Self-Employed Child and/or Family Therapist – Trauma-Informed (DDP, Theraplay, Lifestory Work)

We are seeking qualified, accredited child and/or family therapists with expertise in trauma-informed approaches such as DDP, Theraplay, Lifestory Work, and Therapeutic Parenting to join our flexible, ethical Therapies service in Greater Manchester.

Can you deliver one or more of the following therapy types, with children and/or carers and families?

• Lifestory Work
• Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy
• Therapeutic Parenting
• Theraplay

This is a flexible, self-employed role – you can pick up as many or as few pieces of work as you choose, to suit you! We pride ourselves on the support and development we offer to our affiliates – free monthly peer supervision, free CPD opportunities, mentoring for those who want to get into court work, as well as quality assurance and proof-reading support with reports.

MCTS provides bespoke psychological and mental health services, with attachment and trauma-informed practice at the heart of everything that we do. We currently have a multi-disciplinary network of over 50 self-employed, affiliate clinicians, including:

• Clinical, counselling and forensic psychologists
• Psychiatrists
• Occupational Therapists
• Speech and language Therapists
• Autism and ADHD diagnosticians
• Nurses
• Social workers
• Psychotherapists and creative therapists

The affiliate network provides a range of specialist services, including expert witness services for family court, Autism and/or ADHD assessments, individual, group and family therapy for children, adults and carers, bespoke assessments of children, adults, families or carers, support and supervision to the team around the child, adult or family, and consultation, training and psychoeducation.

MCTS receives referrals from a wide range of clients, including direct self-referrals, referrals from parents and carers, schools, children’s homes and fostering services, NHS providers, local authorities, police, and solicitors.

Your primary task will be undertaking therapy with children, adults and families and writing therapy update and end of therapy reports. If you would like to do so, you will also have the opportunity to get involved with expert witness work, autism and/or ADHD assessments, support and supervision to the team around a child, adult or family, and consultation, training and psychoeducation.

This is an affiliate, self-employed role. You can pick and choose how much work you take on at any time with no pressure or minimum commitment. Our dedicated referrals co-ordinator will get to know your experience and availability and send you referrals that we think might suit – you let us know whether you’re interested and available.

When you’re ready to submit a report, we have a robust quality assurance process to support you and ensure the highest quality and consistency which includes support from a clinician as well as proof-reading and formatting support from our admin team. At the end of each month, you bill us for the work you have completed and we pay you within 30 days, so you don’t have to worry about chasing payments from referrers!

For clinicians who are interested in getting into Expert Witness work, we can pair you up with a mentor to support you through your first couple of assessments. We offer a free monthly peer supervision session for all our therapists, so you have access to ongoing support no matter your experience level. We also have lots of opportunities for you to maintain variety in your workload through activities like direct therapy, group work, delivering teaching or training, participating in CPD, research activity, or publishing articles. We will also offer you free Level 3 Safeguarding Training for children and adults (if required). And free access to our secure clinical management software for managing appointments, keeping records and storing files.

Person Specification

Essential

• Relevant professional accreditation (HCPC, UKCP, BACP, or equivalent).
• Post-qualification experience delivering therapeutic interventions with children, families, and/or carers.
• Formal training in one or more of the advertised modalities (Lifestory Work, DDP, Theraplay, Therapeutic Parenting or equivalent).
• Demonstrated understanding of attachment and trauma-informed practice.
• Ability to produce clear, compassionate, and evidence-based therapy reports.
• Able to conduct face-to-face therapy and live within 1 hour of Greater Manchester.

Desirable

• Experience working with looked-after children, fostering, or adoption contexts.
• Previous involvement in multi-agency working (social care, education, health).
• Experience delivering group work or training for carers/professionals.
• Previous expert witness or court experience.
• Additional therapeutic modalities (e.g., EMDR, CBT, Play Therapy).
• Flexibility to deliver some sessions remotely.

For more information about this role, please contact hello@mcts.org.uk

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that some people, including women and people of colour, are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At MCTS we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every specification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway - you may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

About MCTS:

We are specialists in trauma, therapeutic care, and organisational culture. First and foremost, MCTS is a social enterprise – we believe in reinvesting to improve services for children, young people, and families who have experienced trauma and adversity, in an innovative and socially conscious way. Within the United Kingdom there is a devastating lack of effective, specialist services to meet the needs of children, young people and families impacted by trauma, abuse, and neglect. Our mission at MCTS is to share our expertise and experience in the field to develop and deliver specialist psychological services that are ethical and trauma-informed.

Reasons to join us:

1. We walk the talk: As a trauma-informed employer, we apply the same values, principles and approaches to staff and organisational culture as we do with every child and family. That means a strong emphasis on staff wellbeing, collaboration, connection and integration, and an open, curious and reflective ethos.
2. Support and supervision: As a member of the team, you will receive monthly clinical and case supervision, as well as participating in a monthly reflective practice space. When you join us, you will be allocated a Peer Buddy, to guide and support you through your induction and probation period, alongside your Clinical Supervisor and Case Manager. Although we are a small team, we have a strong sense of community and we work hard to maintain connection and integration across our service.
3. Socially conscious: We pride ourselves on practicing in ethical and socially conscious ways. Our aim is to reinvest into much-needed psychological services for children, young people and families impacted by adversity. We are passionate about social reinvestment and feel that this makes us unique in the independent expert assessment sector.
4. Lifelong learning: We are strengths-focused and believe in lifelong learning. Every member of our team has completed or is working toward certification as a Certified Clinical Trauma Specialist (individual and families), as well as Therapeutic Care Training and Story Stem Assessment Training. In addition, each member of the team gains access to an online training platform, which includes CPD-accredited training courses with renowned clinicians, such as Drs Bessel Van Der Kolk, Janina Fisher and Pat Ogden. We place high importance on developing our staff team and ensuring that we provide opportunities for career progression and leadership.
5. Staff wellbeing: We all need to feel ok in order to thrive, reflect and learn. Working with trauma and adversity can have an impact on any of us, at any time, regardless of how experienced we are. We are all human beings that bring our own lived experiences, strengths, learning needs, blind spots, biases, feelings, beliefs and values into the work. At MCTS, we celebrate and respect our individual, social and cultural identities and foster a culture of psychological safety.
6. Fresh thinking: We’re just beginning this journey, and now is a great time to join us! As a new business, developed by a team with considerable expertise and experience in the field, we get the unique benefits of being newly formed and full of big ideas, alongside the background of years of success and experience in developing and delivering independent health and social care services.

Closing date for applications: Thursday 27th November 2025 - we will be in touch after this date to let you know if we would like to invite you to interview.

Safeguarding and Equal Opportunities

MCTS is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. Applicants must be willing to undergo appropriate child protection screening, including employment references and DBS check. We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation, or age. Please note: Job applicants must have the legal right to work in the United Kingdom.