The Essex Maternal Mental Health Service ( MMHS), By your side launched in October 2023 aims to integrate maternity, reproductive health and psychological therapy for women and birthing parents experiencing mental health difficulties arising from, or directly related to, the maternity experience.

A fully therapeutic service is offered since June 2024 for women and birthing parents accessing the 5 maternity units across Essex.

This service has been providing targeted care and support to those women and birthing parents whose needs are not currently being met in other services, including those who have experienced trauma and loss in the perinatal period and who are not eligible for specialist perinatal mental health services.

By Your Side provides therapeutic service for accessing the 5 maternity units across Essex to women and/or birthing parents who has a moderate to severe mental health response after suffering a perinatal loss, this includes:

Miscarriage (including recurrent/multiple miscarriages)

Still birth

Termination

Neonatal death (in the UK this is the death of a live-born baby that occurs within 28 days of birth)

The By Your Side clinical team includes clinical psychologists, psychological therapists and specialist maternal mental health midwives. The ability to work flexibly and positively in multidisciplinary teams is therefore essential.

We are looking for Psychological therapist (Clinical/Counselling Psychologist/CBT Therapist) at 0.6 WTE on a permanent basis.

Bases are across Colchester and Costal Towns (Tendering, Clacton on Sea, Manningtree, Frinton-on-Sea) for this post, but you may be required to work across services within the geographical area in which the Trust operates. Hybrid working of both face to face and online working is encouraged as well as home visiting when indicated.

They will provide psychological assessment and evidence based psychological therapy to women who experience moderate to severe mental health difficulties following birth trauma, perinatal loss (including early miscarriage, recurrent miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death).

You will work collaboratively with the multi-disciplinary team of specialist maternal mental health midwives to provide a specialist, trauma-informed psychological service.

We are looking to recruit an experienced psychological therapist who has experience of working with people with trauma and/or loss to join our supportive and passionate team.

There will be regular clinical supervision from the Clinical Lead/Principal Practitioner Psychologist.

EPUT are looking for motivated staff who shares our Trust values of Care, Learn and Empower. In return, EPUT can offer you a range of benefits and development including;

Season Ticket Loans

NHS discounts for staff

Excellent Training facilities and opportunities

Buying and Selling annual leave scheme

The opportunity to work bank shifts and expand knowledge and experience in other areas

Salary Sacrifice schemes including lease cars and Cycle to Work

Day One Flexible Employer

The Trust supports and actively encourages flexible working for all employees. We offer many options and you are encouraged to ask the recruiting manager what is possible for this role. If appointed, you will have the opportunity to apply for a flexible working request from the first day of your employment

Join our Staff bank

What is Staff Bank?

Our EPUT NHS staff bank is an entity managed by the trust that hires clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals to take on shifts at our trust hospitals and community settings. Here at EPUT we maintain our own bank of specialist staff to ensure that we are able offer safe and effective care at all times.

All our permanent staff are automatically enrolled onto the staff bank however this does not mean you have to work any additional shifts, but the option is there for you if you wish.

If you are joining our Trust in a fixed term role, please indicate on your New Starter Paperwork that you wish to join our staff bank

The MMHS will form part of the broader community perinatal mental health service offer as well as siting within the EPUT Psychological Service Directorate. You will be part of a larger team of psychologists and psychological therapists specialising in perinatal mental health and you will receive support from the Clinical Lead.

Experience of working with trauma and loss is essential for this role.

Please see attached Job description and specification for details regarding the responsibilities and tasks of this role.