Psychology

Psychological Therapist — North East London NHS Foundation Trust

We are seeking a dedicated and skilled psychological therapist to join our Early Intervention in Psychosis service based at Church Road Health Centre in Havering. This part-time role, requiring one day per week (9 am to 5 pm), is offered on a fixed-term basis for one year, with the potential for extension. The position is aligned with Band 7 on the NHS pay scale, offering a salary between £49,397 and £56,515, pro-rated for part-time hours.

The role would suit a qualified therapist seeking to develop their skills, knowledge and experience of working with people with psychosis, and complex mental health difficulties in a multi-disciplinary setting.

About North East London NHS Foundation Trust

North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) is committed to providing high-quality, compassionate care that meets the diverse needs of our service users and their families. We aim to foster an inclusive, supportive culture where all staff feel valued and empowered to grow. Our Early Intervention in Psychosis service plays a crucial role in supporting individuals aged 14–65 experiencing a first episode of psychosis, offering innovative, evidence-based interventions to improve outcomes and promote recovery.

The Role

This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to a well-established service that supports individuals and their families during a critical period in their mental health journey. The successful candidate will work collaboratively with a multidisciplinary team, providing specialist psychological assessments and evidence-based interventions. The role also involves contributing to team development through supervision and training, ensuring the delivery of high-quality care.

• Provide comprehensive psychological assessments for service users and their families, integrating complex and sensitive data.
• Develop and deliver evidence-based treatment plans for individuals experiencing a first episode of psychosis.
• Offer supervision and guidance on psychological approaches to colleagues.

Essential Skills and Qualifications

• Proven experience in delivering evidence-based psychological therapies.
• Strong skills in psychological assessment, treatment planning, and risk management.
• Commitment to ongoing professional development and engagement in clinical supervision.

Why Join Us?

• Be part of a dedicated team making a tangible difference in the lives of individuals and families affected by psychosis.
• Work within an organisation that values inclusion, professional growth, and innovative approaches to care.

Job overview

The Psychological Therapist is a Band 7, part-time (1 day per week), fixed-term 12-month role within the Havering Early Intervention in Psychosis (HEIP) Service at NELFT, with potential for extension. The post holder will work with people aged 14–65 experiencing a first episode of psychosis, as well as their families and carers.

The role involves providing specialist psychological assessment, formulation and evidence-based psychological interventions for people experiencing psychosis and complex mental health difficulties. The therapist will work closely with the multidisciplinary team (MDT), providing psychological expertise, consultation and support to colleagues.

Main duties of the job

• Provide specialist psychological assessments for service users experiencing psychosis and complex mental health difficulties.

• Assess the psychological needs of families and carers and involve them in care planning and treatment.

• Undertake risk assessments and contribute to risk management.

• Develop collaborative, evidence-based formulations and treatment plans.

• Deliver evidence-based psychological interventions, including individual, family and group work.

• Apply psychological therapies for psychosis, including CBT-informed approaches and trauma-focused interventions where appropriate.

• Work collaboratively within the EIP multidisciplinary team and provide psychological consultation to other professionals.

• Support the development of psychologically informed practice across the service.

• Provide advice and support regarding psychological approaches to psychosis, risk and complex presentations.

• Participate in clinical supervision, CPD, training and professional development.

• Support trainee psychologists and contribute to teaching and learning within the service when appropriate.

• Contribute to research, clinical audit, service evaluation and service development when appropriate.

• Maintain accurate clinical records and comply with Trust policies, professional standards, safeguarding and confidentiality requirements.

• Promote equality, diversity, dignity, choice and service-user involvement in all aspects of care.

• Manage and prioritise own clinical workload effectively.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical assessment and treatment

• Undertake highly specialist psychological assessments using appropriate psychological measures, clinical information and formulation.

• Assess complex presentations involving psychosis, trauma, risk and other mental health difficulties.

• Develop comprehensive, evidence-based psychological formulations and treatment plans.

• Provide individual, group and family-based psychological interventions.

• Involve service users, families and carers in decisions about treatment and care.

• Monitor and evaluate treatment outcomes and adapt interventions where necessary.

• Provide specialist advice regarding psychological risk assessment and management.

Multidisciplinary and professional working

• Work effectively as a member of the Havering EIP MDT.

• Provide consultation and psychological expertise to colleagues and other professional groups.

• Promote psychologically informed approaches to working with people experiencing psychosis.

• Support colleagues in understanding psychological models and evidence-based interventions.

• Develop effective working relationships with families, carers, social care and other relevant agencies.

• Contribute to supervision and support of trainee psychologists and other staff where appropriate.

Professional development and supervision

• Participate actively in clinical supervision and maintain high standards of professional practice.

• Undertake ongoing CPD, with dedicated time for professional development.

• Maintain knowledge and skills in evidence-based psychological therapies for psychosis and complex mental health presentations.

• Participate in relevant training, including opportunities for postgraduate qualifications in FIp and CBT for psychosis.

• Maintain appropriate professional registration and demonstrate ongoing professional development.

Service development and quality improvement

• Contribute to clinical audit, research, service evaluation and quality improvement.

• Support the development and review of clinical policies and procedures.

• Use service-user and carer feedback to improve service delivery.

• Contribute to establishing and monitoring clinical standards and treatment outcomes.

• Identify and evaluate new approaches that may improve psychological care.

• Work collaboratively with service users, carers and colleagues to maintain and improve service quality.

Governance, safeguarding and safety

• Comply with NELFT policies, professional standards and relevant legislation.

• Maintain accurate, timely and confidential clinical records.

• Follow safeguarding procedures for children, young people and vulnerable adults.

• Identify, manage and report clinical and organisational risks, incidents and concerns.

• Follow health and safety, infection control, information governance and confidentiality requirements.

• Ensure clinical practice reflects relevant ethical and professional frameworks.

Key skills and experience required

The successful applicant should have:

• A doctoral qualification in Clinical or Counselling Psychology or a core mental health profession with postgraduate CBT training and BABCP registration.

• Appropriate professional registration, including HCPC and BABCP where applicable.

• An interest in working with people with complex mental health needs, including psychosis.

• Experience of assessment, formulation, treatment planning and delivery of evidence-based psychological interventions.

• An interest in working within secondary care and multidisciplinary teams.

• Knowledge and experience of safeguarding and clinical risk management.

• Strong knowledge of CBT and evidence-based psychological approaches to psychosis.

• Knowledge of trauma-informed approaches and, ideally, experience with interventions such as EMDR, TF-CBT or NET.

• Experience or knowledge of working therapeutically with families and carers affected by psychosis.

• Excellent communication, interpersonal, report-writing and consultation skills.

• Ability to work collaboratively with service users, carers and professionals from diverse backgrounds.

• Ability to manage emotionally demanding clinical situations and work effectively under pressure.

• Commitment to equality, diversity, service-user choice and recovery-focused practice.

• Good IT skills and the ability to collect, analyse and communicate clinical information.

• An interest in research, service development, innovation and continuous improvement.

• Ability to work flexibly across different clinical environments and travel throughout the service area.

Starting with NELFT
NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers and attend a number of drop-in sessions focusing on engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.

Probationary Period
This post will be subject to a probationary period. Internal applicants are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or currently a bank member of staff).

High Cost Area Supplement – Outer London
This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (with a minimum of £4,870 to a maximum of £6,137 p.a. pro rata for part time).

Working for Us
Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London and Essex. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.

The Trust has award-winning equality and diversity initiatives, along with staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest significantly in your development because when you feel valued and supported, we can deliver the highest quality care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been recognised in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for five consecutive years, and hold a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Through our staff networks and training opportunities, we strive to foster a just and compassionate culture at NELFT.

Working with our colleagues, patients and carers we have co-produced three new values that we aim to embed within our culture here at NELFT.
They are:

• We are kind.
• We are respectful.
• We work together with our communities.

These three values help us to strive to provide the best care by
the best

Certificates of Sponsorship
Although we are a registered sponsor organisation, we are unable
to offer sponsorship for all job roles. Please check your eligibility
under the UKVI points-based system. When calculating the basic salary for sponsorship, HCAS (High-Cost Area Supplement) is not included to ensure fairness and consistency within our Trust.

Use of AI
We value applications that genuinely reflect each candidate’s own skills, experience and motivations. We therefore strongly discourage the use of AI-generated content in applications.

Applications should be written in your own words and accurately represent your knowledge, skills and experience.

We reserve the right to reject an application where we reasonably believe AI has been used to generate or materially contribute to its content.

Please see the attached job description and person specification
for more information about this role and working at North East London NHS Foundation Trust. We encourage you to refer to this when completing your application.

We welcome your application even if you do not meet all the
criteria listed in the person specification. Please apply as soon as
possible as some posts close early to limit the number of
applications.

For an informal chat or to arrange a visit, please contact:

Name: Harriet Ferner

Job title: Lead Clinical Psychologist

Contact Number: 07732904407

Email: harriet.ferner1@nhs.net

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