Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist

Main area General Paediatrics Grade NHS AfC: Band 7 Contract Fixed term: 5 months (Career Break Cover until 05/03/2027) Hours Part time - 22.5 hours per week Job ref 309-UCLH-8334334-A

Site University College London Hospitals Town London Salary £58,133 - £65,261 per annum inclusive of HCAS (Pro rata) Salary period Yearly Closing 19/10/2026 23:59

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We are looking for a compassionate and skilled band 7 ACP registered
Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist to join our large and supportive Child Psychotherapy team at UCLH.

Due to the very short-term nature of this post we are looking for a candidate with previous experience of working in an acute hospital setting, or a setting very closely related to this work.

This is varied and meaningful therapeutic work with patients from infancy to young adulthood (0-24) who are under medical care here as both outpatients and inpatients.You will bring a flexible and creative approach to working therapeutically with babies, children, adolescents, families and the complex medical teams around them. A strong ability to work well within multi-professional teams and with children and families in highly distressing and uncertain situations is essential.

We are looking for somebody who can hold the experience and needs of the child/young person at the centre of clinical decision making while working across complex systems. A clinician who can hold a psychoanalytic framework alongside a genuine interest in multi-disciplinary approaches to understanding the links between the body and the mind (including where there is trauma and/or neurodivergence) and with a commitment to their own ongoing learning and development. You will be able to communicate clearly and sensitively with a range of professionals and patients

Main duties of the job

We are a team of 6 ACP Child Psychotherapists and 3 ACP trainees. We sit within the Department of Child & Adolescent Psychological Medicine at

UCLH, made up of psychiatry, clinical psychologists and mental health nurses. The team is well-established, and the work of child psychotherapy is valued and widely understood amongst our medical colleagues. There is a strong tradition of multi-professional working and close collaboration with medical colleagues to work towards sensitive and holistic ways of supporting patients with complex, chronic and life limiting medical conditions.

The Paediatric and Adolescent Division is large and busy. It includes secondary care paediatric clinics for our local communities; and several tertiary specialties including specialist services for children and young people with cancer; and a specialist service for complex adolescent health conditions (TRACCS).

You will provide specialist assessments, liaison work, short term and longer-term psychotherapy to children and young people receiving outpatient and inpatient medical care. You will also support the treatment of children and young people through offering consultations and reflective practice where appropriate to medical teams. While members of the psychotherapy team are closely linked to specific MDTs and clinical specialties, we also ensure that all members have a varied caseload from across the department.

Working for our organisation

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) is one of the most complex NHS trusts in the UK, serving a large and diverse population. We provide academically led acute and specialist services, to people from the local area, from throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. Our vision is to deliver top-quality patient care, excellent education, and world-class research.

We provide first-class acute and specialist services across eight sites:

• University College Hospital (incorporating the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing)
• National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
• Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitals
• University College Hospital Grafton Way Building
• Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine
• University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre
• The Hospital for Tropical Diseases
• University College Hospital at Westmoreland Street

We are committed to sustainability and have pledged to become a carbon net zero health service, embedding sustainable practice throughout UCLH. We have set an ambitious target of net zero for our direct emissions by 2031 and indirect emissions by 2040.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For the full Person Specification and more information regarding the main responsibilities of this role, please refer to the attached Job Description.

This will be a fixed term post to cover a planned career break of an existing member of the team until 5th March 2027.

Come and be a part of the best NHS trust in England to work for, according to our staff*

* UCLH top trust to work at in England - In the most recent NHS staff survey UCLH had the highest percentage of staff who said they would recommend us as a place to work, out of all general acute or acute/community NHS trusts in England – for the third year in a row.

UCLH recognises the benefits of flexible working for staff – To find out more, visit: Flexible working .

To discover more about what makes UCLH a great place to work, visit: Why Choose UCLH?

Person specification

Knowledge and Qualifications

• Training in Child & Adolescent Psychotherapy at ACP recognised training school
• Relevant post graduate study/research, e.g. infant observation, child development, clinical work, interest in research/outcome studies

Experience

• Clinical experience within large multidisciplinary teams, including working with non -mental health professionals.
• Have worked intensively and non intensively with individual children, parents and adolescents
• Interest in short/medium term work with children, parents and adolescents
• Experience of engaging with diverse communities
• Have clinical experience working in an acute medical setting, or very closely related area of work with children and young people with complex physical illness and disabilities.
• Research based clinical work.
• Experience in offering supervision or reflective practice

Skills and Abilities

• Good interpersonal skills and ability to work with other agencies, professionals and disciplines
• Knowledge of psychoanalytic theory and an understanding of implication for clinical activity in an applied setting
• Assessment and diagnostic skills.
• Interest in writing about clinical work

Communication Skills

• Capacity to communicate effectively and sensitively with children, young people and families in highly emotive clinical contexts
• Capacity to apply psychoanalytic ideas in a clinically relevant way with teams and with patients.
• Adapt the ways of working to help engage young people in creative and accessible ways.
• Experience of working with interpreters

Personal and People Development

• Reliable and flexible team member
• Able to work independently under regular supervision

Responsibilities towards promoting Equality Diversity and Inclusion

• Demonstratable understanding of the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion and/or Knowledge of the NHS obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duties

Specific Requirements

• The post holder will need to be passed fit to perform full duties of this post, this will be determined through occupational health with any reasonable aids provided wherever possible.

At UCLH, we have a real 'One Team' ethos, and our values – safety, kindness, teamwork and improving, are central to the way we work. This is supported by our staff, who voted us as the #1 NHS Acute Trust to work for in the whole of England.

At UCLH we take equality of opportunity seriously and are committed to being a diverse and inclusive employer, with a culture that creates a real sense of belonging and trust. It is our fundamental aim, to recruit, retain and promote a diverse mix of people who are representative of our local communities. Applications are encouraged from candidates of all backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives to support our world class research, innovation and creativity.

UCLH recognises the benefits of flexible working for staff and has a dedicated policy which allows staff to apply for flexible working right from the beginning of employment. For more information please go to: https://www.uclh.nhs.uk/work-with-us/why-choose-uclh/flexible-working.

We offer our permanent staff an interest free season ticket loan for travel, all our staff have access to free independent and confidential support, large retail discounts, a staff discount platform, cycle to work scheme and on-site accommodation to name a few.

Additionally, UCLH Arts and Heritage’s staff wellbeing programme, Creative Comfort, offers a variety of ways to engage with the arts as a member of UCLH staff. You can try out the weekly choir, weekly art club and join the Culture Club for exclusive access to free and discounted tickets for opera, exhibitions, theatre and more.

We recognise, reward and thank colleagues by nominating them for our annual Celebrating Excellence Awards, which are funded by UCLH Charity.

We are also members of www.mytrustbenefits.co.uk/ which offers discounts on high street retail stores, offers on travel deals, and also to take advantage of cash back schemes.

You must already have the right to work in the United Kingdom or fully meet the eligibility criteria for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route. We welcome applications from candidates who require visa sponsorship; however, we can only consider these where all UKVI requirements are met. Before applying, please ensure that both you and the role satisfy the relevant UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) points‑based system criteria, as applications that do not meet these requirements cannot be progressed. For more information about the criteria, please click here

This vacancy may close before the current listed closing date. You are advised not to delay submitting your completed application.

Please note that all correspondence regarding your application will be via email. The emails will be sent to you via TRAC.jobs and not via NHS Jobs, we encourage you to check your inbox regularly.

Please note that if you have not heard from us within 3 weeks of the closing date of the advert to assume that you have not been shortlisted on this occasion.

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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: Vicky Lynch
Job title: Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist
Email address: Vicky.lynch@nhs.net

For further information about the role please contact:
Vicky Lynch, Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist
Vicky.lynch@nhs.net

Interviews scheduled for: Monday 26th October

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