Adult, Children and Young People’s Digital Psychotherapist

About us:

Spectrum.Life is a whole-of-health digital partner that guides organisations and their people to thrive, delivering clinically backed digital health, mental health and wellbeing solutions.

Our HealthTech delivers digital transformation for Insurers, Educators and Employers through Co-creation or seamlessly integrated out-of-the-box solutions, that decrease digital fragmentation and engage, empower, and transform their people’s lives.

Established in 2018 by Stuart McGoldrick and Stephen Costello, Spectrum.Life provides services internationally to over 7.2m insurance members, 3,000 corporate clients, 60 universities and 650,000 university students. Spectrum.Life currently employs over 450 people.

Our vision is to change and save as many lives as possible.

Role Brief:

The role of Adult, Children and Young People’s Digital Psychotherapist is suited to fully qualified and fully accredited psychotherapists. The Adult, Children and Young People’s Digital Psychotherapist is a key part of the Spectrum clinical team, providing access to evidence-based talking therapies to adults, children and young people, such as integrative psychotherapy pulling on techniques such as CBT and Goal Based Intervention (GBI) as clinically appropriate. Sessions are for adults aged 18 and over and for children and young people aged 6 to 17, last up to 50 minutes, are delivered online, and are booked through the member platform once our 24/7 clinical team has completed clinical triage and activated the service. Minimum of two to three years of post-qualification experience working with adults and children, adolescents, and families

Schedule:

Responsibilities:

• Provide goal-focused therapeutic support to adults, children, adolescents, using age- and developmentally appropriate interventions to address a range of emotional and psychological difficulties, including anxiety, depression, trauma, grief and complex presentations.
• Conduct a comprehensive assessment at the start of each episode of care, building on the clinical triage completed by our 24/7 clinical team, to identify the individual's needs, developmental stage (for children and young people), risk factors, and protective factors, ensuring appropriate intervention strategies.
• Deliver evidence-based psychological interventions, including but not limited to:
  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for anxiety, depression, and trauma.
  • Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) skills for emotional regulation and self-harm reduction.
  • Play Therapy and Art Therapy for younger children with attachment or developmental needs.
  • Family-Based Interventions (FBT, Systemic Therapy) for eating disorders, behavioural challenges, and family distress.
• Provide immediate crisis interventions through telephone or video support, including risk assessment, suicide prevention strategies, and emotional regulation techniques.
• Assess and manage risk effectively, identifying and escalating concerns related to self-harm, suicidal ideation, abuse, neglect, or exploitation in line with child protection procedures, adult safeguarding procedures and safeguarding policies.
• Follow safeguarding protocols by recognising, reporting, and responding appropriately to child protection and adult safeguarding concerns, liaising with relevant agencies (e.g., TUSLA, education, and law enforcement).
• Determine the appropriate service response level based on the severity and complexity of the individual's presenting difficulties, following case response level standards.
• Work collaboratively with families, caregivers, and educational staff, where appropriate, to provide psychoeducation and support strategies that reinforce therapeutic goals.
• Recommend liaison with multidisciplinary teams (MDTs), including social workers, psychiatrists, teachers, GPs, and other healthcare professionals, ensuring a holistic approach to care.
• Maintain accurate, professional, and confidential clinical records, adhering to GDPR, service policies, and ethical guidelines for data protection on our internal clinical case management system.
• Engage in research, evaluation, and clinical audits to support service development and ensure the continuous improvement of therapeutic outcomes.
• Operate within all clinical governance frameworks, policies, and procedures, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and ethical guidelines.
• Attend clinical supervision, safeguarding training, and CPD activities to maintain high standards of practice and stay updated on emerging evidence-based practices.
• Contribute to service development and expansion, working on projects related to improving mental health provision for adults, children and young people, including digital innovations and accessibility.
• Advocate for the needs and rights of adults, children and young people, ensuring interventions are inclusive, neuroaffirmative, culturally sensitive, and trauma-informed.
• Deliver online sessions of up to 50 minutes to adults aged 18 and over and to children and young people aged 6 to 17 who have been triaged by our 24/7 clinical team and who book directly into your diary once the service has been activated for them.
• Keep your availability up to date so that first appointments can be offered within 10 working days of clinical activation, in line with our agreed service levels.
• For children and young people, work within our child and adolescent pathway, in which parental or guardian consent is embedded, and ensure consent is documented before therapy begins.
• Apply our cancellation and missed-appointment policies
• Make informed clinical decisions, including modality, session frequency and discharge, within our clinical governance framework.

Requirements:

Essential Qualifications and Registration:

• Full accredited membership with one of the following:
  • Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP)
  • Irish Council for Psychotherapy
  • British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy
  • Irish Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy
  • Chartered with Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI)
• A clean record with the associated regulatory body
• Accreditation and Training – Meets IACP requirements for working with adults and children, including:
  • Specialist training in child development, play therapy, systemic therapy, and legal aspects of child counselling.
  • Understanding of psychopharmacology relevant to the mental health of adults, children and young people.
  • Experience in practical, supervised training with children and adolescents.
• A clean record with the associated regulatory body.

Essential Experience:

• Experience and interest in working with adults, and with children and young people aged 6 to 17 years
• Multidisciplinary Collaboration – Experience working with social workers, CAMHS, schools, and healthcare professionals to ensure holistic care.
• Culturally Sensitive and Neuroaffirmative Practice – Experience working with diverse populations, including neurodivergent clients, LGBTQ+ youth, and children from different cultural backgrounds.
• Innovation in Digital Mental Health – Experience in digital or hybrid therapy models, ensuring accessibility for clients of all ages.

Essential Knowledge and Skills:

• Evidence-Based Interventions – Proficiency in delivering developmentally appropriate psychological integrative therapies, including:
  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
  • Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) skills
  • Goal Based Interventions (GBI)
  • Play Therapy and Art Therapy
  • Family-Based Interventions (FBT, Systemic Therapy)
• Child and Adolescent Development – Strong understanding of typical and atypical development, attachment theory, and neurodevelopmental conditions.
• Crisis Intervention and Risk Management – Ability to assess and manage crisis situations, including self-harm, suicidal ideation, abuse, and neglect.
• Child Protection and Safeguarding – In-depth knowledge of child protection laws, policies, and procedures, including the Children First Act and GDPR, and of adult safeguarding procedures.
• Consent and Confidentiality – Understanding of legal and ethical responsibilities regarding consent and confidentiality for under-18s, including:
  • Parental/guardian consent processes
  • Contracting with families for therapy
  • Limits of confidentiality in safeguarding situations
• Mandatory Reporting – Ability to identify, document, and escalate safeguarding concerns appropriately.
• Clinical Governance and Record-Keeping – Adheres to professional and ethical guidelines, including GDPR, clinical documentation, and service policies.
• Commitment to Continuous Professional Development (CPD) – Engages in regular CPD, supervision, and training to maintain accreditation and ensure best practice.
• Building Rapport with Adults, Children and Adolescents – Skilled in adapting therapeutic approaches to meet the needs of each individual, including developmental needs.
• Working with Families and Caregivers – Ability to provide psychoeducation, support strategies, and involve caregivers in the therapeutic process.
• Research and Evaluation – Contributes to service audits, clinical evaluations, and outcome measures for continuous service improvement.
• Multi-Agency Liaison and Advocacy – Advocates for the needs and rights of adults, children and young people, ensuring accessible, effective, and ethical care.
• Strong understanding of clinical governance, GDPR, and safeguarding procedures.
• Ability to work independently while contributing to a multidisciplinary team.
• Ability to work afternoons and evenings,
• Good computing skills: Microsoft software (e.g., Word, Excel, Teams), email, internet, video conferencing software, and clinical record-keeping software (we use Salesforce), including approved AI-assisted clinical transcription tools.

Values and Behaviours:

In addition to professional competency, the Adult, Children and Young People’s Digital Psychotherapist is expected to demonstrate the following:

• Person-centred practice — keeping the voice, rights and wellbeing of the adults, children and young people we support at the heart of every decision, and advocating for them.
• Commitment to psychological safety — creating conditions where adults, young people, families and colleagues can ask questions, raise concerns and disclose errors without fear of judgement.
• Equity and inclusion — active attention to the needs of diverse populations, and neuroaffirmative, culturally sensitive and trauma-informed practice.
• Data literacy — using outcome data and feedback as genuine quality improvement tools.
• Collaborative practice — working openly with families, schools, the multidisciplinary team and partner agencies.
• Commitment to the evidence base — maintaining fidelity to NICE guidelines and professional accreditation standards, and exercising independent clinical judgement within clinical governance frameworks.

Desirable:

What are the benefits of working at SPECTRUM.LIFE?

• Competitive salary (dependent on experience).
• Remote working
• 25 days annual leave
• 24/7 EAP and a wide range of health and wellbeing support
• The opportunity to work in a strengths based and inclusive way and contribute to a bigger shift in changing societal attitudes towards mental health and wellbeing
• Remote supervision
• Opportunities to develop your skills and expertise through learning and training
• The chance to contribute to the development and shaping of a new and exciting service
• Extensive list of employee perks and benefits https://app.box.com/s/6wwkvowbev6cn7tlvq9yz32amnpmnvcl
• Technology that works with you; digital infrastructure designed to support clinical delivery and reduce administrative burden
• Structured CPD programme with protected time for professional development and IACP accreditation maintenance

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