Family Counsellor or Psychotherapist

Salary: Up to £40,000–£45,000 pro rata (plus bonus package)
Working Pattern: 3 days per week or full-time
Benefits: 28 days annual leave (pro rata)
Location: South East / South West London


Role OverviewWe are seeking an experienced Family Counsellor or Psychotherapist to work predominantly within fostering services and, where required, residential services. The primary focus of the Family Counsellor or Psychotherapist role is to support, guide, and strengthen foster carers in their therapeutic care of children and young people with complex emotional, behavioural, and developmental needs.
The Family Counsellor or Psychotherapist will provide therapeutic consultation, reflective support, and psychoeducation to foster carers, helping them understand children’s behaviour through a trauma-informed and attachment-focused lens. Alongside this, the Family Counsellor or Psychotherapist will deliver targeted therapeutic interventions to children and young people where appropriate, ensuring carers are supported as the key therapeutic agents in the child’s daily life.
TheFamily Counsellor or Psychotherapist will work closely with fostering teams and external professionals, including local authorities, schools, and birth families, to promote placement stability and positive outcomes for children.
Key Responsibilities of the Family Counsellor or Psychotherapist

Foster Carer Therapeutic SupportThe Family Counsellor or Psychotherapist will:
*Provide regular therapeutic consultation to foster carers, both individually and in groups
*Support foster carers to understand and respond to children’s behaviour using trauma-informed and attachment-based approaches
*Offer psychoeducation and practical therapeutic strategies to support placement stability
*Support foster carers during periods of placement stress, crisis, or transition
*Advocate for foster carers in professional and multi-agency meetings
Therapeutic Practice with Children and FamiliesThe Family Counsellor or Psychotherapist will:
*Deliver targeted therapeutic interventions to children and young people where appropriate
*Undertake therapeutic assessments, formulation, and short- to medium-term interventions
*Prepare children and young people for longer-term therapeutic or psychotherapeutic work
*Support work with birth families where this contributes to the child’s therapeutic plan
Team and Multi-Agency WorkingThe Family Counsellor or Psychotherapist will:
*Work closely with fostering social workers and residential staff to inform care planning
*Lead or support:
*Initial and ongoing therapeutic assessments
*Regulation 28 assessments
*Support planning and therapeutic risk assessments
*Attend and contribute to professional and multi-agency meetings
*Offer therapeutic consultation to external networks, including education providers and local authority professionals
Training and Reflective PracticeThe Family Counsellor or Psychotherapist will:
*Design and deliver therapeutic training and workshops specifically for foster carers
*Facilitate reflective practice groups for foster carers and staff
*Contribute to professional development programmes focused on therapeutic fostering and trauma-informed care
Project WorkThe Family Counsellor or Psychotherapist will:
*Undertake project work to enhance therapeutic support for foster carers, including:
*Developing resources and guidance for foster carers
*Bespoke therapeutic interventions supporting family relationships
*Specialist therapeutic initiatives to improve placement stability
ReportingThe Family Counsellor or Psychotherapist will:
*Produce clear, timely therapeutic reports and consultation summaries
*Provide monthly summaries of therapeutic support delivered to foster carers and families
*Maintain accurate records and high standards of professional documentation
RequirementsEssentialThe Family Counsellor or Psychotherapist must:
*Be a qualified Counsellor or Psychotherapist with current professional registration
*Have proven experience delivering therapeutic interventions within fostering, family, or children’s services
*Have significant experience supporting parents or carers therapeutically in complex contexts
*Demonstrate strong knowledge of trauma-informed, attachment-based, and systemic therapeutic approaches
*Have applied knowledge of:
*Child and adolescent development
*Complex developmental trauma
*Neurodiversity
*Sexualised and high-risk behaviours
*Demonstrate excellent assessment, consultation, and report-writing skills
*Be confident supporting carers through high-pressure, emotionally demanding situations
*Have experience of multidisciplinary and multi-agency working, including safeguarding and risk planning
*Demonstrate a flexible, resilient, and collaborative working style
Desirable*Qualification in clinical supervision
*Experience delivering training or reflective practice groups for foster carers