Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist

Job summary

Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist or Clinical / Counselling Psychologist

.This is an exciting opportunity for a Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist or Clinical / Counselling Psychologist to provide psychological expertise within City and Hackney community mental health services. The psychological professions are embedded within various community mental health multidisciplinary teams, which are intended to offer a place-based service responsive to local population needs.

Main duties of the job

The role involves both direct and indirect working. The direct work with service users involves the provision of specialist psychological assessment, formulation and CBT treatment (in groups and individually). This post involves working with service users with a wide range of mental health difficulties within secondary care mental health services for people presenting with complex, chronic and often comorbid difficulties.

The role primarily involves offering evidence based assessment and treatment as recommended by NICE guidelines and current literature for severe and recurrent depression and anxiety disorders; PTSD and complex trauma, often where previous treatment has not been successful. Knowledge and considerable applied experience of treating service users with PTSD using trauma-focused treatments are essential.

Indirect work will include consultation, formulation, supervision and training with the multidisciplinary teams, and also with other services involved in the service user’s care as envisaged by the neighbourhood model.

The post holder will be committed to supporting the work of the wider psychotherapy and psychology service in seeking to provide a high quality, equitable, culturally competent and trauma-informed service.

The successful candidates will have a core professional mental health qualification or equivalent; have additional post-graduate training in CBT, and also have gained accreditation with the BABCP.

Person Specification

Education/Qualification/Training

Essential

• Core professional training in any mental health field (e.g. nursing, psychology, social work, OT etc.) or equivalent. Registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) or registered by a body overseen or accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
• Recognised Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy training.
• Accredited with the BABCP as a Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist.

Desirable

• Formal training in CBT supervision.
• Formal training in teaching and lecturing.
• Training in EMDR and/or Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET).

Experience

Essential

• At least a year’s experience (or part-time equivalent) of working within the NHS or equivalent prior to therapy training, working with a range of psychological problems, ranging from mild to complex conditions.
• Considerable experience of having delivering trauma focused CBT for patients with PTSD.

Desirable

• Experience of working within a multidisciplinary setting.
• Experience of working within a secondary care psychological therapies setting.
• Experience providing teaching, training or supervision in CBT.
• Experience of working within a diverse cultural setting and delivering therapy via interpreters.
• Experience in delivering EMDR and/or Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET).

Knowledge/Abilities/Skills

Essential

• Knowledge pertinent to effective risk assessment and management.
• Comprehensive knowledge of CBT theory and practice.
• Ability to work both autonomously and as a member of a team to manage conflicting demands between service users, the health care system and broader contexts.
• Ability to provide teaching, training and supervision to professionals.
• Ability to undertake appropriate risk assessment and formulate risk management plans and implement these plans.
• Assess, formulate care plans, implement interventions and evaluation of interventions using CBT.
• Skills to elicit, record and communicate routine clinical outcome data collection as part of clinical care. Skills to undertake appropriate clinical audits.
• Ability to engage service users and contribute to service development.
• The ability and skills to act as an advocate for the service, to engage and foster good professional relationships with all health professionals in promoting the good integration of this service.
• Ability to analyse complex health information and respond appropriately.
• Skills and abilities to contribute and lead on the service development process.

Desirable

• Capacity to conduct therapy in a language other than English.
• Knowledge of one or more psychotherapeutic approaches other than CBT.

Other

Essential

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills relevant to a wide range of audiences.
• Ability to engage patients with different language and cultural needs, including clinical work via interpreter.
• Ability to develop and generate self- help material in conjunction with the team.
• Experience of participation in clinical governance activities, such as clinical audit.

Desirable

• Knowledge and experience of delivering treatments in the context of complex trauma.

Closing Date: 21 July 2026