CYP Psychological Practitioner Trainee

Job summary

Our service has an exciting opportunity for a CYP Psychological Training: Infant and Early Years Practitioner (IEYP) to join our team as part of the NHS England (NHSE) funded Children and Young People (CYP) Psychological Training Programmes.

This government-funded initiative promotes the growth and skill of the child mental health workforce to meet much needed demand. NHSE covers salary and training costs for a 1-year position, allowing services to employ trainees to support specialist pathways to bridge the gaps in CYP mental health support. This is a unique opportunity to apply your learning from weekly teaching into practical clinical interventions working with clients in the service making a direct impact in the lives of children, young people and their families.

Main duties of the job

This Trainee Infant and Early Years Early Childhood pathway post combines formal teaching at Anna Freud/UCL with a caseload within the Trust's Wandsworth Under 5's CAMHS service line. The position will be based in the community around Wandsworth and successful candidates will be expected to travel to Anna Freud in Central London (Rodney St, N1 9JH) for teaching during the training year. Upon completion of the training year, the postholder will be encouraged to apply for Under 5's CAMHS Practitioner roles, although please note that currently we are unable to guarantee that these roles will be available in the Trust.

Course start date: 18th January 2027

Training Information

This full-time training will begin in January 2027 with around 2.5 days a week for academic work (teaching and personal study), and 2.5 days based at the service seeing clients (children, young people, and carers) related to training assignments. Trainees will be both an employee of the service and an enrolled student with UCL/Anna Freud. Upon completion, qualified trainees will receive a UCL Postgraduate Diploma.

About us

Unless expressly stated in the job advert this role is not subject to sponsorship, please be advised that all offers of employment are subject to evidence of right to work in the UK.

We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust.

We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as 'good' - we aspire to be 'outstanding'.

This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services as we invest a further £120m to upgrade and modernise our estate by 2027.

We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.

We offer flexible working, career development and a variety ofbenefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.

Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.

Job responsibilities

Clinical and Clinical Research

1. To assist qualified psychotherapists and applied psychologists in the implementation of delivery of psychological interventions for infants, children and their parents or carers accessing the Under 5s service.

2. To assist with the provision of information and self-help material for service users under the supervision of a qualified professional psychologist or psychotherapist

3. To undertake protocol based psychological assessments of children and their carers applying psychological, including self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with patients and others involved in the clients care.

4. To assist in the formulation and delivery of mental health care involving psychological interventions in line with Under 5 CAMHS services, under the clinical supervision of qualified professional psychotherapists and psychologist as appropriate across community settings.

5. To assist, and where appropriate lead, in the coordination and running of groups and workshops.

Teaching, Training and Supervision

1. In common with all applied therapists, to receive regular clinical supervision in accordance with professional practice guidelines and clinical governance guidelines.

2. To complete the Anna Freud/UCL training programme and assignments to further develop skills in therapeutic interventions and risk assessment.

3. To develop skills and competencies that assist in the delivery of current duties.

4. To support the leads and service in the regular and systematic entry of clinical data on IAPTus according to Trust protocols and to highlight areas of difficulty to the Under 5 service lead as soon as they arise.

5. To contribute to the training and support of others, including staff and workers in the non-statutory sector enabling them to provide effective mental health care.

6. To inform primary care practitioners and users about local statutory and voluntary services to whom children and young people can be signposted.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in job applications

If you have used AI to support the preparation of your application, please briefly indicate how it was used within your supporting statement or application form.

Please remember, your application is your opportunity to tell us about your skills, experience and motivation for the role. We encourage applicants to complete their application and supporting statement in their own words wherever possible. We recognise that AI tools can be helpful in supporting accessibility, and for improving spelling, grammar and structure.

Applications that rely heavily on AI-generated content can become generic and fail to accurately reflect an applicant's individual experience. Applications that clearly demonstrate your own voice, reflections and experiences are often the most effective and help us better understand your suitability for the role.

Please be aware that information provided in your application and supporting statement may be explored further during the selection process. It is important that all applications accurately represent your own knowledge, skills and experience.