CBT Therapist/Clinical or Counselling Psychologist

Job summary
We are looking for an enthusiastic and skilled Clinical/ Counselling Psychologist or CBT Therapist to join our committed and friendly team of clinicians. You will be providing Step 3 diagnostic assessments and evidence-based CBT treatment on an individual and group basis to clients aged 18 and over presenting with depression and anxiety disorders. You may also be involved in the clinical supervision of Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners, Low Intensity Trainees and High Intensity Trainees, for which training will be provided. There will be opportunities to develop areas of interest such as working with long term health conditions, working with clients with learning disabilities, working with perinatal clients, by contributing to project groups or taking a Champion role. The five IAPT services in SWLSTG Trust work closely together to develop care pathways and share expertise.

High-quality supervision and CPD are a priority for the team. You will receive regular weekly individual clinical supervision from one of our band 8a Clinical/Counselling Psychologists or CBT Therapists working within the service. You will also have the opportunity to attend a monthly clinical training session facilitated by lead clinicians from across the SWLSTG Trust and to attend quarterly CBT training workshops led by highly respected clinicians in their field, for example, we have previously welcomed Andrew Beck, Anke Ehlers and Martina Mueller.

Main duties of the job
To provide specialist psychology service for anxiety and depression to patients referred to NHS Sutton Talking Therapies (WTT). This will include the provision of specialist psychological assessment and therapy within one or more psychological therapy models specified by the NHS Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression Manual.

To provide advice and consultation on patients' psychological care to other members of the STT team and to other non-professional carers. This includes supervision of other colleagues including trainee High Intensity Therapists and Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners, as well as trainees from other professional groups as appropriate.

The post holder will be expected to operate within recognised professional guidelines and the overall framework of the service's operational policy and guidelines. The service operates from 9am to 8pm Monday to Friday. The post holder will be required to work flexible hours in line with this. This can be negotiated via the trust's flexible working scheme.

Details
Date posted: 21 October 2026
Closing date: 28 October 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 7
Salary: £55,524 to £62,652 a year per annum inclusive of outer London HCAS
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Part-time
Reference number: 294-COMM-8366705-EB
Job locations: Jubilee Health Centre, 6 Stanley Park Road, Wallington, SM6 0EX, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

• To deliver 20 attended clinical contacts per week if full-time.
• To provide specialist psychological therapy assessments with clients referred to the NHS Talking Therapies service based on the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources. This will include client self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi- structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the clients care.
• To provide at least one NICE recommended psychological therapy for anxiety disorders and/or depression.
• To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a clients mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy.
• To be knowledgeable about DSM-V diagnosis of common mental health problems (as relevant to NHS Talking Therapies) and skilled in the differential diagnosis of clinical disorders.
• To be able to clinically formulate clients problems and develop and implement plans for the formal Step 3 treatment and/or management of a clients problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy.
• A good understanding and ability to apply CBT treatment strategies flexibly across the whole range of disorders seen in NHS Talking Therapies (particularly common mood disorders).
• To be responsible for implementing psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, adjusting and refining psychological formulations and drawing upon relevant explanatory models. To be able to use a specific psychological therapy for anxiety and/or depression, in line with NICE guidance, at a specialist level in assessments and interventions.
• To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.
• To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.

Person Specification
Training and qualifications (essential)

• Doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS including models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and (for Clinical Psychologists) neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology; or alternative training outside of the UK that is recognised by the Health & Care Professions Council leading to registration in the UK as a Clinical or Counselling psychologist or Post-graduate level training in CBT from an Accredited course recognized by NHS Talking Therapies and accredited as a cognitive behavioural psychotherapist by the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) or eligibility for accreditation and working towards completing accreditation within one year

Training and qualifications (desirable)

• Accredited in another modality of therapy (such as IPT or EMDR)
• Training in the supervision of Step 2 clinicians (GMHWs and PWPs)
• Training in working with clients experiencing long term conditions

Experience (essential)

• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients within an NHS Talking Therapies service
• Experience of working with a variety of client groups and presenting problems that reflect a range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
• Experience in establishing DSM-V diagnoses and in clinical formulation
• Experience of assessment and treatment of people with common mental health problems, of varying severity and complexity, using evidence based psychological therapies, particularly CBT
• Experience with routine outcome data collection and monitoring

Experience (desirable)

• Experience of meeting agreed/specified service targets in an NHS setting
• Experience in running Step 3 therapy groups
• Experience of working within a multicultural framework
• Experience of specialist psychological therapy assessment and treatment of clients across a range of care settings relevant to an NHS Talking Therapies service, including outpatient, community, and primary care settings

Knowledge and skills (essential)

• Experience at working with one or more NHS Talking Therapies recognised psychological therapies at a specialist level
• Psychological assessment skills and skills in DSM-V- based diagnostic assessment
• Advanced practitioner skills in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
• High-level knowledge of the theory and practice of one or more NHS Talking Therapies recognised psychological therapies.
• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment and intervention which require sustained and intense concentration
• Knowledge of effective care pathway navigation across primary and secondary care psychological therapies services
• Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS

Knowledge and skills (desirable)

• Knowledge of the academic literature concerning common mental disorders and their treatment within an IAPT service
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of adapting specific NHS Talking Therapies-recognised psychological therapies for anxiety and/or depression in the context of co-morbidity and complexity (e.g. personality disorder, additional disabilities etc)
• Knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical field of psychological therapies

Employer details
Employer name: South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust
Employer's website: https://www.swlstg.nhs.uk/
Contact: Marie-Louise Audet, Step 3 Lead & Senior Therapist, Marie.Louise.Audet@swlstg.nhs.uk, 02035133432

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and requires a Disclosure and Barring Service check. Applicants must have current UK professional registration. Unless expressly stated in the job advert the role is not subject to sponsorship; all offers of employment are subject to evidence of right to work in the UK. Apply through our website.