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Job summary

Main area
Postgraduate Diploma in CYP-MH in Systemic Family Practice (SFP) Trainee - Band 6.
Grade
NHS AFC: Band 6
Contract
12 months (Fixed term training post for 12 months)
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
354-CS-21790
Employer
Sussex Partnership NHS FoundationTrust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Aldrington House
Town
Hove
Salary
£38,682 - £46,580 Per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
22/10/2025 23:59

Employer heading

Sussex Partnership NHS FoundationTrust logo

Postgraduate Diploma in CYP-MH in Systemic Family Practice Trainee

NHS AFC: Band 6

Come and join us

We're looking for people who share our values (compassion, accountability and optimism) to help us provide high quality care to the patients, carers, families and local communities we serve. We specialise in providing NHS mental health and learning disability services.

So what can we offer you in return?

We're an organisation which puts people first. We'll do everything possible to help you feel respected, valued and included. We'll help you learn, acquire new skills and gain further experience to support your career development. And we'll provide the opportunity for you to bring your fresh ideas to work about how we can do things differently and continue improving.

You will also be joining a health and care system committed to working together to do the best we can for the communities we serve. Above all, at Sussex Partnership you'll have the chance to make a difference to the lives of the patients, carers and families across our communities.

As a Trust we are committed in making a difference. Your development is important to us, so don't forget to ask us during interview what opportunities we can offer. We can offer fully funded lifelong learning opportunities such as an apprenticeship from GCSE to Masters level.

If you like the sound of that, then come and join our team.

Job overview

Are you passionate about relationships and what happens in 'the space in-between' people, especially in families? Are you interested in mental health and want to develop skills to explore eating disorder presentations for the benefit of the whole family system(s)?  If so we would love to hear from you.

This is an exciting opportunity for clinicians, particularly those with existing core qualification such as: nursing, social work, occupational therapy to join one of our well-established CAMHS teams in Sussex.

The systemic recruit to train posts will be situated within the Sussex Family Eating Disorder Service. The service provides support for young people and adolescents between 10 and 18 years of age who present with anorexia, atypical anorexia and bulimia.  SFEDs is a multi disciplinary team The recruit to train systemic post will be part of the family psychotherapy provision for the team and will offer family based interventions for eating disorders. The family based approach is based on a manualised approach informed by the Maudsley model in eating disorders , but there will be opportunities to engage in other systemic approaches.

This role offers the perfect opportunity for career development due to the skills that you will learn through this type of work, or for those considering moving to CAMHS from other services. 

Main duties of the job

The role will be variable and exciting, sometimes challenging and there is a need for flexibility. You will need to be motivated, forward thinking, have a strong commitment to providing high quality care and the best outcomes for young people.

The successful candidate/s will be trained in the FT-AN manualised model which originated at The Maudsley in London. They will carry a small caseload of up to 4 families and have weekly intensive supervision with our principal family & systemic psychotherapist.  They will also have the opportunity to participate in the family and systemic psychotherapy team with reflecting team intervention.

Your week will consist of attending the one-year training course, delivering clinical work in the team to young people and their families. You will be supported by an experienced principal systemic psychotherapist and a team of skilled clinicians. Building experience and working towards your course requirements, you will be delivering systemic family interventions.

All trainees begin with a basic systemic skills module which will introduce a range of systemic approaches for working with families from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds and you will learn a range of systemic techniques and interventions.

The skills you develop will enable you to work more effectively and confidently with young people and their families. The course is accredited by the Association for Family Therapy as an Intermediate level training in Systemic and Family Practice.

Working for our organisation

This trainee Band 6 systemic family practice (SFP) posts will be based in the Sussex family eating disorder service at Aldrington House in Hove.  Staff need to be able to travel across sites and are required to be on site 60% of their working week and attend the face-to-face MDT.

We are looking for a clinician who should be willing to work autonomously as well as part of a team.  The team thrives through being supportive to each other in an environment that can be changeable due to service capacity and demand. You will need to be flexible and have excellent communication skills. In return you will be well supported by experienced clinicians who will help you to develop and flourish in this environment. All your skills and training will be fully utilised and developed through clinical supervision and training opportunities.

We are a supportive, collaborative team who celebrate and embrace diversity and are committed to the well-being of our staff.

If successful, you will need to be able to start the training/clinical post in January 2026. The course will require travel to KCL's site in London, with some of the training delivered remotely.

 

 

 

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

As this is a training position, please be aware that this is a dual application process where you must be employed in a Recruit to Train funded job to also receive a place on the course, and vice-versa. If you are ineligible for the University Course, you will be unable to be offered the role. If you withdraw from an employment offer but you have accepted a University offer, you will be unable to join the course.

This is a training position and so all candidates will need to apply for both the trainee role with our organisation and the KCL Post Graduate Diploma systemic family practice (FSP) in order to be shortlisted (for more information about the course and minimum entry criteria, please see the course page and brochures: https://www.kings-cyp.com/page/recruit-to-train). Please complete your university application using the KCL University Application Guidance supplied. https://apply.kcl.ac.uk

KCL covers the modalities of CBT, SFP and Parent Training. It is very important to mention that you are applying for the systemic family practice (SFP) modality, and why you are qualified & interested in working with families. You only need one application to the associated University no matter how many Recruit to Train job posts you apply for. However, it is very important to mention which modality/modalities you are applying for and why you are qualified/interested in them.

These roles are best suited for applicants that are able to balance a busy work and study schedule. You will be an employee at the service but also enrolled on a Postgraduate Diploma course, and trainees will be expected to study at a Postgraduate level. This will mean that applicants must be prepared to study and write assignments outside of protected study time (such as on weekends and after work).

 

Please note that when you apply to this role, your name will be shared with the Higher Education Institute (HEI) running the course. The service will usually be the Course Team’s main way of contacting you until you have been sent an Offer, and so the Course Team at the HEI may ask for information if it is missing but relevant to deciding eligibility. Other information that might be shared is:

·       Reason behind ineligibility for the course.

·       Queries regarding application (such as if you claim to have a professional registration without submitting certificates, course may ask service to pursue more information)

·       Name change – if you may have registered with a different name than HEI was given, they will confirm with service to ensure that they are reviewing the correct candidate.

 

This is an integral part of the process to confirm that you have applied to the University and that you meet their course requirements. Please apply to the University at the same time as applying to this job position.

If you apply to this job, you are giving permission for information to be shared between the Course Team at the HEI and the Recruitment team at the Service. The only information that is shared will be relevant to establishing eligibility for the job/course. No irrelevant information will be disclosed or discussed in relation to your application. 


By applying for this role, you accept in the event you are successful that your personal data may be transferred from the Trust to another NHS organisation where your employment transfers within the NHS. This is in accordance with the streamlining programme which is aimed at saving you time and improving efficiencies within the NHS when your employment transfers. Therefore we want you to complete your e-learning modules prior to joining our organisation.

We communicate to all job applicants via the email address which has been provided on the application form. Please ensure you check your email on regular basis and inform us if you would prefer an alternative option or any changes to your details after making your application.


PLEASE NOTE:
* The closing date given is a guide. We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so we advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment.

* Only those candidates who clearly demonstrate how they meet the person specification on their application will be shortlisted for this job.

*Candidates suitable for shortlisting will be contacted within three weeks. If you have not heard from us within this time then you have not been successful on this occasion.


* Interview arrangements: We have set a provisional interview date of Friday 3rd November 2023 & Wednesday 15th November. This is subject to change so please check your email regularly following the closing date

* In submitting an application form, you authorise SPFT to confirm any previous NHS service details via the Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process should you be appointed to the post

*Once this training is completed, you will be required to apply for suitable roles in line with Equal opportunities. We will of course strive to support staff with securing a substantive post and where possible we would hope this is within the organisation, however, applicants should be aware that we are not able to provide assurance that there will be a substantive post within SFEDS or indeed SPFT.


Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order (as amended) and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to check for any previous criminal convictions.



UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see applying from overseas.

 

 

Further information:

- Name

 

Pratima Hurrymun, Clinical team leader.

Email: [email protected]

 

Jay Jameson-allen,  All-Age Eating Disorder Services General Manager

Email: [email protected]

 

Additional contact information

 

Fay Roberts, Principal family & systemic Psychotherapist

Email: [email protected]

John Cavanagh. Consultant family & systemic psychotherapist and Professional Lead for systemic psychotherapy and practice, Sussex CAMHS.

Email: [email protected]

Tel: 07738 757213

 

 

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • A recorded/registered qualification in one of the following at graduate level in nursing, social work, occupational therapy, arts therapy or within a psychological therapy.
Desirable criteria
  • Experience of working toward the 'Association of Family Therapy' (AFT) guide: The blue book for training standards and course accreditation. (4th edition, 2015) (Year 1 foundation training in systemic practice).
  • Experience working in a service for young people and their families and/or eating disorders.

Knowledge / ~Experience

Essential criteria
  • Demonstrable experience of working in child and adolescent mental health services
  • Ability to meet agreed/specified service targets
  • Ability to manage own caseload and time
  • Demonstrates high standards in written communication
  • Demonstrates an understanding of mental health difficulties in young people and how it may present in various different ways
  • Demonstrates a knowledge of the issues surrounding work and the impact it can have on mental health
  • Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence based psychological therapies and how it relates to this post
Desirable criteria
  • Worked in a service where agreed targets in place demonstrating clinical outcomes

Skills & Competencies

Essential criteria
  • Ability to evaluate and put in place the effect of training
  • Computer literate
  • Able to develop good therapeutic relationships with clients and carers
  • Has received training (either formal of through experience) and carried out risk assessments within scope of practice

Training

Essential criteria
  • Able to attend one day per week course
  • Able to complete academic components of the course including attendance at clinical supervision
  • Able to integrate training into practice

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Apprenticeships logoNo smoking policyDisability confident leaderDefence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) - BronzeCare quality commission - GoodArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardStep into healthPride In Veterans

Applicant requirements

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Pratima Hurrymun
Job title
Interim Service Manager
Email address
[email protected]
Additional information

Jay Jameson-
Allen,  
All-Age Eating Disorder Services General Manager

Email: [email protected]

Fay Roberts, Principal family & systemic Psychotherapist

Email: [email protected]

John Cavanagh. Consultant family & systemic psychotherapist and Professional Lead for systemic psychotherapy and practice, Sussex CAMHS.

Email: [email protected]

Tel: 07738 757213

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