CBT Therapist, Clin.Psychologist, Family Therapist or Psychotherapist

at  NELFT NHS Foundation Trust

ICP/ARFID Pathway
We are delighted to announce the further expansion of TWO of our newest additions in our portfolio: Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is characterised by a pattern of eating that avoids certain foods or food groups entirely, and/or is restricted in quantity and driven by sensory or avoided consequence factors. There has been increasing acknowledgement of a gap in services for ARFID, or suspected ARFID. As a result, referrals are inconsistently made to a wide range of services, including children and young people community eating disorder services, standard children and young people mental health services, community paediatrics, neurodevelopmental services, dietetic, speech and language, acute paediatric services and adult mental health services.
We are also expanding our intensive home-based eating disorder treatment pathway in the form of an enhanced care pathway (Intensive Care Pathway - ICP). These forms of treatment have the potential to minimise inpatient admissions (including out-of-area placements), reduce length of stay in inpatient settings and improve experience of discharge from inpatient care as set out in the NHS Long Term Plan.
We are very excited to be developing the ARFID and ICP pathways in Kent and Medway which requires a number of new staff positions.
We are ideally looking for a post holder who has either newly qualified or about to qualify as an HCPC registered professional: practitioner psychologist, CBT therapist, family therapist etc. You will need to be passionate about delivering high quality care to complex mental health service users and be innovative in your approach to helping us in developing new pathways within the NHS transformation agenda.
Prospective post holders are encouraged to find out more about this exciting role. Please contact Dr Annie Cardinal in the first instance.
North East London NHS Foundation Trust All-Age Eating Disorders Service is based in the County of Kent. We have a strong focus on training and research and team members benefit from excellent training and CPD opportunities. We have well developed links with NHSE and access to up-to-date training within transformation therapies and Leadership. We have close links to Christchurch University and the University of Kent and their Clinical Psychology Doctoral Training and Clinical Apprenticeship Psychologist Masters Programmes respectively, as well as close links to nursing training.
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 focusing in engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.
High-Cost Area Supplement
This post also attracts payment for High-Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (minimum payment of £4,313 and a maximum payment of £5,436) (pro rata for part time staff).
Use of AI
Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.

Specialist Clinical Skills

• To provide specialist assessment and clinical formulation for patients and their families/carers who are dealing with complex mental health needs including eating disorders and related problems.
• To provide specialised consultation to relevant professional systems including local and national mental health teams, general practitioners, schools, social services
• To select and administer specialist assessments, interpreting and integrating highly complex data drawn from several sources including psychological tests and rating scales
• To provide assessment and follow up reports, including relevant formulation, opinion and interventions, in order to inform referrers and, where appropriate, service users.
• To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations common to eating disorders (such as concerns about the potentially life-threatening nature of the illness, challenging behaviour, verbal abuse etc) and to support others involved in such situations.
• To work as an independent and autonomous professional within relevant professional guidelines and the policies and procedures of the service, taking full responsibility for own work including treatment and discharge decisions.
• To select and deliver specialist evidence based psychological treatments including systemic family therapy, multi-family therapy and individual therapies as appropriate. To provide such therapies with clinical autonomy drawing on a range of interventions and theoretical models.
• To practice in a way which is inclusive and considerate of the needs of each individual in the system including all family members and their varying developmental stages and current emotional state, monitoring outcome and modifying and adapting interventions in an appropriate way.
• To work in ways which are sensitive to and appropriate to the needs of individuals and families from a wide range of racial, cultural, religious and social backgrounds. This includes ability to understand and offer therapeutic interventions to a variety of family forms including single parents, same sex couples and their families, extended families and people with mental health difficulties.
• To travel to network meetings (e.g. in-patient CPA’s, community placements, family therapy meetings in other services) as appropriate and when required across Southend. Essex and Thurrock.
• To contribute to the effective working of the team and to a psychologically and systemically informed treatment framework for the service.
• To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans in keeping with trust policies
• To act as care co-ordinator, taking responsibility for initiating planning and reviewing care plans under enhanced CPA or role as appropriate.
• To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations such as aggressive and challenging behaviour amongst the client group, and support others who are involved in such situations.
• To communicate skilfully and sensitively highly complex information relating to the children and adolescent’s varying eating disorder conditions to them and their families and the wider professional system around them taking account of sensory and cultural barriers to communication

• To provide evidence-based interventions including family and individual cognitive behavioural interventions to service users and their families seen within the Kent and Medway eating disorders team using specialist knowledge and breadth of understanding of child and adolescent mental health theories, evidence-based assessments and interventions and to manage complex cases.
• To take an active role in developing the research activities of the team and audit and interpret complex data to develop own and others understanding of mental disorders.
• To contribute to the training activities of the team both within the service and externally.
• To use and maintain skilled standards of personal professional clinical practice in the treatment modalities required by the children and young people treated by the team and be a resource to the whole service in maintaining the skills of others.
• To provide specialist assessments and evidence-based interventions for service users with an eating disorder.
• To provide consultation and advice to members of own team and other teams on psychological issues, primarily Family Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural models of understanding eating disorders in young people.
• To provide consultation and advice on risk assessment and risk management of service users with an eating disorder to members of own team and other teams.
• To provide supervision to staff on Family therapy based or cognitive-behavioural interventions as appropriate with service users with an eating disorder.
• To undertake research into eating disorders.
• To provide training in working with eating disorders to mental health teams and other specialist services.

Specialist Clinical Skills

• To provide specialist assessment and clinical formulation for patients and their families/carers who are dealing with complex mental health needs including eating disorders and related problems.
• To provide specialised consultation to relevant professional systems including local and national mental health teams, general practitioners, schools, social services
• To select and administer specialist assessments, interpreting and integrating highly complex data drawn from several sources including psychological tests and rating scales
• To provide assessment and follow up reports, including relevant formulation, opinion and interventions, in order to inform referrers and, where appropriate, service users.
• To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations common to eating disorders (such as concerns about the potentially life-threatening nature of the illness, challenging behaviour, verbal abuse etc) and to support others involved in such situations.
• To work as an independent and autonomous professional within relevant professional guidelines and the policies and procedures of the service, taking full responsibility for own work including treatment and discharge decisions.
• To select and deliver specialist evidence based psychological treatments including systemic family therapy, multi-family therapy and individual therapies as appropriate. To provide such therapies with clinical autonomy drawing on a range of interventions and theoretical models.
• To practice in a way which is inclusive and considerate of the needs of each individual in the system including all family members and their varying developmental stages and current emotional state, monitoring outcome and modifying and adapting interventions in an appropriate way.
• To work in ways which are sensitive to and appropriate to the needs of individuals and families from a wide range of racial, cultural, religious and social backgrounds. This includes ability to understand and offer therapeutic interventions to a variety of family forms including single parents, same sex couples and their families, extended families and people with mental health difficulties.
• To travel to network meetings (e.g. in-patient CPA’s, community placements, family therapy meetings in other services) as appropriate and when required across Southend. Essex and Thurrock.
• To contribute to the effective working of the team and to a psychologically and systemically informed treatment framework for the service.
• To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans in keeping with trust policies
• To act as care co-ordinator, taking responsibility for initiating planning and reviewing care plans under enhanced CPA or role as appropriate.
• To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations such as aggressive and challenging behaviour amongst the client group, and support others who are involved in such situations.
• To communicate skilfully and sensitively highly complex information relating to the children and adolescent’s varying eating disorder conditions to them and their families and the wider professional system around them taking account of sensory and cultural barriers to communication.