Are you interested in becoming a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist? If so, our fully funded Trainee High Intensity Therapist programme could be the role for you!

 If you have a BABCP recognised core profession, for instance are an Arts Therapist, Counsellor, Nurse, Occupational Therapist, Psychotherapist, Social Worker and further professions (please see the BABCP core professions list) or a qualified Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner with 2 years post-qualification experience (by March 2024) or meet KSA criteria, you would be eligible to apply for a funded role.

Getting to know Us:

Hello! We are Vita Health Group – we are one of the lead providers of NHS Talking Therapies services within the South West, North East, Midlands and South East. We are proud of the work we do to support our community through our partnership with the NHS 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 continuous professional development (CPD) and encouraging our Cognitive Behavioural Therapists to embrace specialist training and leadership opportunities.  

The Role:

We are looking for aspiring Cognitive Behavioural Therapists to join our NHS Kent and Medway Talking Therapies service as Trainee High Intensity Therapists (HITs) in the March 2024 cohort at the Canterbury Christchurch University. The course is offered on a full time basis, over 1 year.
This is an Evidence Based High Intensity CBT Therapist post graduate course, details of which can be found on the link below.

https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/science-engineering-and-social-sciences/salomons-institute-for-applied-psychology/docs/masters-cognitive-behavioural-therapy/Postgraduate-Programmes-in-Psychological-Therapies-CBT-2017-18-Brochure.pdf

Following successful completion of your probational period and the course, you will move into a secured qualified role with a High Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapist salary. 

Whilst training, a typical working week includes 3 days of clinical practice with the service and 2 days attending university. University days are likely to be a hybrid training approach with a combination of remote and face-to-face teaching. Full details of the course will be provided by the University following successful appointment. In order to fulfil the course requirements of delivering face to face treatment and to help you settle into our team, your clinical practice will be conducted from our offices in Kent & Medway.

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.

This is a training position with a start date of March 2024.

Preceptorship Period Post-Training

We think it is important that our trainees get continued time and space to learn their craft and have the time to be able to reflect on their cases and build their clinical confidence. After the training is complete, we will continue to support you to consolidate your learning. Following successful completion of the course, all of our practitioners have built in CPD per annum, additional regular CPD sessions, free access to the Bespoke CPD package where they can access upcoming and previous specialised CBT training from global leading academics and clinicians.

Getting to know You:

As previously stated, applications are welcomed from Core Professionals (E.g., nurses, occupational therapists, social workers, health psychologists, educational psychologists) and Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners.

Applicants without a BABCP 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.

If you are interested in working in our Talking Therapies service, but do not currently meet the essential criteria for this role, there may be other opportunities available within our service that may be suitable and would support you gaining the relevant experience to meet this criteria in the future. 

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 evidence of the ability to study at third year undergraduate degree (level 6).
• Membership of the BABCP (from the time that the course commences).
• Availability to attend university as required, which will include up to nine blocks of teaching of up to four days. – teaching will be a mixture of face to face and remote.
• Experience of working in mental health services, including risk management.
• Willingness to travel, which may include overnight stays on occasion, as and when required.
• Ability to manage own caseload.
• Demonstrates an understanding of anxiety and depression and how it may present in a Primary Care setting.
• Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence based psychological therapies and how it relates to this post.
• Evidence of values that are consistent with the NHS constitution.
• Interpersonal skills to engage and develop working alliances with colleagues and patients.
• Ability to work from home when required (minimum 5mb download speed required).

Desirable Requirements:

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

Other Requirements:

• Shortlisted applicants must be available to attend interviews remotely via Microsoft Teams on 2nd/3rd and 4th of January 2024. The interview will include a University representative along with representatives from Vita Health Group. There will be a roleplay activity which is provided at the interview.
• Applicants must be available to commence the role for service induction in February 2024. All essential 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.

Canterbury Christchurch University

The Salomons Centre for Applied Psychology, at Canterbury Christ Church University, has a long history of, and international reputation for, applied training and research. Their vision is to make a significant contribution to the understanding of professional service settings and their context by delivering a high quality and responsive professional development programme that provides able, committed and reflective professional practitioners. Canterbury Christ Church University is a modern, multi-campus university, with a strong focus on teaching, learning and research for the professional public services including health and social care. The Salomons Centre for Applied Psychology has recently moved to fully refurbished premises in the centre of Royal Tunbridge Wells.

PGDip Psychological Therapies Practice (High Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) Programme Overview

This programme is training people already in a career within the NHS or NHS Talking Therapies service. It will provide you with an outstanding opportunity to develop your competencies and knowledge associated with practice as a Practitioner. A strong emphasis throughout the programme is placed upon your personal and professional development.

• Aimed at clinical psychologists, psychotherapists and other professionals with experience of delivering mental health such as nurses and counsellors.
• Provides intensive skills training in accordance with British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies (BABCP) guidelines for good practice.
• The programme is suited to those pursuing a career as a High Intensity therapist, defined under the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies /NHS Talking Therapies initiative.

Advantages of the programme are that:

• You will study within a vibrant, stimulating and internationally-recognised research environment, where members of your teaching team have first-hand experience within the clinical setting.
• Your learning experience will be enriched by nationally-recognised, innovative, clinical teaching approaches, designed to develop you on your terms.

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.

Vita Health Group