Eating Disorders: Senior Psychologist/CBT Therapist

Main area Senior Psychologist/CBT Therapist in Eating Disorders (8a) Grade NHS AfC: Band 8a Contract Permanent Hours Part time - 32 hours per week Job ref 363-TH8287652

Employer East London NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Mile End Hospital Town Mile End, London Salary £66,274 - £73,496 per annum Inc HCA Salary period Yearly Closing 11/10/2026 23:59 Interview date 19/10/2026

Eating Disorders: Senior Psychologist/CBT Therapist

NHS AfC: Band 8a

ELFT has long been recognised as a centre of excellence for mental and health care, innovation and improvement. So it is a very exciting time for you to come and work for us. Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

The post will support people meeting diagnostic criteria for an eating disorder whose relationship with food, eating and body image significantly affects their health and wellbeing. The role will focus on those with moderate impact on physical health.

The successful candidate will take a senior role in daily service operations: screening referrals, completing assessments, developing treatment plans, holding a caseload, and supporting the team. They will contribute to the development and management of a FREED-informed model of care across East London, working into IAPT services, supporting primary care networks, and liaising with St Ann’s Specialist Eating Disorders Service.

This is a leadership role within a vibrant, progressive team. Applicants should have experience supporting people with eating difficulties, but we are equally interested in your unique skills and qualities. We warmly welcome applications from people with lived experience of mental health services, carers, or those with strong connections to the boroughs we serve.

Main duties of the job

1. To oversee a senior role in the daily operations of the eating disorder service, supporting the team in screening referrals, conducting assessments, developing treatment plans, and managing a clinical caseload effectively.

2. To manage all referrals coming through our self-referral portal, providing updates to the Clinical Lead for Eating Disorders (Adults) on its progress, while identifying areas for improvement and opportunities for further service enhancements.

3. To ensure the production of accurate and timely documentation, overseeing the maintenance of comprehensive records for all service users in accordance with your Professional Code of Conduct and Trust policies.

4. To take the lead in the ongoing development of a high-quality service, contributing to local emergency plans and team risk assessments, all grounded in evidence-based practice, care pathways, and adhering to NICE and Department of Health Guidance.

5. To work closely with the Service Lead in the development and implementation of operational and clinical policies, contributing to the formulation and review of appropriate guidelines.

6. To maintain a clinical caseload, delivering evidence-based therapies in line with NICE guidelines.

7. To provide clinical supervision and line management to team members, including psychologists, therapists, clinical associates in psychology, and peer support workers.

Working for our organisation

Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To hold a senior position in the daily operation of the eating disorder service and to support the team in screening referrals, carrying out assessments, developing treatment plans and maintaining a clinical caseload.

2. To manage all referrals accessing the service through our self-referrals portal (both FREED and non-FREED cases), and t o continuously review the implementation of the FREED-informed service model and care package, advising the Clinical Lead for Eating Disorders (Adults) on its progress, and identifying any areas for improvement or opportunities for further service development

3. To produce accurate and timely documentation, conduct and manage the maintenance of accurate and timely documentation / records on all service users in line with your Professional Code of Conduct and Trust policy

4. Lead in the continuing development of a high quality service and contribute to local emergency plan, team risk assessment etc. that is underpinned by evidence based practice, care pathways / packages and NICE and DH Guidance

5. Work closely with and assist the Service Lead with development and implementation of operational / clinical policies contributing to the formulation and review of appropriate policies

6. Responsible for the coordination and management of the FREED and Community project in providing a safe, effective and therapeutic clinical service, ensuring the delivery of high quality community mental health care packages.

7. To hold a clinical caseload and to offer evidence based therapies in line with NICE guidelines.

8. To provide clinical supervision and line management for other members of staff such as psychologists, therapists, clinical associates in psychology and peer support workers.

Person specification

Education/ Qualification/ Training

• Doctorate in Counselling Psychology and able to demonstrate eligibility for BPS CPsychol (Chartered Psychologist) Or Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) or BPS statement of Equivalence and able to demonstrate eligibility for BPS CPsychol (Chartered Psychologist) Or Accredited training as a CBT Therapist, and Core mental health profession, or a demonstrable working knowledge of NHS values, clinical structures in secondary mental health care, referral pathways, how services are funded and the roles of NHS professionals
• Registration: Full registration with one of: 1. HCPC (Psychologists and Arts Therapists) 2. BABCP 3. UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)
• Further training or qualifications in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice relevant to the post, eg supervision, therapeutic models used in eating disorder etc

Experience

• Substantial experience of specialist assessment, formulation and treatment of clients experiencing eating disorders.
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the range of care settings, including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the treat of physical abuse.
• Experience in working in multidisciplinary settings and representing a psychological perspective in teams and services.
• Experience of the application of psychological interventions in different cultural contexts.
• Experience in contributing to service development, redesign and improvements in secondary mental health services.
• Experience working in the NHS.

Knowledge and Skills

• To be able to deliver highly specialist therapy using two or more relevant models, from amongst the following, in order of preference: 1. CBT-E 2. MANTRA, SSCM or FPT 3. Other models used on complex eating disorders, eg CFT, DBT, CAT, Schema, IPT
• Able to draw upon a theoretical knowledge base in the analysis of highly complex facts and situations, requiring sustained and intense concentration, to arrive at appropriate formulation and compare and select from a range of treatment options.
• An in depth knowledge and skills in applying clinical risk assessment and management in own and others’ clinical caseload, including eating disorder related risk.
• Able to communicate at a high level verbally and in writing highly complex, technical and sensitive information to clients, families, carers, and a range of professionals and lay people within and outside the NHS.
• Interpersonal and communication skills to facilitate forming effective collaborative networks within the trust and with external agencies in the interests of client care.
• Highly developed knowledge of the theory and delivery of highly specialised psychological practice relevant to eating disorders.

Making Things Better

Quality Improvement is a key part of our work to improve our services and refine how we do things. We have a global reputation for our quality improvement work and we don’t stand still! So we offer a fantastic opportunity for our staff to learn, lead and contribute towards improving our services.

We launched our Five Year Strategy in April 2018, which identified four main strategic outcomes to improve: population health outcomes, experience of care, staff experience and improve value. This complements the NHS Long Term Strategy and sets out our direction of travel.

Our Community

We provide a wide range of community health and mental health inpatient services to children, young people, adults of working age, and older adults in The City of London, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Bedfordshire and Luton. We provide Forensic services to the whole of North East London. We provide services in urban and rural settings, sometimes in our inpatient units, but mostly in the community close to where people live. Integrated care is key in making the best use of resources and providing effective care.

Aiming High

East London NHS Foundation Trust has achieved its third consecutive ‘Outstanding’ rating from the Care Quality Commission; the first Community and Mental Health Trust to achieve this rating for a third time. We were named in the HSJ’s Top 10 best places to work in healthcare and were voted Provider Trust of the Year in 2018.

Staff and Service Users United

We strive to ensure that staff feel valued by the Trust and as they are truly pivotal in delivering better outcomes for our patients and service users. Our aspiration is to help to make ELFT the best place to work. This Trust is clinician-led and provides the highest possible level of clinical expertise throughout its services. We pride ourselves on our service user involvement. A service user will be on your assessment centre and interview panel if you are invited to meet us.

We especially welcome people with lived experience of health difficulties, with insight and understanding of different backgrounds, cultures and lifestyles in our population as we believe that this will equip staff to deliver a high standard of care to our service users and patients.

Diversity

ELFT Is committed to being a diverse organisation and our workforce is reflective of the population and communities we serve. We believe that having colleagues with a range of backgrounds and life experiences enriches and adds value to the outcomes we have set out to achieve. Having partnered and endorsed by organisations who are representative and experts in various areas of equality and diversity, we can ensure we are meeting the pre-set standards all the way from recruitment stage throughout the career journey of our employees by being accessible, having fair inclusive practices and a host of staff networks to support, nurture and celebrate our valued staff in the workplace.

Other reasons to apply

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s job share, part time or another flexible pattern.

As part of the relocation scheme we presently have, the Trust could support you with offering up to £8,000 for removal and associated expenses. This is subject to change and terms and conditions apply.

AI in applications

If you use AI or other tools to assist in writing your job application, make sure you add your own personal touch especially in the supporting information section. AI can make writing easier, but it doesn’t fully understand the position you’re applying for and might generate false or misleading information. Applications written only by AI often sound generic and may not show your real skills, knowledge, or experience. It’s important to write your supporting statement in your own words. East London NHS Foundation Trust does not recommend relying only on AI, as it could negatively impact on your chance of success in the application process.

We carefully check applications to make sure no one has an unfair advantage, and we verify all references. At the interview, you’ll be asked about your experience, so be honest and ensure everything in your application is accurate. Please remember that using AI during the interview is not allowed.

What Next?

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name Dr. Brian Sreenan Job title Consultant Psychologist, Lead for Eating Disorders Email address brian.sreenan@nhs.net Telephone number 0203 7387026

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