the borough. The post-holder will establish and maintain excellent working relationships with wider mental health and wellbeing services and ensure adherence to evidence-based treatments by all clinical staff across the team. The post-holder will be directly involved in delivering and supervising a range of therapeutic interventions, which may include systemic family work, parent work, group work, school observations of children, short term input and specialist psychotherapeutic treatments.

They will be responsible for all specialist psychotherapeutic assessments and family therapy interventions within their professional sphere of expertise.

Main duties of the job

Key Responsibilities:

- Provide an efficient, effective, comprehensive, and specialist family therapy service for children and adolescents with emotional, behavioural, and mental health issues, along with their carers/parents, and families.- Contribute to the multi-disciplinary assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with emotional and mental health issues, including their carers/parents, and families.- Undertake a range of highly specialist clinical work, urgent assessments, parenting support, and specialist cases.- Contribute to audits and research.- Actively participate in treatment and outcome monitoring, utilizing informed measures associated with CYP-IAPT.- Work within clinical practice, utilizing supervision, and adhere to the overall framework of CAMHS and the Trust's policies and procedures.- Maintain knowledge of Trust protocols and procedures, adhering to them, especially in the administration of medicine and moving and handling.- Exercise professional curiosity in daily roles and act upon findings appropriately.- Provide both formal and informal supervision to junior staff when necessary.- Act as an autonomous professional, fully registered with the appropriate professional or regulatory body (e.g., AFT).

About us

Probationary Period

This post will be subject to a probationary period. Internal applicants are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or currently a bank member of staff).

Starting with NELFT

NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers and attend a number of drop in sessions focussing in engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.

Details

Date posted

08 January 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£47,810 to £54,710 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

395-PP161-25-A

Job locations

Maidstone CYPMHS

The Courtyard, Pudding Lane, Maidstone,

Kent

ME14 1PA


Job description

Job responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

Provide an efficient, effective, comprehensive, and specialist family therapy service for children and adolescents with emotional, behavioural, and mental health issues, as well as their carers/parents and families.Contribute to the multi-disciplinary assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with emotional and mental health issues, alongside their carers/parents and families.Undertake a variety of highly specialist clinical work, urgent assessments, parenting support, and handle specialist cases.Contribute to audits and research activities.Actively participate in treatment and outcome monitoring, including the use of informed measures associated with CYP-IAPT.Work within clinical practice, utilizing supervision, and adhere to the overall framework of CAMHS and the Trusts policies and procedures.Organize and prioritize personal and team workload in the daily allocation of tasks.Maintain knowledge of Trust protocols and procedures, adhering to them, especially in the administration of medicine and moving and handling.Provide accurate records for the Trust's audit purposes.Ensure effective risk management at the team level through accident/incident reporting, risk assessment and control, and adding residual risks to the Trust register.Exercise professional curiosity in daily roles and act upon findings appropriately.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

Provide an efficient, effective, comprehensive, and specialist family therapy service for children and adolescents with emotional, behavioural, and mental health issues, as well as their carers/parents and families.Contribute to the multi-disciplinary assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with emotional and mental health issues, alongside their carers/parents and families.Undertake a variety of highly specialist clinical work, urgent assessments, parenting support, and handle specialist cases.Contribute to audits and research activities.Actively participate in treatment and outcome monitoring, including the use of informed measures associated with CYP-IAPT.Work within clinical practice, utilizing supervision, and adhere to the overall framework of CAMHS and the Trusts policies and procedures.Organize and prioritize personal and team workload in the daily allocation of tasks.Maintain knowledge of Trust protocols and procedures, adhering to them, especially in the administration of medicine and moving and handling.Provide accurate records for the Trust's audit purposes.Ensure effective risk management at the team level through accident/incident reporting, risk assessment and control, and adding residual risks to the Trust register.Exercise professional curiosity in daily roles and act upon findings appropriately.

Person Specification

Demonstration of Trust Values

Essential

  • Putting people first Prioritising quality
  • Being progressive, innovative and continually improve Being professional and honest
  • Promoting what is possible, independence, opportunity and choice

Qualifications

Essential

  • NVQ level 2 or equivalent standard of literacy and numeracy
  • Successful completion of a post-graduate training in child and adolescent family therapy
  • be eligible for registration as a full member of the appropriate professional body (e.g. HCPC, BABCP, ACP, AFT, NMC)Certificate of training Registration number

Experience

Essential

  • Extensive experience of working with difficult, disturbed, or challenging children/young people requiring skilled and complex interventions.
  • Experience of working with children and adolescents with co-morbid difficulties and special needs. (I.e. combination of organic and emotional deficits, such as autistic spectrum disorders and trauma).
  • Experience of working therapeutically with parents/carers/families of children and young people with complex mental health problems
  • Experience of using observation (e.g. In school contexts) to contribute to assessments of children.Extensive experience of working with difficult, disturbed, or challenging children/young people requiring skilled and complex interventions. Experience of working with children and adolescents with co-morbid difficulties and special needs. (I.e. combination of organic and emotional deficits, such as autistic spectrum disorders and trauma). Experience of working therapeutically with parents/carers/families of children and young people with complex mental health problems Experience of using observation (e.g. In school contexts) to contribute to assessments of children. Experience of carrying out generic assessment with other colleagues in the multi-disciplinary team Experience of specialist assessment carried out autonomously in order to determine the most appropriate treatment plan from a range of options for the child/young person. Experience of providing specialist individual interventions with a wide variety of children and young people, from 3 to 19 years old- presenting problems at the most severe end of the spectrum. Experience of initiating, organising and planning inter-agency meetings aimed at setting in place a treatment package tailored to the individual needs of a child/young person. Experience of providing clinical interventions in different cultural contexts.

Knowledge

Essential

  • Knowledge of the theory and practice of short term and long term clinical interventions Knowledge of legislation in relation to children and adolescents and safeguarding procedures and policies. Knowledge of NHS, Social Care and Education structures, national policies and frameworks, evidence based practice including NICE guidelines. Knowledge of risk management and ability to monitor and assess risk and act accordingly to ensure safety.
  • Knowledge of research methodology and outcome research methodology and outcome research design and ability to critically Interpret research findings.
  • An awareness of NHS forward Plan, NSF, new ways of working and clinical governance priorities

Skills

Essential

  • Ability to communicate clearly and effectively highly complex and sensitive matters to patients, which give rise to psychotherapeutic distress. Highly developed ability to integrate complex clinical information into a coherent formulation. Specialist skill in the ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside EWMHS.
  • Ability to tolerate anxiety without recourse to premature action whilst appreciating the role of the supervisor. Capacity to work alone, involving colleagues and manger as relevant Capacity to write clear records and observe policies, procedures and guidelines.
  • Ability to plan and organise own workload and time. Ability to use outcome monitoring across all clinical work.

Other

Essential

  • To be able to work within the Professional Code of Conduct and Ethics. To be able to work autonomously within the overall framework of the Trust's policies and procedures. Able to form good working relationships with others in multi-disciplinary and inter-agency settings.
  • Evidence of personal resilience and aptitude for dealing with challenging, potentially distressing and highly emotional clinical work
Person Specification

Demonstration of Trust Values

Essential

  • Putting people first Prioritising quality
  • Being progressive, innovative and continually improve Being professional and honest
  • Promoting what is possible, independence, opportunity and choice

Qualifications

Essential

  • NVQ level 2 or equivalent standard of literacy and numeracy
  • Successful completion of a post-graduate training in child and adolescent family therapy
  • be eligible for registration as a full member of the appropriate professional body (e.g. HCPC, BABCP, ACP, AFT, NMC)Certificate of training Registration number

Experience

Essential

  • Extensive experience of working with difficult, disturbed, or challenging children/young people requiring skilled and complex interventions.
  • Experience of working with children and adolescents with co-morbid difficulties and special needs. (I.e. combination of organic and emotional deficits, such as autistic spectrum disorders and trauma).
  • Experience of working therapeutically with parents/carers/families of children and young people with complex mental health problems
  • Experience of using observation (e.g. In school contexts) to contribute to assessments of children.Extensive experience of working with difficult, disturbed, or challenging children/young people requiring skilled and complex interventions. Experience of working with children and adolescents with co-morbid difficulties and special needs. (I.e. combination of organic and emotional deficits, such as autistic spectrum disorders and trauma). Experience of working therapeutically with parents/carers/families of children and young people with complex mental health problems Experience of using observation (e.g. In school contexts) to contribute to assessments of children. Experience of carrying out generic assessment with other colleagues in the multi-disciplinary team Experience of specialist assessment carried out autonomously in order to determine the most appropriate treatment plan from a range of options for the child/young person. Experience of providing specialist individual interventions with a wide variety of children and young people, from 3 to 19 years old- presenting problems at the most severe end of the spectrum. Experience of initiating, organising and planning inter-agency meetings aimed at setting in place a treatment package tailored to the individual needs of a child/young person. Experience of providing clinical interventions in different cultural contexts.

Knowledge

Essential

  • Knowledge of the theory and practice of short term and long term clinical interventions Knowledge of legislation in relation to children and adolescents and safeguarding procedures and policies. Knowledge of NHS, Social Care and Education structures, national policies and frameworks, evidence based practice including NICE guidelines. Knowledge of risk management and ability to monitor and assess risk and act accordingly to ensure safety.
  • Knowledge of research methodology and outcome research methodology and outcome research design and ability to critically Interpret research findings.
  • An awareness of NHS forward Plan, NSF, new ways of working and clinical governance priorities

Skills

Essential

  • Ability to communicate clearly and effectively highly complex and sensitive matters to patients, which give rise to psychotherapeutic distress. Highly developed ability to integrate complex clinical information into a coherent formulation. Specialist skill in the ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside EWMHS.
  • Ability to tolerate anxiety without recourse to premature action whilst appreciating the role of the supervisor. Capacity to work alone, involving colleagues and manger as relevant Capacity to write clear records and observe policies, procedures and guidelines.
  • Ability to plan and organise own workload and time. Ability to use outcome monitoring across all clinical work.

Other

Essential

  • To be able to work within the Professional Code of Conduct and Ethics. To be able to work autonomously within the overall framework of the Trust's policies and procedures. Able to form good working relationships with others in multi-disciplinary and inter-agency settings.
  • Evidence of personal resilience and aptitude for dealing with challenging, potentially distressing and highly emotional clinical work

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

NELFT North East London Foundation Trust

Address

Maidstone CYPMHS

The Courtyard, Pudding Lane, Maidstone,

Kent

ME14 1PA


Employer's website

https://www.nelft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer details

Employer name

NELFT North East London Foundation Trust

Address

Maidstone CYPMHS

The Courtyard, Pudding Lane, Maidstone,

Kent

ME14 1PA


Employer's website

https://www.nelft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Service Manager

Lisa Nolan

lisa.nolan@nelft.nhs.uk

07740539727

Details

Date posted

08 January 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£47,810 to £54,710 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

395-PP161-25-A

Job locations

Maidstone CYPMHS

The Courtyard, Pudding Lane, Maidstone,

Kent

ME14 1PA


Supporting documents

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