Diabetes Psychological Therapist | Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust


Company:	Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust
Salary:	£49,387 - £56,515 Per Annum/Pro-rata
Hours:	Part-time
Location:	Brighton, BN2 4SE
Job type:	Permanent
Posting date:	5 Oct 2026
Closing date:	5 Nov 2026

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Summary

It’s an exciting time working in diabetes care for you as we look to support our patients embedding their use of new treatment technologies. We’re currently seeking to recruit a qualified and accredited Psychotherapist to work in the nationally-renowned, community diabetes service,Diabetes Care For You. We’re a consultant-led, multidisciplinary team comprising nursing, dietetics, podiatry and psychotherapy, working with 18+ adults living with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. We cover the Brighton & Hove, High Weald Lewes and Havens locations across East Sussex.

This is an great opportunity for an enthusiastic therapist with a passion for parity of esteem to work with patients with mild-moderate anxiety and/or depression, alongside a thriving MDT.

The psychotherapy team work with individuals with type 1 or 2 diabetes to improve their psychological wellbeing and diabetes health outcomes. In this respect, a key aspect of the role is to provide regular telephone triage of referred patients and to manage your own caseload delivering low to medium intensity interventions using telephone and face to face appointments. The role also includes providing psychological input on the group education courses run for patients.

You will work very closely with the small psychotherapy team within the service, receive regular supervision and also establish and maintain effective working relationships with other members of the diabetes MDT. A high level of communication, organisational skills and ability to manage risk is essential.

This role offers an excellent opportunity to develop clinical and service development skills, as well as experience of working within a multidisciplinary team integrating physical and psychological support.

We are the main provider of NHS community services across East and West Sussex, with 6,000 staff serving 1.3 million people. We deliver essential care to adults and children, helping them manage their health, avoid hospital admissions, and reduce hospital stays.

Our Trust vision is to provide excellent care at the heart of the community. We offer opportunities across medical, clinical, support, and corporate services.

Why work for us?

• Positive 2023 NHS Staff Survey results, highlighting compassionate leadership and wellbeing

• Varied environments: community hospitals, patients’ homes, and bases across Sussex

• Flexible working options: part-time, flexi-time, annualised hours, and flexi-retirement

• Excellent training, development, and research opportunities

• Cost-effective workplace nurseries in Crawley, Hove, and Brighton

• Active EMBRACE, Disability & Wellbeing, LGBTQIA+, and Religion & Belief networks

• Level 3 Disability Confident Leader and Veteran Aware Trust

• Beautiful Sussex location near the South Downs and coast

Our values—Compassionate Care, Working Together, Achieving Ambitions, Delivering Excellence—guide everything we do.

We embrace diversity and encourage applications from all backgrounds, particularly from ethnically diverse, disabled, and LGBTQIA+ individuals. We aim to create an inclusive environment and support reasonable adjustments during recruitment.

This post may close early if sufficient applications are received.

Main tasks

a) To provide a specialist psychological therapy service to patients coping with the impact and psychological consequences of diabetes and its impact on quality of life.

b) To provide specialist psychological assessments, formulations, interventions and talking therapies for adult patients adjusting, but are not limited to, adjustment related distress, coping with and adhering to demanding medication regimes; needle phobia; anxiety; panic; low mood and depression; post-traumatic stress; health anxiety; altered sense of self and identity; relationship stress and loss.

c) To formulate and deliver at least two evidence based psychotherapeutic interventions drawn from theoretical models and approaches specifically tailored to the needs of the patient whilst maintaining provisional hypotheses and adapting intervention when required. These may be delivered remotely (i.e. by telephone or video call) where appropriate or necessary.

d) To exercise autonomous professional and ethical responsibility within psychological professional PSA-recognised body framework and the DCFY psychotherapy team policies and procedures by maintaining and taking responsibility for own caseload including treatment interventions and discharge plans.

e) To promote and provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals e.g. referral and discharge decisions, psychological reports and letters directly contributing to clients’ formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.

f) To evaluate and take responsibility for reporting any safeguarding issues at assessment or during contracted psychological therapy and immediately report safeguarding issues in line with Trust safeguarding governance and policy.

g) To contribute to the development and maintenance of best practice and the highest professional standards as required by a PSA-recognised psychological professional body through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the Clinical Service Manager and DCFY Psychology Lead.

h) To assist DCFY Psychology Lead in reviewing team policies and procedures.

Provide a summarised list of the main activities the post holder will spend their time doing. This will vary from job to job. This section should not normally contain at least 10 separate paragraphs.

Main responsibilities

a) To provide specialist psychological assessments, formulation and delivery of evidence based psychological interventions to patients living with diabetes considering its impact on their quality of life. Refine formulations with knowledge and experience of at least two evidence-based psychological models maintaining a number of hypotheses to patients who have mild to moderate psychological difficulties as a consequence of their illness or its treatments. Competently use psychological tools at assessment and final session to record and monitor patient development and outcomes.

b) To provide occasional specialist training and psychological advice in psychological approaches to care to other professionals as appropriate Provide supervision of trainees when required with support by the senior psychology lead.

c) To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the psychology/therapy team’s operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.

d) To provide regular audits to the KPI’s for the diabetes service.

e) To promote the development and articulation of best practice in psychological professions within the service and the Trust, by continuing to develop the skills of a reflexive and reflective practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervision, appraisal meetings and CPD and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the appropriate psychological field and related disciplines.

f) To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional ethical codes of practice with appropriately recognised registered and accrediting professional body (recognised by the PSA) and Trust policies and procedures.

g) Input and maintain appropriate computer and manual clinical records and statistical data and provide this to the service manager and clinical lead when necessary.

h) This position has no financial or budgetary responsibility. Operational team will require guidance when purchasing specialist psychological equipment and/or resources.

This advert closes on Thursday 15 Oct 2026

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