About the role

ID: 1845 Psychotherapist, Arts Therapist, Counsellor

Service: Growing Minds, Off Centre, an African, Caribbean Heritage therapeutic service for Children and Young People.

Salary: £36,501 - £40,024 FTE per annum (£21,900.60 - £24,014.40 per annum, pro rata) Inclusive of Inner London Weighting

Location: Unit 7, Textile Building, Hackney, London, E9 and outreach locations

Hours: 22.2 hours per week (part time) with either Monday or Thursday evening to 8:00pm. Requirement to work on Wednesdays.

We offer flexible working arrangements - please see below for more details.

Contract: Permanent

Family Action & the Role’s Impact:
At Family Action we support people through change, challenge or crisis. It’s what we’ve done for over 150 years. We protect children, support young people and adults and offer direct, practical help to families and communities.

We see first-hand the power of family to shape lives, for better or worse, so we speak up for the importance of family in national and local policymaking, amplify family voices and represent the changing needs of families in the UK today.

This is an exciting opportunity for a therapist who wants to make a difference to the lives of children and young people, 11yrs to 25yrs, of African, Caribbean heritage in City and Hackney.

Young black people disproportionately report inequality, racism and discrimination on a routine basis. Many ACH children, young people and families are succeeding in Hackney, however young people from ethnic minority communities are over-represented in terms of child protection plans, looked after children and school exclusions and inequalities in health. If you feel passionate about making a difference in this area we would like to hear from you.

Our Growing Minds Service provides practical, emotional and mental health wellbeing support to children and young people aged 11-25 from African and Caribbean Heritage (ACH) communities; focusing on two key transition points in their lives (primary to secondary school and childhood to adulthood). The service is designed to increase the capacity of ACH communities to harness potential, identify and support children and young people’s mental health needs, and to establish a clear pathway into direct support.

We are seeking candidates from African and Caribbean Heritage in order to reach out to children, young people and young adults in these communities. The Occupational Requirement under Schedule 9 (part 1) of the Equality Act 2010 applies.

Main responsibilities
As a therapist you will be responsible for undertaking assessments, delivering 1-1, time limited, outcome focussed sessions with young people for up to 24 weeks (depending on their assessment evaluation) and evaluating therapeutic interventions for young people. You will also undertake associated case management and administrative work. You will be required to offer evening sessions until 8pm at least one evening a week (on Monday or Thursday) as part of your working hours and there is also the potential to develop and facilitate group work.

Main Requirements
As a Psychotherapist/ Creative Art Psychotherapist/Counsellor with relevant post qualification practice you will work collaboratively community organisations/CAMHS and other partners to reduce barriers to mental health support to children, young people and young adults from the ACH community. You will work with young people on a 1:1 basis, with parent/carers during assessment, and group work. You will undertake holistic assessments, and hold a caseload providing outcome focussed interventions that support resilience and emotional wellbeing. In addition you will be knowledgeable about the wider health determinants which impact on ACH communities and barriers for children, young people and young adults achieving positive outcomes. You will be a warm, empathic individual with an ability to relate to young people and work as part of a team.

We are committed to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in all that we do and welcome applications from all sections of the community. We particularly welcome applications from male candidates, LGBTQIA+ candidates and candidates with disabilities because we are committed to increasing the representation of these groups at Family Action. We know that greater diversity will lead to even greater results for families and children and strive for our workforce to be truly representative of the diverse communities we support. We offer a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants and will reimburse your travel cost if you attend an interview.

Benefits
We will offer you a generous pension scheme and leave entitlements, eye care vouchers, a cycle to work scheme and other great benefits. All roles in Family Action are open to a discussion about possible flexible working options, subject to business needs, and all new starters will have the right to make a flexible working request from day one of employment. We have an excellent wellbeing offer and we will invest in your professional development with on-going quality training and career development opportunities. You will be provided an ACH external clinical supervisor. You will join an established, supportive and high-performing service and have the opportunity to thrive in an innovative organisation that values your opinion, encourages learning and has the needs of children and families at its core.

• Appointments are subject to Family Action receiving a satisfactory disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service – INSERT APPLICABLE DBS LEVEL Enhanced certificate, child and adult workforce psychotherapist, adults and children’s barred lists
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Benefits:
- an annual paid leave entitlement that commences at 25 working days, and after a full year of service, rising each April by one day, subject to a maximum of 30 working days plus bank holidays
- up to 6% matched-pension contributions
- enhanced paid sick leave and paid family leave provisions
- eye care and winter flu jabs vouchers
- cycle to work scheme
- investing in your professional development with ongoing quality training and career development opportunities

We are forward looking, ambitious and committed to continuous improvement. We are a people focused, can-do organisation, which strives for excellence in all we do and operates with mutual respect.

To Apply:
• Click the ‘Apply’ link below and fill out our digital application form
• Closing Date: Sunday 30th August 2026 at 23:59

Interviews are scheduled to take place w/b Monday 7th September.
For any queries, or if you would like to discuss any aspect of the selection process or the potential for flexible working, please email: Jacqueline.bascombe@family-action.org.uk

All appointments with Family Action are subject to satisfactory Safer Recruitment checks.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion:
We are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that candidates may need during the recruitment process and you will be asked whether you require any adjustments if shortlisted for interview. We also make reasonable adjustments on the job, where required.
We are committed to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in all that we do and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Intersectionality is important to us and we welcome applications from ethnically diverse communities, LGBTQIA+ candidates and disabled candidates.

All candidates with a disability are welcome to apply under the Disability Confident Scheme and request priority consideration for an interview, provided they meet the essential criteria for the role.

To help remove financial barriers to working with us, we will reimburse reasonable travel costs if you are invited to attend an interview in person.