Systemic and Family Psychotherapist: Sponsorship Available

Job summary

We are looking for an enthusiastic and experienced Systemic Family Psychotherapist to join our innovative Systemic Family Therapy Service in the Forensic Directorate. The post holder will join a team of Systemic Family Psychotherapists who work across Medium and Low Secure units and Forensic Outreach team, ELCFS (The East London Community Forensic Service).

The post holder will deliver specialist systemic interventions to service users referred to the Family Therapy Service. This will involve providing assessment and psychotherapy to service users, their families, and to other non-professional carers. The post involves offering in-reach services to service users approaching discharge, working with inpatient wards, community teams, service users and their families.

This is a part-time post and the successful candidate will be working across in-patient services and the community outreach team, ELCFS (The East London Community Forensic Service). ELCFS is multidisciplinary service, for service users in the process of and following discharge from the Forensic inpatient service.

This role is ideally suited to experienced Band 8A and Band 7 Systemic Family Psychotherapists who are seeking to advance their careers within a dynamic and innovative environment.

Main duties of the job

• Provision of specialist systemic and family psychotherapy services to service users and their families and /or carers within an inpatient setting and in the community.
• To offer inreach services to service users approaching discharge, working with inpatient wards and community teams.
• Facilitating systemic case discussions, co-leading formulation meetings, and actively participating in Risk meetings and seclusion reviews.
• Providing systemic consultation for service user management, offering supervision, training, and guidance on psychological care.
• To contribute to and participate in the teaching and training of staff members of the MDT in the community and inpatient settings on the principles of systemic psychotherapy. This is through methods such as offering live supervision in the family therapy clinic, joint work modelling systemic psychotherapy and teaching and training across the forensic directorate and to partners where appropriate (e.g. accommodation providers).
• To contribute to service wide innovations, representing systemic family therapy (E.g. Trauma Informed care service, Inequality and Diversity Forum, Carer’s forum, Recovery College for Carers).
• To contribute and meet ELFT’s Carer’s Strategy, offering staff training, systemic consultation and supervision across the inpatients and community services, to be aware of carers and engage with carers effectively

Person Specification

Education/ Qualification/ Training

Essential

• Post-graduate qualification in a mental health or social welfare discipline and demonstrable practice (or established equivalence according to Association of Family Therapy (AFT) criteria
• UKCP registration
• Registration as a systemic psychotherapist with United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) or equivalent body.
• Provide Evidence of Continuing Professional Development as required by UKCP/AFT guidelines leading to continuing registration

Desirable

• Postgraduate training in supervision of systemic and family psychotherapy

Experience

Essential

• Substantial experience practice in relevant first profession.
• Experience of working with a Multidisciplinary Team
• Experience in maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems where there may be high expressed emotion, verbal abuse and threats of violence.
• Experience of conducting risk assessments, preparing risks management plans and initiating appropriate action where indicated
• Experience of systemic consultation and supervision.
• Experience of contributing or leading systemic knowledge and practice to service wide innovations

Desirable

• Experience of working with Children, Adolescents and families.
• Experience of the application of psychological therapies in different cultural contexts
• Experience of working within a multicultural framework.
• Experience of working of working in the NHS

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• Skills in the use of methods of Systemic Psychotherapy / Family based assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
• A high level of sophistication in regard to relationship and communication skills when working with clients, families and/or professionals, including where the atmosphere might be highly emotive with clients and families expressing anger and hostility.
• An ability to work collaboratively with colleagues from other disciplines and in other settings including primarily CMHTs, in order to establish effective working relationships and partnerships that support care packages
• Ability to apply analytical skills to multi-layered complex cases
• Ability to formulate comprehensive assessments and offer effective treatment based on systemic principles.
• Well-developed skills in the ability to comprehend and communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, technical and/or clinically sensitive information in a manner appropriate to a range of settings and audiences, including complex highly emotive situations and those with significantly impaired communication capacities.
• Ability to provide ongoing treatment in complex, often unstable and frequently changing circumstances
• Skills in providing systemic/Family Therapy consultation, teaching and training to other professional and nonprofessional groups
• Do this by demonstrating an ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings
• Provide evidence of continuing Professional Development as required by UKCP/AFT guidelines leading to continuing registration
• Knowledge of ethical practice mindful of issues of power and diversity and to work in a way that is sensitive to clients’ cultural backgrounds.
• Knowledge and skills of risk management and ability to perform a clinical risk assessment.
• Adequate keyboard skills and understanding of IT packages.

Desirable

• Skills in both live and indirect supervision of systemic psychotherapists and/or multidisciplinary colleagues
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of Systemic Psychotherapy/Family therapy in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, psychosis
• Knowledge and skills on working systemically with children, adolescents and families
• Proficiency in a second language

Closing Date: 19 October 2026