CYPMHS DBT PractitionerThe closing date is 13 August 2026Job summaryThis opportunity is for a
qualified professional to join an established, accreditated DBT Service within HPFT CYPMHS, which has been short-listed for multiple awards! The post holder will have opportunity not only to work clinically with young people with complex mental health problems, but also to be part of the ongoing development of this innovative team.
The CYPMHS DBT service works with young people across Hertfordshire who are struggling with managing emotions and high-risk behaviours, to help them learn new skills and build a life worth living. Furthermore, you would be joining a very supportive and passionate team who focus on working together to deliver the best possible care and treatment to the families we work with.
No training in DBT is required; just some enthusiasm and willingness to learn a new therapeutic approach, with the support of the team. Comprehensive training is provided in this role from a national DBT training programme, as well as regular CPD as part of the team's on-going learning and development.
The role involves offering individual therapy, group skills training, telephone coaching, and be an active member of a DBT Consultation team.
Main duties of the jobThe post-holder will be a member of the Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) Outpatient Service within CYPMHS. This is part of an exciting expansion of CYPMHS specialist services within HPFT. The remit of the DBT Service is to offer young people referred into the service a consistent evidence-based therapeutic approach, to reduce inpatient admissions and to support the quick transitions of those in an inpatient service back to the DBT Service. The DBT Practitioner will work within a multi-disciplinary team to deliver specialist DBT assessments and interventions to young people and their families who are referred by other CYPMHS services. The post holder will also be involved in liaising with other CYPMHS services to ensure clear transitions for young people entering or leaving the DBT Service and where appropriate supporting the transition to Adult Services. The post-holder will work within professional guidelines and under the clinical/professional supervision of senior clinicians of own core profession. The post-holder will provide clinical/professional supervision to trainees on placement, more junior staff of the same discipline and multi-disciplinary colleagues for purposes of training and continuing professional development as required. The post-holder will contribute to research, audit and evaluation for service development.
About usHertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) is an outstanding organisation with ambitions to match. We are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of 'Outstanding' from the
Care Quality Commission, and our aim is to be the leading provider of mental health and specialist learning disability services in the country.
Our family of over 3500 members of staff provide health and social care for over 400,000 people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. We also deliver a range of nationally commissioned specialist services including Tier 4 services for children and young people, perinatal services, plus medium and low secure learning disabilities services.
The care we provide makes a fantastic difference to the lives of our service users, their families and carers - everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout:
Our Trust values are:
Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.These values are at the core of who we are, everything we do, and how we do it!
Would you like to be part of the HPFT family? Would you like work with us to ensure our service users live the fullest lives possible they can? Would you like to be supported in your career to be the best that you can be?
Then please read on...
DetailsDate posted: 31 July 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 6
Salary: £41,957 to £50,387 a year, per annum, pro rata (Inclusive of 5% HCAS)
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 367-SS-101492
Job locations: CYPMHS, 15 Forest Lane, Kingsley Green, Radlett, WD7 9HQ, United Kingdom
Job descriptionJob responsibilitiesKey Relationships:- Multidisciplinary colleagues within the DBT Service, including other DBT Practitioners (Band 6 and Band 7) Clinical/Counselling Psychologist; and Consultant Psychiatrist
- Colleagues from across CYPMHS Tier 3 and Tier 4 Services, including the Home Treatment Team
- Clients, their families, carers and other external agencies
- Professional Lead for Psychological Services (CYPMHS)/Professional Lead for Social Work (CYPMHS)/Modern Matron/Lead for AHPs
- Consultant leads in CYPMHS
Duties and Responsibilities:- To be responsible for a caseload of complex assessment, treatment and consultation work with children, adolescents and their families, with problems of behavioural, emotional, psychological or mental health issues, using the highly specialist Dialectical Behavioural Therapy approach.
- To operate as a member of the multi-disciplinary CYPMHS DBT Service to provide a high standard of service to children, adolescents and their families who have been referred to the DBT Service and to professionals from other organisations. They will be responsible for assessing and treating children, young people and their families in relation to a range of highly complex emotional, psychological or behavioural problems with particular regard to DBT.
- To work in ways which are sensitive to and appropriate for the needs of families from a wide range of racial, cultural and religious backgrounds. This includes abilities to understand and offer therapeutic interventions to a variety of family forms including single parents, same sex couples and their families, extended families and people with mental health difficulties.
Clinical Responsibility- To assess, plan and implement psychologically based programmes of care for individual children and young people, carers and families with complex behavioural, emotional, psychological or mental health issues.
- To undertake risk assessment and risk management for all children and adolescents, including the protective and risk factors in the network of significant relationships.
- To be responsible for a defined caseload and to employ methods of proven efficacy with particular regard to the provision of DBT to meet care plan objectives
- To develop, implement and manage evidenced-based psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, employed individually and in synthesis, co-working with other team members/disciplines as appropriate
- To evaluate and adjust practices based on feedback.
- To act as care coordinator, where appropriate, ensuring provision of a care plan, taking responsibility for initiating, planning and review of the clients care, ensuring the work of others involved and communicating effectively with the child/ the carer/ professional as appropriate, monitoring the progress of multi-disciplinary interventions.
- To carry out assessments and interventions jointly with co-workers from the multi-disciplinary team as appropriate.
- To contribute and develop skills in Clinical Governance.
- To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific client group and mental health
Leadership and Staff Management Responsibility- To clinically and/or professionally supervise trainees within the DBT Team as appropriate and as agreed with professional leads and operational managers.
- To contribute to reading and clinical seminars, participate in the training/education of both clinic team members and trainees placed at the clinic.
- To act as a positive role model for other colleagues and seek advice from Senior Clinicians/Managers as appropriate.
- To take part in clinical and managerial supervision, managing own caseload within agreed parameters and levels.
- To ensure regular supervision of own casework by clinical supervisor.
- To be responsible for identifying ones own needs for professional development, discussing and planning this with the supervisor.
- To take an active part in own Individual Performance Review.
Financial Responsibility- To ensure appropriate use of trust resources e.g. clinical tools, office equipment and stationeries.
Service Development and Improvement- To participate in activity and audit data as required and contribute and participate in research and clinical audit as appropriate.
- To contribute and participate within in service training within the clinic e.g. Clinic meetings/ Audit Meetings/ Research Projects, etc.
- To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the service provided by the multi-disciplinary team; including the collection and use of service user feedback and clinical outcomes information.
- To contribute to the development of Clinical Governance agenda within the service.
- To be responsible for highlighting service need to team leader.
- To liaise with the team managers and professional supervisors regarding Clinical objectives and directives.
Communications- To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner to the parents, carers and professionals involved, and when appropriate, to the children and young people themselves concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans and to monitor and evaluate progress during the course of multi-disciplinary care.
- To interpret and evaluate highly complex, sensitive and sometimes contentious information to children and families, carers who may be hostile and aggressive; taking into account historical, environmental and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.
- To contribute highly skilled and sensitive advice, guidance to other clinicians within the clinic, professionals from other agencies, patients and/or their families.
- To take into account issues of parental responsibility when undertaking assessment, consultation and intervention with children and young people.
- To liaise and maintain good communication with referrers and other professionals from other agencies involved with children and adolescents on matters of mutual concern regarding individual service users.
- To actively participate in MDT DBT team meetings and maintain links with colleagues both in the DBT Team and in own professional group within wider CYPMHS and Trust.
- To work with other team members in implementing priorities and initiatives as agreed by the DBT CYPMHS Community Therapy Lead and Professional leads
Person SpecificationQUALIFICATIONS/EDUCATION/TRAININGEssential- Qualification in one of the following and current full professional registration as relevant to the specific profession: RMN, RNLD; Systemic or Family Therapist (Masters/Doctoral level qualification with post-graduate qualification in appropriate mental health/social welfare profession); Social Worker or recognised earlier equivalent qualification to practice such as CQSW, Dip S.W and relevant post qualifying training for Social Workers; Occupational Therapist
Desirable- DBT Trained with experience of working within the model in an outpatient setting
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCEEssential- Post qualification experience in a CYPMHS team or related area, or several years experience prior to qualification, with experience of working with moderate to severe mental health problems and knowledge of a range of clinical interventions with children/adolescents and their carers/families.
- Experience of multi-disciplinary team working, and inter-agency collaboration
COMMUNICATION SKILLSEssential- Ability to work therapeutically with young people and their families
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.Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).Employer detailsEmployer name: Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
Address: CYPMHS, 15 Forest Lane, Kingsley Green, Radlett, WD7 9HQ, United Kingdom
Employer's website: Apply through our website
Employer contact detailsFor questions about the job, contact: CAMHS DBT Clinical Leads, Dr Karen Wright or Dr Bertha Rogers, hpft.camhsdbtteam@nhs.net, 01923633210
