Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist/ Emotional Disorders Team Lead

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical

•    Provide highly specialist psychoanalytic/psychodynamic psychotherapy assessment and treatment for children, adolescents and families referred to Westminster CAMHS.
•    Formulate and implement psychotherapeutic treatment plans across the full range of Child & Adolescent Psychotherapy modalities, including STPP, longer-term psychotherapy, short-term interventions, parent–child therapy, parent work, adolescent group therapy and consultation, according to service needs.
•    Deliver generic CAMHS assessments, including initial assessments, urgent assessments, neurodevelopmental screening and risk evaluations, ensuring timely access to care pathways.
•    Provide skilled, sensitive written formulations and treatment plans.
•    Carry out comprehensive risk assessments and develop robust, evidence-informed risk management plans.
•    Offer specialist psychodynamic risk formulation guidance to the MDT and partner agencies.
•    Provide specialist psychodynamic consultation to MDT colleagues and external professionals (education, social care, voluntary sector).
•    Contribute to duty systems, MDT discussions, inter-agency liaison and complex case/network meetings.
•    Prepare clear clinical reports and letters and liaise effectively with young people, families and professionals.
•    Act as care coordinator where appropriate, leading on planning, reviewing, and coordinating care with families and professional networks.
•    Deliver all clinical work with cultural sensitivity and awareness of systemic, identity-related, social and developmental factors impacting Westminster service users.
•    Ensure practice is informed by current evidence and make effective use of Routine Outcome Measures (ROMs).
•    Lead or participate in service evaluation, clinical audit, research and quality improvement projects.
•    Contribute to pathway development, policy shaping and service improvement across the Emotional Disorders Team and wider CAMHS.
•    Provide reflective practice, teaching and consultation to MDT colleagues, including potential contribution to work discussion groups.
•    Provide supervision to trainees, assistant psychotherapists or Band 7 clinicians where appropriate and according to service need.
•    Support the ongoing development of psychotherapy provision within Westminster CAMHS.
•    Work autonomously within professional, ethical and regulatory frameworks as defined by the Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP) and within CNWL policies.
•    Actively use supervision and maintain high professional standards.

Teaching, training, and supervision

•    Receive clinical supervision from the Lead Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist.
•    Participate in annual appraisal and objective-setting in line with Trust processes.
•    Maintain and develop specialist skills and knowledge in line with CAMHS competency frameworks and ACP requirements.
•    Engage in CPD to enhance psychotherapeutic practice and service contribution.
•    Provide high-quality supervision to trainee Child & Adolescent Psychotherapists and maintain liaison with training institutions to ensure excellent training placements.
•    Where appropriate and according to service need, supervise trainees, assistant psychotherapists, and Band 7 clinicians.
•    Contribute to the training and development of MDT colleagues, including reflective practice spaces and work discussion groups as required.

Management, policy and service development

•    Exercise delegated clinical authority to support high-quality psychotherapeutic interventions within the Emotional Disorders Team and CAMHS.
•    Contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of service policies, pathways, and procedures.
•    Support the enhancement and evolution of Child & Adolescent Psychotherapy provision in line with service priorities and clinical governance standards.
•    Participate in service planning meetings, quality improvement initiatives and MDT development activities.

Skills and Knowledge

•    Maintain high standards of clinical practice through active CPD engagement, in accordance with ACP professional requirements.
•    Act as a reflective and reflexive practitioner, contributing to the articulation of best practice within the service.
•    Maintain up-to-date knowledge of legislation, safeguarding frameworks, national guidance (including NICE), and NHS/NHS England policies relevant to CAMHS.
•    Attend team meetings, case discussions and professional network meetings, contributing psychodynamic perspectives to MDT formulation and care planning.
•    Undertake additional duties appropriate to the grade as required.

Qualifications and Professional Registration

•    Completion of a doctoral-level postgraduate training in Psychoanalytic Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy, typically of six years duration (two years part-time pre-clinical plus four years full-time clinical training), accredited by the Association of Child Psychotherapists.
•    Prior to training, the candidate will have: 
·    A relevant Honours degree or recognised equivalent (or Honours degree followed by postgraduate study),
·    Substantial professional experience with children and adolescents,
·    Demonstrated personal suitability (reflective capacity, maturity, emotional robustness).
•    Maintain full membership and registration with the Association of Child Psychotherapists.

IT Responsibilities

•    Adhere to high standards of Information Governance, confidentiality and data protection (including GDPR).
•    Enter, update and retrieve clinical information using SystemOne and other electronic systems as required.
•    Maintain research, audit or evaluation databases to support service development and review.

General

•    Maintain exemplary standards of clinical record-keeping, including accurate electronic documentation, timely report writing and adherence to professional governance.
•    Participate in all Trust-mandated training.
•    Comply with Trust policies and procedures relating to Health & Safety, Lone Working, Sickness and Absence, and Annual Leave.
•    Actively engage in internal and external CPD, sharing learning where appropriate.
•    Work in accordance with the Trust’s values, policies and professional codes.

To be noted:

•    This list is not exhaustive; the post holder may be required to undertake additional duties consistent with the grade.
•    The job description will be reviewed periodically in line with service needs.
•    The post holder must comply with all Trust policies including Equal Opportunities, Health & Safety and Confidentiality.