Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist (CAPT)

Required Training for this Role

As a child and adolescent psychotherapist (CAPT) in the NHS you will often be required to work with children and young people whose symptoms are severe and may have continued for a long time, or whose life circumstances are complex and impact on their recovery. Your training is consequently longer to enable a breadth and depth of skills and competencies to develop. In England, your training will be funded by the National Health Service England (NHSE) and include teaching, supervision, personal psychoanalysis and a four-year salaried training post. There are five training centres in the UK; two in London, one in Birmingham, one in Leeds and one in Glasgow. Clinical training placements are available across the UK.

Entry Requirements to Train for this Role

Qualifications

Child and adolescent psychotherapist is a graduate entry profession. You must have completed a recognised pre-clinical course which includes extended psychoanalytic infant and young-child observations, work discussion seminars, psychoanalytic theory and child development lectures. The courses are often self-funded but bursaries or employer support may be available. This experience, prior to beginning the intensive clinical training, helps develop the reflective capacity, emotional availability and awareness of oneself required for working psychoanalytically with children and young people.

Experience

To train as a child and adolescent psychotherapist you must have experience of working with children and adolescents but this experience may be gained in a wide range of occupations across health, education, social care and other sectors. Prior experience of working in mental health services is not essential. Applications from those with a diverse range of backgrounds are encouraged.

Salary Expectations

During the clinical training you will be paid on Agenda for Change Band 6. Child and adolescent psychotherapists (CAPTs) normally gain a substantive post on Band 7 after qualification. As CAPTs develop they may become highly specialist clinicians, consultants or take up teaching and management positions at Band 8a and above.

Future Career Options

Child and adolescent psychotherapists (CAPTs) offer a range of help and support to children and their families from prevention and early intervention through to consultation, assessment and treatment for the most complex of needs. In addition to community child and adolescent mental health services, you could work in in-patient units, looked after children teams, hospital teams for children with physical illness and disability, eating disorder services, perinatal and parent-infant services, schools, learning disability teams and forensic services. As your career develops you may choose to specialise in one or more of these areas of work or to progress into service leadership, supervision and teaching roles.

Registering or Accrediting Body

Child and adolescent psychotherapists who have completed the NHS funded training must be registered with the Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP) in order to practice in the NHS. The register of CAPTs held by the ACP is accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.

Professional Organisation

During the NHS funded training and once qualified child and adolescent psychotherapists are members of the Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP).

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