Trainee Psychological Therapist

The closing date is 6th Sep 2026

/*generated inline style */

Job summary

Trainee Specialist Family and Systemic Psychotherapist (Band 6 Development Post to Band 7)

Family and Systemic Psychotherapy is at the heart of Hampshire and IOW CAMHS, and our Children and Young People's Eating Disorder Service (CYPEDS) is delighted to offer an exciting full-time opportunity for a Band 6 Trainee Specialist Family and Systemic Psychotherapist. This is a development role with progression to Band 7 upon successful completion of training and required competencies.

We are seeking a highly motivated and reflective systemic practitioner who is ready to take the next step in their professional journey. This is an excellent opportunity to further develop specialist systemic skills within a supportive, experienced and forward-thinking Eating Disorder Service where family inclusion, relational practice and evidence-based treatment are central to everything we do.

You will have a passion for working creatively and collaboratively with children and young people experiencing eating disorders, alongside their families, carers and wider networks. As part of our county-wide multidisciplinary Eating Disorder Service, you will play a key role in delivering evidence-based, family-focused interventions that make a genuine difference to the lives of young people and those who support them.

Applicants must have been accepted onto, or be eligible for, an accredited qualifying Family and Systemic Psychotherapy training programme(Masters level or equivalent recognised training pathway).

/*generated inline style */

Main duties, tasks & skills required

The role will include:

• Supporting the team in delivering excellent family-centred care, ensuring that family inclusion is at the core of all interventions.
• Providing direct clinical work with children, young people and families experiencing eating disorders.
• Delivering evidence-based family interventions including Family Therapy for Anorexia Nervosa (FT-AN), Family Therapy for Bulimia Nervosa (FT-BN) and Family-Based Treatment (FBT), supported by experienced clinicians.
• Developing skills in working with more complex presentations, including neurodevelopmental differences, trauma, self-harm, depression and high-risk eating disorder presentations.
• Contributing to specialist family therapy and systemic clinics, including opportunities for co-working and reflecting team practice.
• Offering systemic consultation to colleagues and partner agencies, helping to promote a relational and contextual understanding of difficulties.
• Facilitating and contributing to reflective practice and thinking spaces for staff.
• Supporting collaborative systemic assessments, formulations and care planning, considering family relationships, communication patterns, social and cultural influences, and wider systemic contexts.
• Working alongside multidisciplinary colleagues to help integrate systemic ideas into everyday clinical practice and treatment delivery.
• Contributing to service development, quality improvement projects and the ongoing enhancement of evidence-based care pathways.

/*generated inline style */

About us

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides joined-up mental and physical healthcare for around two million people across our communities. With over 13,000 staff working in the community and local hospitals, we deliver care at every stage of life, helping people live their best and healthiest lives.

Our mental health services include community-based support and early intervention in psychosis (EIP) for both adults and young people, alongside a network of specialist inpatient wards covering forensic, learning disability, eating disorder and older person's care.

We deliver extensive physical health services too, from urgent community response teams helping frail and older patients remain safely at home, to hospitals at home teams providing acute-level care in familiar surroundings. Our neurological services offer rehabilitation and treatment for conditions including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Motor Neurone Disease, Head Injury, Cerebral Palsy and Stroke. Across Hampshire, our community hospitals provide inpatient rehabilitation as a step down from acute care, and our dedicated teams also staff Treetops Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Portsmouth, offering expert, compassionate support.

Everything we do is underpinned by our CARE values of compassion, accountability, respect and excellence

/*generated inline style */

Job description

Further information about the Trust and this role can be found on the Job Description and Person Specification document attached. It is important to us that we ensure our recruitment processes are accessible and inclusive to everyone - if as a potential candidate you are concerned a person specification may prevent or restrict your application for employment as a result of unintentional barriers on the grounds of your sex, race, age, sexual orientation, religion/belief or disability please initially contact the Trust's Recruitment team - detailed in the advert. The Trust will seek to resolve this issue wherever possible.

We are happy to talk Flexible Working - all requests for flexible working options can be discussed as part of the interview process.

/*generated inline style */

Person specification

/*generated inline style */

Qualifications

/*generated inline style */

Essential

• A degree level qualification from a UK university or equivalent at second-class or higher.
• Relevant first professional qualification recognised by the Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice (AFT).

List of relevant first professional qualification recognised by the Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice (AFT).

• Arts Therapists (art, drama, dance and movement and music therapists), qualified and registered with the Health Care Professions Council, HCPC.
• Counselling - three-year minimum training, full BACP accredited membership (MBACP Accred) and experience in the public or voluntary sector is considered essential to establish equivalence.
• Nursing - mental health nursing and other nursing specialities which require counselling skills. It is also noted that nursing is now a graduate profession.
• Occupational Therapy - qualified and registered with Health Professions Council.
• Psychiatry and other medical specialities - for qualifying level training speciality training registrar level or staff grade is required.
• Psychology - clinical psychology, educational psychology and counselling psychology qualifications are considered relevant.
• Social Work - the generic professional qualification is sufficient whichever training route was undertaken (e.g. undergraduate, postgraduate, or the employment based without an academic award attached). It is noted that social work is now a graduate profession.
• Speech and language therapy - qualified and registered with the Health Professions Council.
• Teaching - where individuals have had substantial experience in which they have worked with pupils and families in a counselling capacity.
• Registration with a professional body as appropriate according to first professional qualification.
• Evidence of continuous post-professional qualification development.
• Intermediate / CYP-IAPT Systemic Family Practice qualification.
• Currently on or have been accepted on an AFT accredited MSc / MA programme in Systemic Psychotherapy (within London, Southeast England or Southwest England) and available to start the training in Autumn 2023.

/*generated inline style */

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

/*generated inline style */

UK Professional Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

/*generated inline style */

For help with your application, contact:

• Nicky Duncombe
• nicky.duncombe1@nhs.net
• 02382317903
• /*generated inline style */
• Pay scheme
• Agenda for Change
• /*generated inline style */
• Band
• Band 7
• /*generated inline style */
• Salary
• /*generated inline style */
• £49387.00 to £56515.00 Yearly
• /*generated inline style */
• Contract
• Permanent
• /*generated inline style */
• Working pattern
• Full-Time
• /*generated inline style */
• Reference number
• 348-CFS-12173
• /*generated inline style */
• Job locations
• Cromwell House
• 15 Andover Road
• Winchester
• Hampshire

SO23 7BT

• /*generated inline style */
• Attachments
• /*generated inline style */

Job Description

Job Description - Band 6 - Trainee Psychological Therapist (Family Systemic Psychotherapy)v2.pdf – 362KB Opens in a new window

• /*generated inline style */
• Additional document 1
• EmployeeBenefits_hiowh_v1-compressed_3.pdf – 1001KB Opens in a new window
• /*generated inline style */
• /*generated inline style */

/*generated inline style */ html body [inline_imp][inline_imp][inline_imp][style_hash_47cfa03a2acd731eff18513905138527][style_count_1] {background-color: #eeeeee !important; border-color: #eeeeee !important; padding: 1rem 1rem !important; margin-bottom: 1rem !important; border: 1px solid transparent !important; border-radius: .25rem !important; !important;}