This exciting clinical academic opportunity offers the postholder the chance to make a crucial difference to children’s mental health and parenting through conducting research that links parenting and development theory directly to clinical practice.

The Unit’s research expertise includes conducting outcome trials, feasiblity studies, quantitative and qualitative methods.  The Unit works at the cutting edge of integrating parenting and developmental theory, with effective, high quality interventions and the capability to test and evaluate these in the UK and internationally.  The Unit has close academic and service relationships with colleagues in China, Australia, Portugal and Chile.

The CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) Research Unit leads the research and evaluation of a range of evidence based parenting programmes, including Empowering Parent Empowering Communties (Day et al., 2012, 2020), Family Partnership Model (Day, Ellis  & Harris, 2014) and Helping Families Programme (Day et al., 2019. 

These programmes span the developmental period from birth to adolescence  and are designed to provide preventative, early and specialist interventions for parents, children and families with a range of needs including parents with significant mental health difficuties, children with behavioural difficulties, children affected by ASD, ADHD and parents at risk of relational conflict. 

• Based in the CAMHS Research Unit, Department of Psychology, the postholder will have day-to day responsibility for leading a team of researcher workers undertaking a portfolio of research studies and evaluation projects that advance understanding of parenting concepts and theory, parenting intervention effectiveness, quality, fidelity and implementation including the national and international evaluation of Empowering Parents Empowering Communities.
• The postholder will also work closely with academic and clinical staff to develop, feasiblity test and evaulate innovative parenting intervention methods including high-risk populations such as parents with mental health difficulties, socially excluded parents from disadvantaged neighbourhoods and Black and Minoritised communities, and new formats using digital and online delivery.
• The post holder will one day per week provide a highly specialist psychology service within the NHS parenting services provided by the Centre for Parent and Child Support/Empowering Parents Empowering Communities/Helping Families Teams within the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust National and Specialist CAMHS. 

Mangement and responsiblity

• The Postholder is responsible to Dr Crispin Day, Head, CAMHS Research Unit, KCL/Head , Centre for Parent and Child Support, South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.
• The postholder will be responsible for and supervise the Unit’s research workers and students, as appropriate.