Qualified Honorary Psychotherapist (Un-Paid)

Job overview

Are you looking for a unique position to grow your career and experience?

We are pleased to offer a unique opportunity to join our Adult Mental Health Psychological Service as an Honorary Psychotherapist. This role is designed to support qualified psychodynamic psychotherapists in gaining valuable NHS experience and to contribute to the ongoing development of psychodynamic psychotherapy within specialist NHS mental health services.

As a team, we are committed to supporting psychodynamic practitioners in preparing for clinical work within the NHS and fostering the integration of psychoanalytic approaches into multidisciplinary mental health care.

You will be based at the Whiteleaf Centre in Aylesbury, working with the Buckinghamshire Psychological Therapies team— a friendly, experienced group of psychological therapists, psychotherapists, and psychiatrists. The service is embedded within a vibrant NHS environment that includes adult and older adult mental health services, a primary care mental health team, the Early Intervention Service for psychosis, the crisis team, and the community mental health team.

Main duties of the job

About the Role

• This is an unpaid honorary position, with flexible working arrangements available to accommodate other paid employment.
• We ask for a minimum commitment of 2 patients per week, with an initial commitment of 6 months.
• There may be opportunities to undertake psychotherapy assessments, depending on your experience and interest.
• The role will be reviewed on a 6-monthly basis

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

What you'll gain:

• Hands-on experience working psychotherapeutically with individuals with complex and enduring mental health difficulties in an NHS setting.Close collaboration with a diverse team of senior psychotherapists, a medical psychotherapist, group analysts, and other professionals including clinical and counselling psychologists, family therapists, and multidisciplinary colleagues
• Opportunities to observe and learn from other areas of the service, such as family therapy, pre-therapy groups, or the Complex Needs Service, depending on your interests and availability
• Weekly supervision from a qualified psychodynamic psychotherapist and access to weekly multidisciplinary team meetings
• Enhanced clinical skills through reviewing patient histories, contributing to assessments, writing reports, and potentially conducting your own therapy assessments
• Involvement in audit, quality improvement initiatives, and ongoing professional development, including access to NHS training and workshops on topics such as sleep, neurodiversity, and more.

Who Should Apply

We welcome applications from individuals who have completed their training and obtained a qualification in Psychodynamic or Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (BPC or UKCP accredited – CPJAC, CMP or UTC).

Ideally, candidates will have prior experience working with complex presentations, given the specialist nature of our service. IT skills and the ability to work independently under supervision are also essential.

What We’re Looking For

We are seeking enthusiastic, self-motivated, and trustworthy individuals who are:

• Passionate about psychodynamic work within the NHS
• Organised and reliable
• Comfortable working both independently and as part of a team
• Keen to contribute to a multidisciplinary clinical environment