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Child psychotherapist : Salary and conditions

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Case studies

  • National Health Service (NHS) pay scales apply to the majority of child and adolescent psychotherapists, who are employed in NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)  or other mental health services.
    Range of typical salaries for trainee child and adolescent psychotherapists within the NHS: £28,816 - £33,436 (Band 6, Point 26) under Agenda for Change  pay rates.
  • Range of salaries for qualified child and adolescent psychotherapists within the NHS: £29,789 for a qualified child and adolescent psychotherapist (Band 7) to £65,657 at consultant level (Band 8c).
  • Child and adolescent psychotherapists employed within the NHS are very likely to be members of the The Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP) or the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) . Legislation to introduce statutory regulation of psychotherapy and counselling by the Health Professions Council (HPC)  is pending, and is expected to come into force in 2011.
  • In private practice, psychotherapists can earn between £45 and £60 per hour for individual sessions, which may rise to £100-£120 in some areas, such as central London. Those providing court work or consultations may charge upwards of £120 per hour.
  • Working hours within the NHS are generally regular. Extended working days occur if you attend meetings, run training sessions or take on additional private practice activities.
  • Whilst the majority of child and adolescent psychotherapists work in the statutory and voluntary sectors, there are some who work in independent private practice. Those who do must follow strict guidelines and organise their own insurance, provide suitable practice premises, pay their own income tax and arrange clinical supervision.
  • Many child and adolescent psychotherapists have several part-time roles, such as working for the NHS, the voluntary sector, schools, social services or local authorities or in private clinics.
  • Opportunities for work tend to be in large towns and cities. Opportunities within the NHS vary from region to region. Currently, some areas of the NHS do not employ child and adolescent psychotherapists, despite the profession being recognised by the government as a core CAMHS profession.
  • Currently the majority of practitioners are women, although both UKCP and ACP are working towards encouraging more men to train.
  • The work is emotionally demanding and a support framework is essential.
  • Travel within the local area is necessary during the day if you work for more than one organisation, have consultancy commitments, are involved in training of other groups of professionals, or need to attend meetings.
  • Experienced clinicians involved in research may present papers at national and international conferences, but overseas work or travel involving overnight absence from home is uncommon.
 
AGCAS
Written by Sarah Nichols, AGCAS
Date: 
November 2009
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