Family Therapist / Systemic Psychotherapist inLondon inLondon PUBLISHED 8 SEP 2024

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL) is one of the largest trusts in the UK, caring for people with a wide range of physical and mental health needs.
Job Overview


We are looking for an innovative, motivated and enthusiastic family/systemic psychotherapist with an interest in working in adult services to join us in the Brent Integrated Psychology & Psychotherapy Service (BIPPS). This would be an excellent opportunity for a newly-qualified Systemic Family Therapist with a background in another mental health training such as Social Work, Occupational Therapy or Mental Health Nursing. The post-holder will be located across the three BIPPS specialist psychological therapies pathways: Complex Mental Health (CMH), Complex Emotional Needs (CEN), and Psychosis. They will also have some input into the Early Intervention in Psychosis service.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a team committed to improving the lives of the population we serve and we are looking to recruit someone who is equally committed to supporting people with their recovery.

As a colleague in BIPPS, the post-holder will be attached to a particular MDT whilst under the management and support of an integrated psychological therapies service. As such they will have contact with colleagues who deliver individual, group and family therapies from a wide range of interesting theoretical models working across the three pathways.

Main duties of the job

The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.

The post-holder will be expected to work across the psychological therapies pathways, supporting clients and their families/systems using established systemic family therapy interventions/approaches to assess and treat difficult dynamics and relational problems. They will work alongside the senior family therapist in the running of a family therapy clinic, involving colleagues from across the CMHT.

Alongside direct clinical work, the post-holder will also work with the MDT, providing systemic consultations alongside colleagues from other professional groups, as well as supporting teams through reflective practice. They will provide systemic thinking to the different psychological therapy pathways to encourage the whole team to 'think family'.

Working for our organisation

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL) is one of the largest trusts in the UK, caring for people with a wide range of physical and mental health needs. We have approximately 7,000 staff who provide healthcare to a third of London's population and across wider geographical areas, including Milton Keynes, Kent, Surrey and Hampshire.

Our catchment area spans diverse communities, with over 100 first languages spoken. It contains areas of great affluence as well as areas of much deprivation. We are committed to providing services that meet the needs of the people who use them, and we actively encourage involvement from local people who can help make a difference.

CNWL is recognised locally, nationally and internationally for providing high quality, innovative healthcare. We aim to employ only the best people, and our experts are frequently called upon to contribute to national health strategy and policy, and many models of our care have been adapted for use in other countries.

Due to the high response levels we receive for some vacancies, we may expire any of them prior to the advertised closing date and advise you to submit your application as soon as possible. Candidates shortlisted for interview will be informed via the email address registered with NHS Jobs.


Clinical Responsibilities


Detailed job description and main responsibilities

  • To provide specialist assessment and clinical systemic formulation to individuals, couples, families and social networks where the identified client has severe and highly complex mental health needs, including (but not limited to) emotional and behavioural disturbance, parenting difficulties, acute and chronic mental and physical illness, deliberate self-harm, suicide risk, experiences of violence and trauma, and adult and child safeguarding.
  • To select and administer specialist assessments as appropriate through the use of a range of systemic assessment tools. This would include analysis and assessment of multiple levels of contextual meaning, deconstruction of current interactional patterns of behaviour and meaning around mental health issues and complex relationships.
  • To provide reports, including relevant formulation, opinion and interventions to inform referrers, service users and their families.
  • To select and deliver specialist therapeutic interventions, drawing from a broad spectrum of systemic models, monitoring outcome and modifying and adapting interventions as necessary, based on the highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, couple, family or 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 act as lead professional where necessary, taking responsibility for the planning and reviewing of care plans for service users.
  • To communicate skilfully and sensitively complex and sensitive information with service users. carers and colleagues taking account of communication needs.
  • To ensure that all services provided are acceptable and accessible to the diverse communities which make up the Borough of Brent. At all times to work in ways that are sensitive to and appropriate for the needs of families from a wide range of racial, cultural and religious backgrounds, and to be aware and sensitive to the different contexts that shape different families experiences, beliefs and perceptions. This will include working with interpreters.


Contributing to the wider service


  • To contribute to the effective working of the team and to a psychologically and systemically informed framework for the service.
  • To provide consultations to other clinical staff on the use of family therapy and systemic psychotherapy techniques and, where appropriate, to jointly work with other team members in the provision of therapeutic interventions
  • To take a proactive stance in challenging discr
Job Overview

We are looking for an innovative, motivated and enthusiastic family/systemic psychotherapist with an interest in working in adult services to join us in the Brent Integrated Psychology & Psychotherapy Service (BIPPS). This would be an excellent opportunity for a newly-qualified Systemic Family Therapist with a background in another mental health training such as Social Work, Occupational Therapy or Mental Health Nursing. The post-holder will be located across the three BIPPS specialist psychological therapies pathways: Complex Mental Health (CMH), Complex Emotional Needs (CEN), and Psychosis. They will also have some input into the Early Intervention in Psychosis service.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a team committed to improving the lives of the population we serve and we are looking to recruit someone who is equally committed to supporting people with their recovery.

As a colleague in BIPPS, the post-holder will be attached to a particular MDT whilst under the management and support of an integrated psychological therapies service. As such they will have contact with colleagues who deliver individual, group and family therapies from a wide range of interesting theoretical models working across the three pathways.

Main duties of the job

The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.

The post-holder will be expected to work across the psychological therapies pathways, supporting clients and their families/systems using established systemic family therapy interventions/approaches to assess and treat difficult dynamics and relational problems. They will work alongside the senior family therapist in the running of a family therapy clinic, involving colleagues from across the CMHT.

Alongside direct clinical work, the post-holder will also work with the MDT, providing systemic consultations alongside colleagues from other professional groups, as well as supporting teams through reflective practice. They will provide systemic thinking to the different psychological therapy pathways to encourage the whole team to 'think family'.

Working for our organisation

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL) is one of the largest trusts in the UK, caring for people with a wide range of physical and mental health needs. We have approximately 7,000 staff who provide healthcare to a third of London's population and across wider geographical areas, including Milton Keynes, Kent, Surrey and Hampshire.

Our catchment area spans diverse communities, with over 100 first languages spoken. It contains areas of great affluence as well as areas of much deprivation. We are committed to providing services that meet the needs of the people who use them, and we actively encourage involvement from local people who can help make a difference.

CNWL is recognised locally, nationally and internationally for providing high quality, innovative healthcare. We aim to employ only the best people, and our experts are frequently called upon to contribute to national health strategy and policy, and many models of our care have been adapted for use in other countries.

Due to the high response levels we receive for some vacancies, we may expire any of them prior to the advertised closing date and advise you to submit your application as soon as possible. Candidates shortlisted for interview will be informed via the email address registered with NHS Jobs.

Clinical Responsibilities

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

  • To provide specialist assessment and clinical systemic formulation to individuals, couples, families and social networks where the identified client has severe and highly complex mental health needs, including (but not limited to) emotional and behavioural disturbance, parenting difficulties, acute and chronic mental and physical illness, deliberate self-harm, suicide risk, experiences of violence and trauma, and adult and child safeguarding.
  • To select and administer specialist assessments as appropriate through the use of a range of systemic assessment tools. This would include analysis and assessment of multiple levels of contextual meaning, deconstruction of current interactional patterns of behaviour and meaning around mental health issues and complex relationships.
  • To provide reports, including relevant formulation, opinion and interventions to inform referrers, service users and their families.
  • To select and deliver specialist therapeutic interventions, drawing from a broad spectrum of systemic models, monitoring outcome and modifying and adapting interventions as necessary, based on the highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, couple, family or 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 act as lead professional where necessary, taking responsibility for the planning and reviewing of care plans for service users.
  • To communicate skilfully and sensitively complex and sensitive information with service users. carers and colleagues taking account of communication needs.
  • To ensure that all services provided are acceptable and accessible to the diverse communities which make up the Borough of Brent. At all times to work in ways that are sensitive to and appropriate for the needs of families from a wide range of racial, cultural and religious backgrounds, and to be aware and sensitive to the different contexts that shape different families experiences, beliefs and perceptions. This will include working with interpreters.


Contributing to the wider service

  • To contribute to the effective working of the team and to a psychologically and systemically informed framework for the service.
  • To provide consultations to other clinical staff on the use of family therapy and systemic psychotherapy techniques and, where appropriate, to jointly work with other team members in the provision of therapeutic interventions
  • To take a proactive stance in challenging discr


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