Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
CBT Therapist or Clinical/Counselling Psychologist
The closing date is 20 July 2026
This is an exciting opportunity to be part of the Support to Recovery in Disordered Eating Service (STRIDES) – a service set up to support young adults (aged 16-35) with mild to moderate presentations. Our friendly and supportive team is looking for staff to join us who are passionate about helping young adults on their way to recovery.
There are ample opportunities to be involved in service development and shaping our service for the future; as well as in community outreach work with a focus on eating disorder awareness-raising, prevention, and early intervention.
The service operates across a range of sites in CNWL including GP practices and talking therapy services, aiming to make our service easily accessible to the people who need it. All staff work across a number of sites and come together for a team day at Roxborough Road, Harrow, one day a week.
Please contact us if you are have any additional questions about the role.
Main duties of the job
The post-holder will bring specialist CBT skills to the team. The role will involve delivering individual evidence-based therapies as well as contributing to the development and delivery of our groups programme. There will also be the opportunity to supervise junior staff members.
The service is for 16-35’s so the post-holder will bring specialist skills in engaging and meeting the needs of this transitional group, and will have a role in connecting with key partners in the community such as universities and colleges.
About us
Vincent Square Eating Disorders Service comprises of outpatient, inpatient and day-patient services, as well as the STRIDES service . Service user and carer empowerment and involvement are actively promoted, and we are supported by a growing lived experienced team.
STRIDES operates across 5 London boroughs: Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea, Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon.
Staff wellbeing and CPD are priorities: The post-holder will have links to learning events at Vincent Square team, as well as the excellent Trust-wide leadership and clinical CPD programmes.
For staff newer to eating disorders, training can be provided in specialist therapy models.
Job responsibilities
The role covers assessment, care planning, intervention (with individuals and groups) and building strong relationships with partners in the community.
- To provide assessments of clients referred to the team, based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources
- To diagnose patients eating and related psychiatric problems
- To formulate and implement plans for treatment and/or management of a clients mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems, and employing methods based upon evidence based models for eating disorders
- To be responsible for implementing interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across teams employed individually and in synthesis
- To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options, taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual.
- To integrate (with the psychological formulation) an understanding of the medical aspects of the eating disorders and associated medical conditions
- To liaise with other clinicians involved in the patients care, in order that appropriate physical checks and interventions are carried out to ensure the patients physical safety
- To understand the role of relevant physical treatments (e.g. nutrition, pharmacology)
- To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans
- To provide psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients formulations, diagnoses and treatment plans
- To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group
- To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients, and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management
- To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care
- To act as care coordinator where appropriate, taking responsibility for initiating planning and review of care plans under CPA (to include clients, their carers, referring agents and others involved the network of care)
- To process new referrals, by triaging them based on clinical risk, for the designated boroughs
Person Specification
Experience
- Extensive experience of psychological assessment and evidence-based treatment of clients across a range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings.
- Experience of interdisciplinary working within the NHS.
- High level knowledge of the theory and practice of cognitive-behavioural therapy
- Knowledge of the theoretical and evidence base for understanding, formulating and treating the eating disorders.
- Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively
- Experience in mental health risk assessment and management
- Supervised experience of delivering evidence-based therapies for the eating disorders and common comorbid conditions.
- Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
- Experience of the application of CBT in different cultural contexts.
- High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least one other specialised psychological therapy.
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.
- Publication and presentation of clinical research
Education and Qualifications
- An upper second class honours degree or higher in a subject relevant to mental health and higher level postgraduate training in an applied clinical field that includes models of psychopathology and distinct psychological therapies.
- CBT therapist- Must be fully or provisionally accredited with the BABCP or have completed a BABCP accredited high intensity CBT course or diploma programme. OR Clinical/Counselling Psychologist registered with the HCPC.
- Post-qualification training in CBT for eating disorders
Skills and knowledge
- High level knowledge of the theory and practice of cognitive-behavioural therapy.
- Knowledge of the theoretical and evidence base for understanding, formulating and treating the eating disorders.
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management, frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
- Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
- Knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of mental health.
- Experience in mental health risk assessment and management
- High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least one other specialised psychological therapy.
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.
- Publication and presentation of clinical research
- Maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
Other
- Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
- Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
- Personal experience (direct or indirect) of mental health problems.
- Experience of working within a multicultural framework.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
£58,133 to £65,261 a year per annum incl HCAS pro rata
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