East London NHS Foundation Trust logo

Clinical or Counselling Psychologist / MBT Therapist


Location
Salary
£55,524 - £62,652 per annum pro rata Inc HCA
Profession
Psychologist
Grade
Band 7
Deadline
12 Jul 2026
Contract Type
Permanent
Posted Date
26 Jun 2026
Medical Protection — indemnity for locally employed doctors from £79

Job overview

*Clinical / Counselling Psychologist or Allied Health Professional*

We are thrilled to announce an exciting opportunity for a HCPC registered Clinical or Counselling Psychologist, or an Allied Health Professional with experience in Mentalization-Based Therapy (MBT), to join the Newham Mentalisation Based Therapy Service. This is a permanent, part-time role at 0.6 band 7.

Our service provides a comprehensive MBT program tailored for individuals with Complex Emotional Needs. We encourage candidates who have experience working therapeutically with complex mental health issues to apply. Previous experience in delivering MBT is highly desirable.

This position presents a fantastic chance for individuals looking to enhance their clinical expertise within a supportive team environment. Alongside providing clinical interventions, you may also engage in various service development initiatives, including consultations with other services, enhancing support for families and young people, and conducting outreach to community teams throughout the borough.

At Newham, MBT is approached as a collaborative effort. We welcome candidates who appreciate working as part of a reflective, in-person team. Regular discussions about service users take place, allowing the team to collaborate on care planning, treatment, and overall management. We encourage applications from individuals who are thoughtful in their practice and can reflect on the therapeutic relationship and its impact on their work.

Main duties of the job

To provide a clinical service to patients open to the Newham Mentalisation Based Therapy Service and to provide support and advice to other members of the team.

The role will require the post holder to:

  • Undertake specialist psychological assessment of patients referred to the Mentalisation Based Therapy Service and provide specialist reports to referrers and patients
  • Formulate and implement appropriate treatment plans and provide specialist Mentalisation-Based therapy to patients under the care of the service
  • To offer individual and group interventions to individuals with Complex Emotional Needs.
  • To engage with both individual and group supervision, reflective practice further professional development in Mentalisation Based Therapy
  • Liaise with other professionals to contribute to the establishment of continuity of care across services
  • Work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the team’s policies and procedures.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For a detailed overview of the role, please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification.

Person specification

Other

Essential

  • Ability to manage effectively verbal aggression and abuse from service users, carers etc, and the risk of physical aggression.
  • Demonstrably respectful approach to service users, carers, colleagues, other professionals and professional contacts. Willingness to negotiate and ability to handle confrontation effectively and professional

Experience

Essential

  • Experience in working with patients with complex personality presentations (i.e. ‘Personality Disorder’) and/or risk of self-harm.
  • Experience of delivering therapeutic interventions to individuals with Complex Emotional Needs.
  • Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team offering support to adults with severe and enduring mental health problems.
  • Experience of group work.

Desirable

  • Experience of delivering training/consultation and providing clinical supervision.
  • Work within at least two therapeutic modalities.
  • Experience of the application of psychology/therapy in different cultural contexts

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

  • Skills in psychological assessment, intervention and management, including the use of theoretical models to develop formulations upon which to base choice of treatment.
  • Skills in the effective communication of technical and/or clinically sensitive information to a wide variety of recipients in a range of settings within and outside the NHS, including the ability to produce comprehensive and coherent letters, reports and associated documentation.
  • Skills in the assessment of risk for patients with mental health problems and specifically for patients with complex Emotional Needs
  • Capacity to work calmly and thoughtfully when working with traumatic psychological issues, demonstrating an awareness of the sensitivity and unpredictability of patients with complex needs, and a capacity to tolerate the strong emotions evoked by such work
  • Knowledge and understanding of diagnosis of Personality Disorder.
  • Evidence of CPD
  • Competence in advanced IT packages including keyboard skills.
  • Ability to provide a culturally-competent and non-stigmatising service including an awareness of the potential impact of discrimination and disadvantage on mental health.
  • Knowledge of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult - to - treat groups (e.g. complex needs, self harm, personality disorder/psychosis, dual diagnosis, persons with additional disabilities etc).

Desirable

  • Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
  • Some knowledge and understanding of psychoanalytic models and developmental processes associated with Personality Disorder (eg: Transference Focused Psychotherapy (TFP), Mentalization-based Treatment (MBT).

Education/ Qualification/ Training

Essential

  • Doctorate in Clinical / Counselling Psychology or equivalence (statement of equivalence and able to demonstrate eligibility for BPS CPsychol (Chartered Psychologist) or Allied Professional with experience in MBT
  • HCPC registration or equivalent (for Allied Professionals)

Desirable

  • Training in MBT
  • Further training in a therapeutic modality relevant to personality disorder

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Applying for this NHS job

This advert is for Clinical or Counselling Psychologist / MBT Therapist with East London NHS Foundation Trust in London, London, England. It is listed as a Band 7 Psychologist role. The advertised salary is £55,524 - £62,652 per annum pro rata Inc HCA. The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 12 Jul 2026.

Before you apply, compare the job description with the person specification and mirror the employer's essential criteria in your supporting information. Use the vacancy title, employer, location, salary, contract type, closing date and posted date (26 Jun 2026) to decide whether this role fits your current NHS job search. If the employer can close applications early, prepare the application before the stated deadline rather than waiting for the final day.

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