Trauma Therapy Practitioner Needed at Powys Teaching Health Board, Wales (Apply Now)

There are trauma therapy jobs in the NHS, and then there are roles that are actually built around trauma from the ground up. This Band 6 vacancy at Powys Teaching Health Board in Wales falls firmly into the second category. The Local Primary Mental Health Support Service is actively shaping its Traumatic Stress Pathway in line with Traumatic Stress Wales standards, which means you would be joining a service that takes trauma-informed care seriously as a structural principle rather than a value listed in a brochure. Salary runs from £40,559 to £48,841, and Skilled Worker visa sponsorship is confirmed and open to all applicants.

What makes this post genuinely interesting is the EMDR requirement. You need to hold EMDR Europe Practitioner accreditation or be at an advanced stage of supervised practice working towards it. EMDR is still the treatment of choice for PTSD according to NICE guidance, and roles that pay a Band 6 salary and specifically require it are not especially common in community mental health settings. If you have invested in EMDR training and want a post that actually uses it as a core part of the work rather than a supplementary tool, this is worth reading closely.

Powys is a largely rural county covering a wide stretch of mid-Wales. It is one of the largest counties in England and Wales by area, and for practitioners looking for something outside a large city NHS trust, the pace and community feel of working here is genuinely different. The service delivers both face-to-face and remote appointments, so the geography does not necessarily mean constant travel, but it does mean the caseload will include people in rural and sometimes isolated communities — which adds a meaningful layer to the work.

Job Overview

What You’d Actually Be Doing

• Assessing and formulating for trauma presentations: You will carry a defined clinical caseload of adults presenting with trauma, PTSD and Complex PTSD. This is not a generalist mental health role. Assessment and formulation here is specifically trauma-focused, drawing on your psychological understanding of how trauma affects the nervous system, cognition and interpersonal functioning.
• Delivering EMDR and other evidence-based trauma treatments: EMDR will be a core intervention rather than an occasional add-on. Alongside this, the role expects experience in at least one other NICE-recommended approach, such as CT-PTSD, TF-CBT, CPT or NET. Sessions are delivered both face to face and via video.
• Contributing to Part 1 Mental Health Assessments: The service operates under the Mental Health (Wales) Measure, and you will be trained and expected to contribute to trauma-informed Part 1 assessments as part of the care pathway.
• Using clinical outcome measures and maintaining accurate records: Routine outcome monitoring is embedded in the work, and accurate clinical documentation on the electronic records system is a day-to-day expectation rather than an administrative afterthought.
• Working within a multidisciplinary team: Your colleagues include nurses, counsellors, psychologists, occupational therapists and social workers. Consultation and advice to colleagues on trauma presentations is part of the role, not just direct clinical delivery.
• Supporting the embedding of the Trauma-Informed Wales Framework: You will play an active role in implementing the Traumatic Stress Pathway across the service, which includes contributing to training, psychoeducational groups and service development work where relevant.
• Engaging in reflective practice and supervision: The role has a strong expectation of self-reflection and professional development. You will receive clinical supervision in relation to trauma and PTSD work, and the person specification places genuine emphasis on the ability to use that supervision well.

Who They’re Looking For

Must-haves (essential criteria):

• A professional qualification in health or social care leading to registration with the NMC, HCPC or Social Care Wales, OR accreditation as a counsellor with ACC, BACP, HGI, NCPS, or registration with UKCP as a psychotherapeutic counsellor
• EMDR Europe Practitioner accreditation OR completion of EMDR UK-approved training that meets EMDR Europe criteria, with well-progressed supervised practice and a portfolio on track for accreditation within six months
• Training and/or experience in at least one other evidence-based trauma intervention alongside EMDR
• Knowledge and experience in working with adults with trauma, PTSD and Complex PTSD
• Post-registration clinical experience working with people with mild to moderate and/or stable and enduring mental health conditions using a recovery-oriented approach
• Experience of completing trauma-informed Part 1 Mental Health Assessments
• Experience of delivering EMDR both in person and via video conferencing
• Evidence of clinical supervision in trauma/PTSD work and a self-reflective approach to professional development

Nice-to-haves (desirable criteria):

• EMDR Europe Accredited Consultant status
• Additional training in a further psychological intervention for trauma
• A qualification or training in clinical supervision
• Training in risk assessment frameworks, such as WARRN
• Knowledge of Mental Health Legislation in Wales and NHS Wales policies
• Experience advising or training colleagues on trauma presentations
• Experience in clinical audit, service evaluation or service improvement
• Experience developing or facilitating psychoeducational or therapeutic groups
• Some Welsh language ability, or a willingness to learn

If you meet the essential criteria, do not let the desirable list discourage you. The service is clearly looking for someone committed to trauma-informed practice with solid EMDR experience — the additional items are genuinely supplementary.

What Most Applicants Get Wrong

1. Underestimating how central EMDR is to the assessment of this application. This is not a role where EMDR is one modality among many. It is a core competency, and the listing is precise about the level required. Applicants who reference EMDR training without clarifying their accreditation status, stage of supervised practice or caseload experience with it are likely to fall short at shortlisting.
2. Failing to address the Welsh context in their supporting statement. Powys Teaching Health Board operates within the NHS Wales framework, which has its own legislation, policies and strategic priorities that differ from NHS England. The Trauma-Informed Wales Framework and Traumatic Stress Wales standards are Welsh-specific. Candidates who write generic NHS supporting statements without acknowledging the Welsh context will read as underprepared.
3. Walking into interview without having thought carefully about how they manage vicarious trauma and professional resilience. This is a specialist trauma service, and interviewers will want to know that you have a sustainable approach to work that involves complex PTSD and highly distressing content. Candidates who give answers that are all clinical competence and no self-awareness tend to raise concerns rather than reassure.

How to Apply (and Actually Get Noticed)

1. Access the full application via the Trac.jobs platform using the link in the official listing. Read the full job description on the system rather than relying on the summary, as the Trac listing often contains additional context about the team, expectations and values.
2. Map your experience against every essential criterion before you start writing your supporting statement. In NHS Wales recruitment, shortlisting is scored. If your statement does not address a criterion, you will score zero for it, regardless of how well you score elsewhere.
3. Be precise about your EMDR status. State whether you hold full EMDR Europe Practitioner accreditation, when you gained it, and approximately how many clients you have worked with using the approach. If you are in the supervised practice phase, quantify how far through the portfolio you are and give your expected accreditation date. Vagueness here will cost you.
4. Reference the Trauma-Informed Wales Framework and the Traumatic Stress Wales standards in your statement. Even a brief, informed reference signals that you have engaged with the Welsh policy context rather than treating this as a generic NHS application.
5. Address the Welsh language question directly and honestly. If you have any Welsh ability at all, mention it. If you do not, a brief statement of genuine willingness to learn is valued and will not count against you.
6. Ensure your professional registration is current and verifiable. If you are applying under the Skilled Worker route, check that your registration body record is up to date, as delays in verification can hold up offer processing.
7. Submit before the 17 May 2026 deadline, ideally with a few days to spare.

Visa and Eligibility

Powys Teaching Health Board has confirmed that applications from candidates who require Skilled Worker visa sponsorship are welcome. The salary range of £40,559 to £48,841 meets the Skilled Worker general threshold comfortably, and health board employers in NHS Wales are licensed sponsors with established processes for supporting international recruitment.

One practical consideration for international applicants is the criminal records requirement introduced in April 2017. You will need to obtain a criminal records certificate from every country in which you have lived continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more during the past ten years. Collecting these documents can take several weeks, depending on the countries involved, so it is worth beginning that process as soon as you decide to apply.

For full guidance on the Skilled Worker route and what you will need to prepare, visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers to the most common questions people ask about this Trauma Therapy Practitioner role at Powys Teaching Health Board, including eligibility, interview format, visa requirements and what to expect from the application process.

Is EMDR accreditation essential to apply for this trauma practitioner role in Wales?

EMDR Europe Practitioner accreditation is listed as an essential criterion, but the listing provides a clear alternative: applicants who have completed EMDR UK-approved training aligned with EMDR Europe standards and are well advanced in their supervised practice portfolio can apply, provided accreditation is achievable within six months of appointment.

Does Powys Teaching Health Board offer visa sponsorship for this role?

Yes, the listing explicitly confirms that applications from candidates requiring Skilled Worker visa sponsorship are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applicants. The health board is an NHS Wales employer and a licensed sponsor.

What salary does this Band 6 trauma therapy job in Powys pay?

The salary range is £40,559 to £48,841 per year, in line with the NHS Wales Band 6 pay scale. Your starting point within that range will depend on your existing NHS or equivalent experience.

Do I need to speak Welsh to work for Powys Teaching Health Board?

Welsh language ability is listed as desirable, not essential. The listing specifically notes that some ability to speak, read or write Welsh, or a willingness to learn, would be valued. Candidates without Welsh should not be deterred from applying.

What types of trauma presentations does the Powys LPMHSS service work with?

The service focuses on adults experiencing the impact of trauma, PTSD and Complex PTSD. Referrals come through the Local Primary Mental Health Support Service pathway, and the work is guided by Traumatic Stress Wales standards and the Trauma-Informed Wales Framework.

What is the difference between this role and a standard NHS counsellor or psychologist post?

This is a specialist trauma therapy role that requires both a current professional registration and either EMDR accreditation or advanced EMDR training. It is distinct from a generalist counselling post because it operates within a dedicated Traumatic Stress Pathway, involves trauma-informed Part 1 assessments under the Mental Health (Wales) Measure, and expects knowledge of multiple trauma-specific interventions beyond a single modality.

What does the interview process look like for this NHS Wales trauma therapy job?

NHS Wales interviews at Band 6 typically involve competency-based questions scored against the person specification, alongside values-based questions aligned to the health board’s priorities. For a specialist trauma role, expect questions that probe clinical reasoning, experience with complex presentations, your approach to supervision and how you manage the personal impact of trauma work.

Will I be required to travel across Powys as part of this job?

The role involves some degree of cross-county working. Powys is geographically large, and while digital and remote delivery is part of the model, face-to-face appointments in clinical locations across the county are also expected. The balance between in-person and remote working is built into the service’s hybrid approach.

Can I apply if my background is in counselling rather than clinical psychology or nursing?

Yes. The essential criteria explicitly include accreditation with ACC, BACP, HGI, NCPS or registration with UKCP as a psychotherapeutic counsellor as qualifying routes, alongside professional registration with NMC, HCPC or Social Care Wales. The key requirement is the professional registration or accreditation itself, combined with the relevant clinical experience and EMDR training.

Official Application Link

To apply for this role, visit the official NHS recruitment listing for the Trauma Therapy Practitioner position at Powys Teaching Health Board.