Senior Practitioner Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression

Job title: Senior Practitioner Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression

Service: Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression (formerly IAPT)

Responsible to: Clinical Services Manager

Salary: Starting salary SO1-Sp29a £34,934

Hours: 22.5 hours

Contract type: Fixed Term until March 31st, 2027

Location: Hybrid

About the Psychological Therapies & Wellbeing Services Department

Mind CHWF’s Psychological Therapies &Wellbeing department has been BACP accredited since 2016 and we specialise in:

·       trauma-informed and compassion-focused practice 

·       lived experience leadership and representation 

·       ‘third wave’ cognitive behavioural/evidence-based therapies (group and one to one models based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, mindfulness-based therapies, Compassion-focused therapy, and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy)

·       a Practitioner Training Programme for our evidence-based model, ‘Radical Self-Care (RadSec)’, currently undergoing accreditation with BAMBA (British Association for Mindfulness Based Approaches)

·       clinical research with our academic and NHS partners (City, University of London and NELFT)

·       psychological therapies for:

o   common mental health problems such as anxiety and depression via our Talking Therapies Service for Anxiety and Depression (formerly IAPT - Improving Access to Psychological Therapies). Our Step 2 provision uses ‘third wave’ group modalities, particularly Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Our Step 3 focuses on Person-Centred Experiential Counselling for Depression (PCE-CfD).

o   African Caribbean heritage communities (in partnership with our IRIE Mind project), 

o   LGBTQ+ communities (in partnership with our Rainbow Mind project)

o   complex developmental trauma and enduring mental health conditions (City and Hackney Wellbeing Network)

o   people who have lost someone to suicide (Grief in Pieces project)

o   alcohol and substance misuse (City and Hackney Recovery Service)

All staff, trainees and volunteers have opportunities to participate in a wide range of in-house and external trainings through our networks.  Practitioners in specialist services are offered relevant evidence-based training (IAPT Step 2 practitioners receive training in group protocol using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and our Recovery Service workers receive intensive training and supervision in our group models: Radical Self Care, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Managing Anger & Difficult Emotions). 

At Mind CHWF, we offer significant personal and professional development opportunities, encourage innovation and initiative from our committed and talented practitioners, and offer skill-building and experience of working across multiple projects and modalities in an award-winning mental health organisation.

Purpose of the post: 

The Senior IAPT Practitioner will play a key role in delivering and developing Mind in the City, Hackney and Waltham Forest’s specialist Talking Therapies provision for African Caribbean Heritage (ACH), LGBTQIA+ and Global Majority communities.

The post holder will primarily deliver High Intensity (Step 3) psychological therapy, providing evidence-based one-to-one interventions for people experiencing anxiety and depression within a culturally responsive framework. The role will focus on delivering structured therapies such as Person-Centred Experiential Counselling for Depression (PCE-CfD) or other NICE-recommended modalities, alongside clinical assessment, formulation, and risk management.

In addition to clinical delivery, the role will include a small leadership component involving line management and professional support for Step 2 practitioners working within the specialist pathway. The post holder will help ensure quality, consistency and good practice across the Step 2 provision and may provide temporary clinical cover or guidance where service gaps arise.

The role contributes to improving equitable access and outcomes for African Caribbean Heritage, LGBTQIA+ and Global Majority communities, supporting the service to address inequalities in mental health provision.

Mind CHWF has a long-standing commitment to community-led and culturally responsive mental health services. We particularly welcome and encourage applications from Black women, who are currently underrepresented in senior roles in psychological therapy.