Trainee High Intensity Therapist - Kent and Medway

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 February 2025 cohort at 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/study-here/courses/postgraduate/cognitive-behaviour-therapy-high-intensity?year=march-2024&modeRef=0#courseOverview 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 can be conducted from any VHG site. 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., We are committed to being equitable and supporting the wellbeing of all employees.

• We are a Mindful Employer
• Our status as a Disability Confident Leader 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 Gender Matters Scheme where all women applicants for senior roles (£60,000+) that meet the essential criteria will be invited to 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).
• Access to health and wellbeing services for colleagues including Mental Health Advocates and an Employee Assistance Programme.
• An embedded "speaking up" culture facilitated by Freedom to Speak Up Guardians.
• Treating transgender individuals with dignity and recognising 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.
Should you wish to discuss any adjustment or assistance you need in the application or interview process please contact recruitment@vhg.co.uk and we will facilitate. 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.

Do you have at least 2 years of experience working in mental health or a Core profession and you're interested in becoming a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist? If so, our fully funded Trainee High Intensity Therapist programme could be the role for you! To be eligible for this training you would need to meet one of the following criteria:
• Have a BABCP recognised core profession (Arts Therapies, Counselling, Medicine, Nurse, Occupational Therapy, Psychotherapy/Psychotherapeutic Counselling, Social Work, Postgraduate Doctorate in Clinical/Counselling Psychology, Educational Psychology, Health Psychology and Forensic Psychology) that meets the appropriate qualification or registration requirements found on the BABCP website.
Please note you will need to provide evidence of these qualifications/registration at the point of interview.
• Are able to demonstrate the equivalent relevant experience of a core profession by having at least 2 years' experience working in mental health (which includes patient facing change focused or therapeutic work) and can demonstrate you have the knowledge and skills to meet the criteria of the BABCP KSA Portfolio at the point of interview.
Please be aware that, as this is an HEE funded course, if you have previously accessed HEE funded training (e.g. Low intensity CBT training for PWPs), you will need to have two full years' experience post-graduation by the start date of the course (February 2025) to be eligible for further funding., 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.,
• Core Professional training or qualification, or able to demonstrate at interview that you meet the KSA requirements set by the BABCP.
• Demonstrate the equivalent relevant experience of a core profession by having at least 2 years' experience working in mental health and can demonstrate you have the knowledge and skills to meet the criteria of the BABCP KSA Portfolio at the point of interview
• 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., 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., Disability Confident
About Disability Confident A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.

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.

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. Now part of Spire Healthcare Group plc we have been providing physical and mental health services for over 30 years. 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. We are an award-winning employer recently recognised nationally as "Best Company to Work for" at the Health and Wellbeing Awards 2024. This is also recognised by current employees - our most recent Employee Survey results showed the top 5 reasons to work here as being:
• Supportive team and management
• Positive work environment
• Wellbeing and mental health support
• Trust and respect
• Autonomy and flexibility
We are keen to progress your skills and enable career development and provide regular Continued Professional Development opportunities including secondments, management training, a mentoring scheme, apprenticeships and regular events and webinars across a range of clinical disciplines. 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