Senior Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist - Preceptee opportunity

Job summary

Child Family Health Devon (CFHD) has developed an innovative, integrated model of childrens community services and are looking for enthusiastic individuals to join our friendly and dedicated pathways. Come and join us in beautiful Devon!

You will join a strong, enthusiastic and supportive group of professionals who will be your peers, your phone a friend network and your inspiring colleagues. This brings professional collaboration that will be an asset to your daily work, your development and your support network.

In line with transformation, we are excited to be developing our Child Psychotherapy provision across the county.

We are looking for experienced Child & Adolescent Psychotherapists to join us in senior roles (8a) in our Mood, Emotions and Relationships pathway, providing mental health provision to children and young people across Devon.

We have the following vacancies:

1.0wte position

0.8wte position

Preceptorship opportunity - new or soon to be qualified colleagues could be appointed to these roles at band 7 under a preceptorship to work towards requirements for band 8a, subject to satisfactory completion of preceptorship process.

Its an exciting time of change as we develop our pathways under iThrive and expand our therapeutic offer. We are committed to providing high quality services to improve outcomes for children and young people and are keen to find the right colleagues to join us.

Part time roles can be considered.

Main duties of the job

As a Senior Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist, you will be offering high-quality complex assessments and psychotherapy to children, young people and their families. You will bring advanced assessment, formulation, therapy and consultative skills to the pathway as well as applying your specialist thinking to wider service development contributions.

There will be CPD opportunities to support your development and a commitment to supporting your career progression at this stage in relation to consolidating your supervisory role and leadership skills as well as further expanding your clinical knowledge and skills.

You will have regular clinical supervision and separate line management. You will be supported with a job plan with opportunities to use a breadth of skills including research and service development. There is a growing, friendly network of Child & Adolescent Psychotherapists working across CFHD with, bringing increasing opportunities for shared CPD and professional support. We are committed to supporting the growth of the profession and the provision of Trainee placements.

We encourage interest from candidates with diverse backgrounds and experiences, both personal and professional.

About us

Children and Family Health Devon (CFHD) comprises an Alliance of NHS organisations working together to improve health outcomes for children and young people in Devon.

CFHD provides integrated care and treatment for children and young people across physical and mental health which are provided by Torbay and South Devon Foundation Trust and Devon Partnership Trust. We are working closely with other organisations and providers to ensure we deliver locality and county-wide based integrated access to all of our services, based on the i-Thrive Framework.

CFHD works closely with our local universities of Plymouth, Exeter & the Peninsula Medical School where we support students in clinical training placements and in addition support our own staff to undertake post graduate training.

Our integrated care and treatment has been developed and refined in partnership with children, young people and their families/carers.

Our children and young people say

We would like the people who work for Children and Family Health Devon to be understanding, patient and respectful. They should be trustworthy and make us feel safe and comfortable. It is important that they use their skills and experience to listen carefully in a non-patronising and non-judgemental way. When staff are positive and friendly, they help to create an environment that is informal and without pressure.

Details

• Date posted: 08 June 2026
• Pay scheme: Agenda for change
• Band: Band 8a
• Salary: £49,387 to £64,750 a year Pro-rata - B7 - B8a range
• Contract: Permanent
• Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working
• Reference number: C9369-26-0432
• Job locations: Children & Family Health, Shinners Bridge, Dartington, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 6JD, United Kingdom, Children & Family Health Devon, Springfield Court, Fishleigh Road, Roundswell Business Park, BARNSTAPLE, Devon, EX31 3UD, United Kingdom, South Devon Healthcare, 187 Newton Road, Torquay, TQ2 7BA, United Kingdom, Children & Family Health Devon, Unit 1, Capital Court, Bittern Road, Sowton Industrial Estate, EXETER, EX2 7FW, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

See attached Job Description for full person specification and job description.

You will be a qualified and experienced Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist ready to move into a Senior role. You will have a passion for working with children, young people and families with complex needs. You will have the knowledge and skills to undertake complex assessments and deliver skilful psychotherapy interventions. You will have experience in supporting the development of others through supervision and training and be keen to further develop this. You will be a reflective practitioner with strengths to bring to a multi-disciplinary team and consultative work. You will be committed to service user participation and collaborative working with children, young people, parents, carers and families. You will have a good understanding of safeguarding across the lifespan. You will be motivated to further develop your leadership skills to contribute to quality improvement and service development within your pathway and the wider service.

Mood, Emotions and Relationships Pathway

The appointed Senior Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist will work within a strong multi-disciplinary team, providing assessments and therapy to children with severe, chronic and enduring mental health concerns such as depression, anxiety-based disorders and Trauma. You would be expected to work with children, young people and families to understand their experiences and presenting concerns in order to formulate and provide an appropriate evidence-based intervention. You will work with other agencies as required and be able to assess and respond to clinical and safeguarding risks as needed. You will contribute to team discussions and complex case consultations, bringing enhanced formulation skills as well as knowledge and experience to support the team processes, reflections and formulation.

As a Senior Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, you will require a high degree of professional autonomy and self-management. You will provide clinical supervision to Trainee Psychotherapists when possible as well as Band 7 colleagues and colleagues from other disciplines where appropriate. You will use your clinical leadership, audit and research skill to take a lead in areas of service development to support a culture of Quality improvement.

The multi-disciplinary teams include registered Mental Health Practitioners from a range of backgrounds including Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Social Work and creative therapies, Child & Adolescent Psychotherapy colleagues, Systemic Psychotherapists, Clinical Psychologists, CBT Therapists and Psychiatrists.