Job summary
We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Principal Psychotherapist / Art Psychotherapist (Band 8B) to join The Woman's Service, a specialist psychotherapy service within Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust supporting women who are survivors of child sexual abuse. The service is based in the London Borough of Bromley (Orpington), and this post plays a key leadership role in delivering high-quality, psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy within a trauma-informed framework.
The post holder will provide expert assessments, complex formulations, specialist therapeutic interventions, and clinical leadership within a highly specialised service. They will work closely with colleagues across the referral network and contribute to supervision, consultancy, staff development, and governance.
This post is restricted to female applicants only, as being a woman is a Genuine Occupational Requirement under Schedule 9, Part 1 of the Equality Act 2010, due to the specialist nature of the service and the needs of the women accessing it.
Main duties of the job
Provide highly specialist assessments for women referred to The Woman's Service, integrating complex clinical information from multiple sources. Formulate and deliver specialist psychotherapeutic treatments using psychoanalytic or psychodynamic models in situations of high emotional complexity. Offer clinical supervision, consultancy, and professional guidance to colleagues, trainees, and honorary therapists. Deliver psychologically informed advice to multi-disciplinary teams and wider professional networks. Maintain high-quality clinical records, communication, and risk management in line with Trust policies. Contribute to service development, governance, and evaluation, including audit and research activities. Participate in recruitment, professional development, and general service functioning. Uphold Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust values: We're Kind, We're Fair, We Listen, We Care.
About us
Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children's centres, schools and people's homes.We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.
Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:
- We're Kind
- We're Fair
- We Listen
- We Care
Job description
Job responsibilities
Clinical Responsibilities
- Deliver specialist psychotherapy assessments and formulations for women referred to the service, using psychoanalytic or psychodynamic frameworks.
- Provide individual psychotherapy and make treatment decisions in highly complex clinical situations.
- Maintain high standards of clinical documentation, risk assessment, safeguarding practice, and communication with referrers and multidisciplinary colleagues.
- Offer psychologically informed advice to other professionals to support patient care.
Supervision, Teaching & Consultancy - Provide clinical supervision, teaching, and professional guidance to team members, trainees, and honorary clinicians.
- Offer specialist consultancy to internal teams and external agencies involved in the care of traumatised or vulnerable women.
Service Development, Research & Governance
- Contribute to service governance, audit, quality improvement, and research aligned with Trust priorities.
- Participate in service development work to enhance clinical pathways and maintain high standards of psychotherapeutic practice.
Professional Requirements
- Maintain registration with UKCP, BPC or HCPC and engage in regular CPD and supervision.
- Uphold Oxleas Trust policies, including confidentiality, equality, safeguarding, infection control, and health & safety.
- Demonstrate commitment to Oxleas values: Were Kind, Were Fair, We Listen, We Care.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Clinical Responsibilities
- Deliver specialist psychotherapy assessments and formulations for women referred to the service, using psychoanalytic or psychodynamic frameworks.
- Provide individual psychotherapy and make treatment decisions in highly complex clinical situations.
- Maintain high standards of clinical documentation, risk assessment, safeguarding practice, and communication with referrers and multidisciplinary colleagues.
- Offer psychologically informed advice to other professionals to support patient care.
Supervision, Teaching & Consultancy - Provide clinical supervision, teaching, and professional guidance to team members, trainees, and honorary clinicians.
- Offer specialist consultancy to internal teams and external agencies involved in the care of traumatised or vulnerable women.
Service Development, Research & Governance
- Contribute to service governance, audit, quality improvement, and research aligned with Trust priorities.
- Participate in service development work to enhance clinical pathways and maintain high standards of psychotherapeutic practice.
Professional Requirements
- Maintain registration with UKCP, BPC or HCPC and engage in regular CPD and supervision.
- Uphold Oxleas Trust policies, including confidentiality, equality, safeguarding, infection control, and health & safety.
- Demonstrate commitment to Oxleas values: Were Kind, Were Fair, We Listen, We Care.
Person Specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential
- Completed training in Psychoanalysis, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, or Art Psychotherapy (accredited by UKCP, BPC or HCPC).
- Professional qualification relevant to mental health or forensic clinical practice, e.g., Psychotherapy or Art Psychotherapy
- Professional registration with UKCP, BPC or HCPC (depending on modality).
Desirable
- Recognised training in clinical supervision.
- Additional formal training in trauma-focused psychotherapy or working with survivors of sexual abuse. (Inferred from service context.)
- Training in consultation, leadership or service development approaches. (In line with JD responsibilities.)
Experience
Essential
- Minimum 3.5 years post-qualification experience delivering specialist psychotherapy.
- Experience working with individuals with complex emotional or developmental needs, including trauma histories.
- Experience working in secondary care adult mental health or equivalent specialist settings. (JD reflects work with complex, high-risk mental health presentations.)
Desirable
- Experience providing clinical supervision to trainees or qualified staff.
- Experience contributing to service development or leadership initiatives.
- Experience participating in research, audit, or service evaluation.
Skills/Abilities/Knowledge
Essential
- Highly developed psychodynamic or psychoanalytic assessment, formulation and treatment skills, including in complex, emotive clinical situations.
- Excellent communication skills, able to convey complex and sensitive information to patients, MDT members, external agencies and families.
- Ability to maintain professionalism under high emotional pressure, including in situations of distress, conflict, verbal aggression or risk.
Desirable
- Well-developed teaching, training and supervision skills across multidisciplinary groups.
- Knowledge of relevant mental health, safeguarding and child protection legislation.
- Ability to contribute to psychologically-informed service development, applying reflective and evidence-based practice.
Person Specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential
- Completed training in Psychoanalysis, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, or Art Psychotherapy (accredited by UKCP, BPC or HCPC).
- Professional qualification relevant to mental health or forensic clinical practice, e.g., Psychotherapy or Art Psychotherapy
- Professional registration with UKCP, BPC or HCPC (depending on modality).
Desirable
- Recognised training in clinical supervision.
- Additional formal training in trauma-focused psychotherapy or working with survivors of sexual abuse. (Inferred from service context.)
- Training in consultation, leadership or service development approaches. (In line with JD responsibilities.)
Experience
Essential
- Minimum 3.5 years post-qualification experience delivering specialist psychotherapy.
- Experience working with individuals with complex emotional or developmental needs, including trauma histories.
- Experience working in secondary care adult mental health or equivalent specialist settings. (JD reflects work with complex, high-risk mental health presentations.)
Desirable
- Experience providing clinical supervision to trainees or qualified staff.
- Experience contributing to service development or leadership initiatives.
- Experience participating in research, audit, or service evaluation.
Skills/Abilities/Knowledge
Essential
- Highly developed psychodynamic or psychoanalytic assessment, formulation and treatment skills, including in complex, emotive clinical situations.
- Excellent communication skills, able to convey complex and sensitive information to patients, MDT members, external agencies and families.
- Ability to maintain professionalism under high emotional pressure, including in situations of distress, conflict, verbal aggression or risk.
Desirable
- Well-developed teaching, training and supervision skills across multidisciplinary groups.
- Knowledge of relevant mental health, safeguarding and child protection legislation.
- Ability to contribute to psychologically-informed service development, applying reflective and evidence-based practice.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
