Children and Young Persons' Trainee Therapist

All applicants must submit a CV and a cover letter explaining why they should be considered for this role. Applications without a cover letter will not be accepted.

WithYou in BCP has an exciting opportunity for a Recruit to Train Trainee CBT Therapist to join our YP team as part of the NHS England (NHSE) funded Children and Young People (CYP) Psychological Training Programmes (formerly CYP-IAPT).

Join our team as a Children and Young Persons' Trainee Therapist, please see Job Description here.

Are you passionate about supporting children and young people facing challenges with their mental health, drug or alcohol use? If you are enthusiastic, caring and eager to make a difference, we would love to hear from you. WithYou provides free and confidential support to more than 100,000 people every year.

This role may close earlier than the stated deadline if we receive a high volume of applications, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

Recruit to Train is a government-funded initiative aiming to grow the child mental health workforce to meet much needed demand. To help reach this goal, NHSE covers salary and training costs for a 1-year post, allowing services to employ trainees to aid in implementing new or expanding existing specialist pathways to bridge the gaps in CYP mental health support.

This is a unique opportunity to apply your learning from weekly teaching into practical clinical interventions working with clients in the service making a direct impact in the lives of children, young people and their families.

Please note: The position will be predominantly home-based with occasional travel to our Bournemouth office required. Successful candidates will be expected to travel to the University of Exeter on a weekly basis, for teaching during the training year.

More information about the course content and the different modalities can be found here.

This full-time training will begin in January 2027 with around 2.5 days a week for academic work (teaching and personal study), and 2.5 days based at the service seeing clients related to training assignments. Trainees will be both an employee of the service and an enrolled student with the University of Exeter. Upon completion, qualified trainees will receive a University of Exeter Postgraduate Diploma.

This is a dual application process. In addition to applying for this position with us, you must also complete a University of Exeter application for the Course Team to review. The Course Team will liaise with us on whether you meet the academic requirements for the course during the recruitment process. You will only be offered a University of Exeter training place if you are successful in securing this post and you meet the university training requirements (such as academic background, relevant experience, visa approval).

What are we looking for?

• We are seeking highly motivated candidates who are enthusiastic about making a difference to children’s mental health through evidence-based interventions based on NICE Guideline recommended treatment.
• You will be committed to the CYP Psychological Training Programme core principles: Accessibility, accountability, participation, awareness and evidence-based practice and in providing an inclusive and effective service for children and young people, along with a dedication to equity, diversity and inclusion.

Please review the additional documents for more information on the role, person specification other employment documents.

For more information about the role or to have a confidential discussion, please reach out to: [email protected]

PRIVACY NOTICE: As you also apply for a training course that is delivered by the University of Exeter, your data may be shared with them for the purpose of processing your application (shortlisting) and enrolling you onto this Programme.

Company Benefits

• 28 days annual leave, plus bank holidays
• An extra day off for your birthday or a special occasion of your choice
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave
• 2 days paid volunteer leave per year
• Auto-enrollment into We Are With You’s pension scheme
• Access to a Blue Light Card - giving you great savings on big high-street and online brands
• Flexible working opportunities and access to a range of services and resources to support you with your wellbeing
• We have an excellent Refer a Friend scheme which offers you a £500 bonus for any recommendations, any role! Our scheme allows you to recommend your friends and family to work with us and earn a £500 bonus payment for every successful referral you make. Please note, the Refer a Friend scheme is only applicable once your recommended friend has been employed for 6 months

Essential Skills

We are looking for a compassionate and motivated individual who is eager to start a career in therapeutic support for children and young people. You will have excellent communication skills, be able to build trust and rapport with young people, and demonstrate a commitment to personal and professional development.

To be successful in this role, you will:

• Have some experience of working or volunteering with children, young people or families (this could be in a paid or voluntary capacity)
• Hold a relevant Level 3 qualification (e.g. Health and Social Care, Childcare, Youth Work) or be willing to work towards this within 12 months
• Be able to work effectively as part of a team and independently when required
• Demonstrate resilience, empathy and a non-judgemental approach
• Be organised and able to manage your time and workload effectively
• Be comfortable using IT and digital systems for record keeping
• Be willing to undertake further training and supervision as part of your development
• Be flexible with working hours to meet the needs of young people and the service
• Be willing to support other WithYou locations if needed
• If successful, provide three years' worth of references and, where applicable, undergo an enhanced DBS check

Creating an Inclusive Environment

As an organisation, we continue to build an inclusive culture that encourages, supports and celebrates the diverse voices and experiences of our staff. We know that representing the communities we serve is key to us meeting our vision of a future where everyone lives a life free from the harm associated with drugs and alcohol.

We welcome the unique contributions that you can bring and we encourage people from underrepresented communities and backgrounds to apply to join our team, including people with lived experience, people with disabilities, people from racialised communities, LGBTQ+ people, people of all ages and armed forces veterans.

As part of our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant we provide a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates that are veterans and meet all the essential criteria for a role. With You is also a Disability Confident Employer and we offer a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with a disability and meet all the essential criteria for a role.

If you have a disability, a learning difficulty such as dyslexia or a medical condition which you believe may affect your performance during any aspect of our selection process, we’ll be happy to make reasonable adjustments to enable you to perform at your best.

Please note that you will be required to provide 3 years worth of references and where applicable, undergo an enhanced DBS check, to be considered for a role at WithYou.