Therapist - Children's Home

Job Title: Therapeutic Lead / Therapist (Children's Residential)

Location: Oldham, OL3, In Person.

Hourly Rate: £18.00 - £24.00 per hour

Working Hours / Shift Pattern: Up to 20 hours per week (flexible to meet the needs of the service)

Employment Type: Permanent

Service: Ofsted Registered Children's Home

Service Users: Solo placement supporting a child with complex trauma, attachment needs and high levels of emotional and behavioural need

Qualifications

Required:

• Diploma or Degree in Counselling, Psychotherapy or a related therapeutic discipline
• Current BACP or UKCP registration/accreditation (or equivalent recognised professional body)
• Ongoing clinical supervision and professional indemnity insurance

Experience

Required:

• Experience providing therapeutic support to children and young people affected by trauma
• Experience working alongside children's residential services or looked-after children
• Strong understanding of attachment theory, developmental trauma and therapeutic parenting
• Experience working with Local Authorities, CAMHS and multi-agency professionals

This is a specialist, Ofsted Registered solo children's home supporting one young person with complex trauma and attachment needs.

The home has been purposefully designed to provide a calm, nurturing and highly therapeutic environment where relationships are at the centre of care. Every aspect of the service is delivered through a trauma-informed framework, helping children build trust, develop emotional regulation and achieve long-term positive outcomes.

The home's therapeutic model is centred around Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) and the PACE approach (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy), ensuring children are supported through understanding rather than punishment.

Our client is looking for an experienced Therapeutic Lead who wants to play a pivotal role in transforming the lives of children who have experienced significant trauma, abuse, neglect and disrupted attachment.

This is not a traditional counselling position.

Whilst direct therapeutic work with the child is an important part of the role, your greatest impact will be supporting and developing the adults around them. You will help residential staff understand the meaning behind behaviours, embed therapeutic parenting strategies and create an environment where every interaction promotes healing.

You will be someone who enjoys coaching others, influencing practice and helping teams grow in confidence whilst maintaining excellent clinical standards.

Working as part of the home's leadership team, you will provide therapeutic leadership across the service, ensuring trauma-informed practice is embedded into everyday care.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Delivering individual therapeutic sessions with the child.
• Completing clinical assessments, formulations and therapeutic care plans.
• Leading formulation and reflective practice meetings.
• Coaching and mentoring residential staff in DDP and PACE-informed practice.
• Delivering training on attachment, developmental trauma and therapeutic parenting.
• Supporting the Registered Manager with therapeutic planning and behavioural strategies.
• Working collaboratively with Local Authorities, CAMHS, education providers and other professionals.
• Helping create a psychologically safe environment for both children and staff.
• Monitoring therapeutic progress and adapting interventions where required.

Our client is a specialist therapeutic children's residential provider committed to delivering outstanding outcomes for children with complex needs.

Rather than simply managing behaviour, they believe lasting change comes through safe, trusting relationships, emotional security and therapeutic care. Their homes are intentionally small, allowing every child to receive highly individualised support from a consistent and skilled team.

• Opportunity to shape the therapeutic culture of a specialist solo home.
• Work alongside an experienced residential leadership team.
• Make a genuine, long-term difference to one child's life.
• Flexible part-time hours to fit around other professional commitments.
• High levels of autonomy and professional respect.

• Ongoing professional development
• Opportunities to deliver training and influence practice across the service
• Employee referral programme

The service is built around the belief that children recover through safe, trusting relationships. By embedding DDP, PACE and…