Counselling Psychologist/CBT/Cognitive Analytic Therapist

The Adult Eating Disorder service (AEDS) is a well-established, county-wide specialist outpatient service. It is part of the Adult and Specialist directorate within CPFT. It offers treatment to patients aged 18 years and older with moderate to severe eating disorders registered with GP practices in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough CCG.

The Service has been running since 2004 but has recently been allocated transformation funding to develop into a comprehensive, leading-edge service. The expanded Team of over 26 MDT staff includes, clinical psychologists, counselling psychologists, psychological therapists, clinical nurse specialists, mental health practitioners, medical staff, dietician, assistant psychologists , health care assistants and trainees.

Our new treatment pathways include: an early intervention pathway; a high-risk pathway that includes medical monitoring; an intensive community support pathway; and a quality-of-life pathway for patients with severe and enduring eating disorders.

This is a flexible role, currently involving majority virtual/remote working although the opportunity for more face to face contact will be possible in the future.

We are currently looking to recruit a keen, enthusiastic and highly motivated Psychological Therapist /band 7 Counselling or Clinical Psychologist or Cognitive Behaviour Therapist (CBT) to join our Cambridge Adult Eating Disorder Service Community Team, based at Addenbrookes Hospital.

As a key member of our Team, you will play a vital role in developing services.

For this post and you will be required to work collaboratively and independently within our service.

The successful candidate will be keen to develop their own formulation skills and clinical practice and contribute to clinically-relevant research and service development.

Developing and improving clinical care form the key elements of this post. You will be required to work with a range of professionals to provide specialist assessment, psychological formulation and deliver evidence-based treatments to patients and their families. These include, CBT-ED, MANTRA, SSCM, Cognitive Analytic Therapy informed and family-based interventions which may be delivered in individual or group settings. You may be required to offer supervision to trainees and assistant psychologists and offer advice, consultation, teaching and supervision to the multi-disciplinary team.

In return we are offering you the chance to advance your own practice with specialist clinical supervision (both individual and in group), regular appraisal and active support to further your career. Study leave is encouraged and further training for relevant therapy courses is possible. You would be linked into a relevant Trust-wide professional network.

Experience of working with people with eating disorders is desirable but not essential. However, experience of working with people with complex presentations is highly desirable.

Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health & social care organisation dedicated to providing high quality care with compassion to improve the health & wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting & empowering them to lead a fulfilling life.

Our clinical teams deliver many NHS services not only via inpatient and primary care setting but also with the community. These services include Children, Adult & Older Peoples mental & physical health, Forensic & Specialist mental health, Learning Disabilities, Primary Care & Liaison psychiatry, Substance misuse, Social care, Research & Development.

To achieve our goal, we look to recruit high calibre candidates that share our vision & values. As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all sectors of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including disabled people & members of our ethnic minorities & LGBTQ+ communities.

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities

1. To use evidence-based psychological interventions (e.g., CBT-E, MANTRA) and approaches for clients with eating disorders. This will consider risk management, early intervention and relapse prevention.
2. To provide advice, psycho-educational information and family work to relatives and carers, as appropriate.
3. To provide consultation and joint working to other teams and agencies.
4. To act as CPA care coordinator / key worker when required to do so.
5. To participate in and facilitate therapy groups when appropriate.
6. To liaise closely with eating disorder inpatient units, attending review meetings for own locality patients and participating in discharge planning and psychological follow-up.
7. To liaise with child and adolescent eating disorder services to ensure a smooth and coordinated transition of patients into the Adult Eating Disorder Service.
8. To ensure that the client’s rights and welfare are upheld and that the needs of those with Eating Disorders are being responded to sensitively with regard to age, culture, race, gender, ethnicity, social class and disability.
9. To support the work of staff within the Eating Disorder Service through teaching, training and supervision as required.
10. To provide training and consultation to other agencies as part of agreed training strategy.