Systemic Family Therapist: Sponsorship Available

Job summary

Cambridge University Hospital Foundation Trust (CUH) is seeking a highly skilled and compassionate individual to join the new NHS Children and Young People’s Gender Service (East of England) in the role of Systemic Family Therapist.

Based within the Paediatrics Department at CUH, the successful applicant will have extensive experience of delivering high quality, evidence-based assessments and care to children and young people.

The Cass Review into gender services for children and young people has recommended that staff should maintain a broad clinical perspective by working across related NHS services in order to embed the care of children and young people with gender-related distress within a broader child and adolescent health context. In order to facilitate this, we encourage part-time applications from staff already working in other NHS or related services. We can also work with successful candidates applying for full-time roles to agree a job plan that includes a mix of gender service activity and activity in another clinical area.

The service operates Monday-Friday.

Main duties of the job

To work with managers and clinical leads, to ensure the systematic provision of a high-quality psycho-social service within the East of England Children and Young People’s Gender Service. To work autonomously within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of systemic therapies and practice within the Service. To ensure that systems are in place and working effectively for the clinical supervision and support of all systemic practitioners and all psychological therapists practicing systemically within the Service. This also includes ensuring there are clear systems in place for effective outcome measurement, recruitment, professional appraisal and the identification of CPD needs across the Service.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• oM.Sc./Post-graduate Diploma in Systemic Psychotherapy/Family Therapy
• oUKCP registered family therapist.
• oAdditional qualification in a related profession (e.g. social work, nursing, clinical psychology).
• oCurrent safe-guarding training

Desirable

• oRelevant specialist training in child and adolescent mental health disorders, or paediatrics.
• oAdvanced training in supervision
• oLeadership Training

Experience

Essential

• oSubstantial post-qualifying experience as a systemic/family psychotherapist working in health care or social care setting.
• oSubstantial experience of working with children, adolescents and families with complex mental health problems.
• oExperience of supervising other mental health professionals.
• oExperience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients’ care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified care coordinator and also within the context of a multi-disciplinary care plan.
• oAbility to work co-operatively in a multi-disciplinary team.
• oPrevious employment in a related health or social care post.
• oPlanning and delivering teaching to health and/or social care professionals.
• oInvolvement in a variety of systemic psychotherapy interventions (e.g. conjoint family therapy, parental counselling, group therapy).

Desirable

• oExperience of planning and implementing service developments.
• oRelevant experience of working collaboratively with service users and carers in the development of patient/client-centred services.
• oFamiliarity with research methodology.
• oInvolvement in strategic planning of services.
• oExperience facilitating the development of multi-disciplinary staff groups through the application of systemic models.
• oRelevant experience as a senior staff member.
• oExperience across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in-patient settings.
• oExperience leading across health care professions.
• oFormal training in supervision of other systemic therapists.

Knowledge

Essential

• oGood understanding of other professionals’ theoretical perspectives on this client group.
• oAbility to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance, including regular supervision, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
• oKnowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and its implications for both clinical practice and professional management in relation to the client group.
• oSkills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
• oKnowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of systemic psychotherapy.
• oEvidence of continuing professional development as recommended by UKCP and AFT.
• oAdvanced keyboard skills.
• oAbility to travel.

Skills

Essential

• oSkills in the use of complex methods of assessment, formulation, intervention and management, frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration. This requires the use of highly developed analytical and judgement skills.
• oSkills in current, evidence based, stepped care models of care as detailed in NICE guidance.
• oSkills in individual and group work and in programme planning.
• oPlanning and organising skills for caseload management.
• oSkills in self-management, including time-management.
• oWell-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information, including contentious and highly distressing information, to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.

Desirable

• oKnowledge of the theory and practice of specialised systemic therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc.)
• oGeneric supervisor competencies as detailed in Children’s Division Clinical Governance Report.
• oKnowledge of neurodevelopmental disorders including ADHD and ASD and learning disability, including specific child protection and risk issues relevant to this group of CYP.

Additional Qualifications

Essential

• oAbility to work competently with highly distressing circumstances – frequently facilitating discussions in which complex treatment decisions are made.
• oAbility to contain and work with organisational stress.
• oAbility to frequently concentrate for sustained periods of time in order to plan and apply complex systemic interventions (e.g. multi-family group therapy).
• oAbility to understand and utilise therapeutic use of self and to maintain insight through constructive use of personal supervision
• oTo maintain highest professional standards and skills required by UKCP and AFT for registration and audit purposes.
• oWillingness to develop the role of the family/systemic psychotherapist within the service and to contribute to the broader field.
• oMust be capable of interpreting broad occupational policies and be accountable for own professional actions.
• oThe ability to understand and behave at all times, towards patients, visitors and colleagues according to the Trust values of Safe, Kind, Excellent.

Desirable

• oRecord of having published in either peer-reviewed journals or equivalent.

Closing Date: 8 November 2026