Trainee High Intensity Therapist - Kent and Medway

Are you an experienced mental health professional or social care worker with a recognised professional qualification working in a mental health setting? Do you meet the KSA requirements as set out by the BABCP? Have you considered training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and getting paid to do it?

If so, our Trainee High Intensity Therapist programme could be the role for you!

Getting to know Us:

Hello! We are Vita Health Group – we are one of the lead providers of Talking Therapies services within the North East, Midlands, South East and South West. We are super proud of the work we do at Step 3 and see the life-changing impact of our practice every single day!

We really do practice what we preach here at Vita, with a company-wide focus on staff wellbeing, a flexible and creative approach to work and a real culture of openness and support. We love to see our colleagues thrive and achieve their personal goals, so we place a real emphasis on quality supervision, rich CPD and encouraging our CBT Therapists to embrace specialist training and leadership opportunities.

The Role:

We are looking for aspiring Cognitive Behavioural Therapists to join our Kent and Medway Talking Therapies service as Trainee High Intensity Therapists (HITs) in the September 2023 cohort at the University of Surrey. The course you will undertake is the one-year, full-time, Postgraduate Diploma in Psychological Intervention (CBT) starting in September 2023.

This is a permanent position with a start date of September 2023.

A typical working week includes three days of clinical practice with the service, one day attending university and one study day. University days will be hybrid training with a combination of remote and face-to-face teaching. Whilst your clinical practice is likely to include some remote working, you will be required to attend one of the Kent and Medway offices for part of the week.

You will provide High Intensity CBT interventions recommended by NICE to clients with moderate to severe common mental health disorders and will receive weekly supervision provided by both the university and the workplace.

Preceptorship Period Post-Training

Following successful completion of training, newly qualified therapists are offered a six-month preceptorship period. The preceptorship package provides opportunity to consolidate knowledge and build confidence through reflective learning with an allocated mentor.

Getting to know You:

The Trainee position is aimed at mental health professionals who have some experience in CBT and who continue to work in a mental health environment.

Applications are invited from qualified Clinical or Counselling Psychological Therapists, Mental Health Nurses, Psychotherapists, Counsellors, Occupational Therapists, Social Workers and PWPs (with two years post qualification experience).

Applicants without a recognised and accredited core mental health professional training (such as Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners or Psychotherapists and Counsellors without UKCP or BACP accreditation) are eligible to apply but must be able to demonstrate at interview that they meet the KSA requirements set by the BABCP.

For more information about Core Professions:

https://www.babcp.com/Core-Professions

For more information about the KSA requirements:

https://www.babcp.com/Knowledge-Skills-Attitudes

Essential Requirements:

• Core Professional training or qualification, or able to demonstrate at interview that you meet the KSA requirements set by the BABCP.
• Undergraduate degree or equivalent in a discipline connected to mental health (or ability to study at third year undergraduate degree level).
• Membership of the BABCP (from the time that the course commences).
• Availability to attend university as required – teaching will be a mixture of face to face and remote.
• Minimum two years full-time equivalent experience working clinically in a mental health setting.
• Willingness to travel, which may include overnight stays on occasion, as and when required.

Desirable Requirements:

• Evidence of foundation level or sustained CPD in CBT.
• Evidence of supervised CBT practice.
• Experience of working in Primary Care/IAPT services.
• Worked in a service where agreed targets are in place demonstrating clinical outcomes.

Other Requirements:

• Shortlisted applicants must be available to attend interviews held in June. All interviews will be held remotely via Microsoft Teams.
• Applicants must be available to commence the role in September 2023. All equipment will be provided.
• A Disclosure and Barring check (DBS, formerly CRB) will be required by the service for appointment to post.
• Applicants who have completed an NHS or HEE funded psychological professions training programme within the last two years are not eligible to apply.
• Only those with the right to work in the UK without restriction and eligible for Home Fee status can be recruited. These rules are set by the UK government and cannot be changed by individual universities or the NHS.
• All KSA candidates must have a completed or condensed (where appropriate) KSA at interview.
• A local workforce would be preferred. Remote applications will be considered although there is an expectation that trainees will be able to travel to the University for teaching and be able to deliver hybrid working.

Please note this job is to be applied for via NHS jobs using the link below. Any applications received directly via Vita Health Group are not able to be accepted.

https://beta.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/N0002-23-0001

Why Vita Health Group?

Vita Health Group celebrates life. Improving lives physically and mentally drives everything we do.

We are physical and mental health specialists with over 30 years of experience. We work in partnership with the NHS, are engaged by insurers and some of the UK’s largest corporate companies to support their workforce and provide a full range of physiotherapy services to private customers.

To achieve our mission of making people better, we recognise the importance of investing in our staff. In addition to a competitive salary, we also offer the opportunity of a flexible work life balance and a comprehensive benefits package which you can view here: https://www.vitahealthgroup.co.uk/join-us/careers/

To progress your skills and enable career development we provide Continued Professional Development opportunities including secondments, management training, a mentoring scheme and regular events and webinars across a range of clinical disciplines.

Vita Health Group is proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion best practice and positively encourage applications from candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion/belief, marital status, or pregnancy/maternity. To support this we have a dedicated team of EDI specialists and run a range of active in-house diversity networks.

We are actively seeking to increase the diversity of our workforce, to ensure we are representative of the communities we serve at all levels. We therefore welcome applications from candidates with a wide range of lived experience.

We are committed to equitably support the wellbeing of all employees as demonstrated by:

• Our association with the MINDFUL EMPLOYER Charter for Employers who are Positive About Mental Health.
• Our status as a Disability Confident Employer dedicated to ensuring that all candidates are treated fairly throughout the recruitment process. All disabled candidates that meet the minimum essential criteria will be invited to interview.
• Our Ethnicity Matters Scheme where all applicants for senior roles (£40,000+) from a minority ethnic group that meet the essential criteria will be invited for interview.
• Our sign up to the Armed Forces Covenant.
• Our status as a Menopause Friendly Committed employer.
• Our sign up to the Employer with Heart Charter.
• Our commitment to meet the standards outlined in the NHS Equality Delivery System (EDS). Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) and Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES).
• The provision of access to health and wellbeing services for colleagues which includes a team of trained Mental Health Advocates and an Employee Assistance Programme.
• An embedded “speaking up” culture facilitated by Freedom to Speak Up Guardians.

Should you wish to discuss any adjustment or assistance you might need in the application or interview process please contact recruitment@vhg.co.uk and we will arrange.

VHG is committed to supporting transgender individuals with dignity and recognises the potential complications that may arise when taking references. We encourage applicants to contact HR at hr@vhg.co.uk to discuss or amend how we manage reference requests.

Please note, all applicants must be legally entitled to accept and perform work in the UK and all positions are subject to a DBS check.

Any data which you share with us throughout the hiring process will be stored securely within the UK and is accessible only by staff who require it. Should your application be unsuccessful, your data will be securely destroyed after 6 months.

Vita Health Group reserves the right to close this job when sufficient applications have been received.