Senior Cognitive Behavioural Therapist Jennifer

Meet Jennifer, a Senior Cognitive Behavioural Therapist in the West Community Mental Health Team

• Name: Jennifer
• Role: Senior Cognitive Behavioural Therapist
• Service: West Community Mental Health Team

What made you choose this career?

I’m a qualified Social Worker and my first degree was in counselling studies. I liked being a Social Worker, but I always wanted to work more directly with people through therapy. I’m passionate about helping people understand their problems better and supporting them to find their own ways to feel better.

What does your day-to-day work involve?

Most of the time, I see clients one-to-one for therapy or assessments at clinics. I also supervise other CBT therapists and trainees, lead on specific projects, run formulation sessions, support the wider team, and take part in various CMHT meetings. A key part of my role is offering a psychological view and helping the team to work in a trauma-informed way.

How has your career progressed since qualifying?

I started out in Bradford’s Early Intervention in Psychosis team, then moved to LYPFT to work in the Perinatal Mental Health Service. In 2023, I became a Senior CBT Therapist in the West CMHT. Since then, I’ve trained in EMDR therapy and have guest lectured at the University of Hull on their CBT diploma course.

What’s your favourite part of the job?

It’s when clients have those “lightbulb” moments—when they understand their problems in a new way and feel confident enough to try new ways of coping.

What qualifications did you need for this role?

I have a Postgraduate Diploma in CBT. My employer supported me to apply for the course. As a qualified Social Worker, I was able to join through the “core profession” route. The second year of the course focused on serious mental illness and CBT for psychosis. It included academic work, OSCEs, case studies, and recordings of client sessions. The course was meant to take 2 years, but it took me nearly 3 to finish all the client-related work because I was still working as a Care Coordinator with limited time for therapy. After finishing, I became accredited with the BABCP, which required a minimum number of client and supervision hours.

Any advice for someone thinking about this career?

Keep an eye out for employer-supported CBT training courses—they don’t come up often, so grab the chance if it does. I almost didn’t apply because I was new in my role, but if I hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t be a CBT Therapist now. Also, CBT is just one way to become a psychological therapist—there are other approaches worth exploring, and they often have a lot in common.