Family & Systemic Psychotherapist

We are excited to be recruiting to our newly redesigned Children & Young People's Inpatient Mental Health Unit at Chalkhill, reopening in Autumn 2026. Following extensive engagement, co-design, and investment in our clinical model, workforce, and environment, we are creating a modern therapeutic service where young people receive purposeful, high-quality care.

Following extensive co-design with young people, families and staff, and significant investment in our workforce and therapeutic approach, this is an exciting opportunity to work in a modern, recovery-focused inpatient service delivering high-quality, purposeful care to young people with acute mental health needs.

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Our refreshed CAMHS inpatient service is built around:

Job description

Sussex Partnership provides mental health and learning disability care for children, young people and adults across Sussex. The trust is rated as good overall and outstanding for caring by the CQC.

SPFT encourage flexible working. We know that a positive work/life balance brings about huge health related benefits, which has a positive impact on the care we provide. Please speak to us about flexible working, for example, flexible start/finish times or anything else. If it works for you and works for the role, we'll do our best to make it happen.

This is an excellent time for Psychology Professions to be joining Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust as we have launched our Strategy and can offer the following to you:

Regular Professional and Clinical supervision with a focus on enhancing wellbeing at work

The opportunity to ensure that Children and Young People benefit from increased access to Psychological Therapies

A commitment to improving matters of Equality, Inclusion, Diversity and Human Rights for Children and Young people, their families and staff.

The opportunity to participate in a range of quality improvement work and service innovations.

Access to a wide range of training and CPD opportunities through

The Psychological Professions Practice Networks

The Leadership Programme for Senior Psychological Professions.

Quarterly Psychology Professions CAMHS, Early Intervention and Perinatal Senior Leadership Forum

In order to be a successful Family & systemic psychotherapist (Band 7) in our team you will be:

Registered with UKCP

Experienced in risk management

Comfortable working in a fast-paced and varied role

Able to communicate effectively in complex and challenging circumstances to support professional decision making

Adaptable, organised, compassionate and a team player

Experience working in a multi-disciplinary environment

Experience working with families who are facing tough times and in crisis and adapting your therapeutic relationship/ intervention accordingly.

If you want to make a real difference to young peoples lives and help shape a redesigned, valuesdriven inpatient service, we would love to hear from you.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Recognised/accredited postgraduate level training in a psychological therapy as specified in one of the Appendices
• Professionally registered as specified in the same Appendix

Desirable

• Additional pre- and/or post-qualification training as specified in the same Appendix

Knowledge

Essential

• Substantial experience of specialist psychological therapy (assessment, formulation maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse. n and treatment), as specified in the same Appendix,
• A high level of competence in applying a psychological therapy to complex difficulties appropriate for this therapy with the client group, and a proven track record of delivering positive outcomes in this therapy ?Experience of offering teaching, training and supervision within a demanding organisational context.
• A clear and theoretically informed approach to supervision
• Experience of the application of psychological therapy in different cultural contexts and experience of working within a multicultural framework.

Desirable

• Experience of delivering group interventions

communication

Essential

• Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, highly technical, and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Proven ability to establish, maintain and conclude therapeutic relationships with clients

Skills

Essential

• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
• A capacity to reflect upon the therapeutic process and upon one's own part in it.
• An ability to make effective use of clinical supervision and to utilise these skills in contributing to clinical consultation within the team and to other professional and non-professional groups

planning

Essential

• Ability to work within a large geographical area effectively, managing travel arrangements and using creative working solutions.
• Ability to assist or take a lead in specific service development projects
• Ability to plan and manage a work load

leadership

Essential

• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.

Desirable

• Ability to supervise and support psychological professionals, in the locality, undertaking appraisals and managing sickness and annual leave where appropriate

About the employer

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust delivers specialist mental health, learning disability and neurodevelopmental services across Sussex.

This post sits within our Specialist CAMHS Services, offering opportunities to work closely with acute, community and crisis pathway colleagues.

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, and to creating a compassionate, supportive working environment where staff feel valued, developed and able to deliver excellent care.

What we can offer you

The opportunity to help shape a newly reopened CAMHS inpatient unit Comprehensive induction programme prior to opening, where all new staff train together and contribute to the team's therapeutic approach

A supportive leadership team and strong MDT cultureHigh-quality clinical and managerial supervisionAccess to CPD, specialist CAMHS training and leadership developmentCareer progression opportunities within inpatient and wider CAMHS servicesNHS Pension Scheme and Agenda for Change benefits