As a therapist, your role is to support all patients, giving them a safe space to express their feelings and process them in a supportive environment.
But if you need a little support to help you land your next therapist role, you’ve come to the right place.
Check out our step-by-step guide below, complete with a therapist CV example to inspire your own.
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Therapist CV example
This CV example illustrates the ideal structure and format for your Therapist CV, making it easy for busy hiring managers to quickly identify your suitability for the jobs you’re applying for,
It also gives some guidance on the skills, experience and qualifications you should emphasise in your own CV.
Therapist CV format and structure
Your CV is the first impression you’ll make on anybody who reads it.
A disorganised, cluttered and barely-readable CV could seriously decrease your chances of landing interviews, so it’s essential to make sure yours is slick, professional and easy to navigate.
You can do this by using a clear structure and formatting your content with some savvy formatting techniques – check them out below:
Tips for formatting your Therapist CV
- Length: Your CV should always be limited to two sides of A4, regardless of whether you have a year or three decades of experience. With recruiters juggling multiple responsibilities, they don’t have time to sift through lengthy applications.
- Readability: Help out time-strapped recruiters by formatting your CV for easy reading. Using lots of bullet points and lists will help them to skim through your info, while clearly formatted headings will allow them to navigate towards the content which is most useful to them.
- Design & format: The saying ‘less is more’ couldn’t be more applicable to CVs. Readability is key, so avoid overly complicated designs and graphics. A subtle colour palette and easy-to-read font is all you need!
- Photos: You can add a profile photo to your CV, if you want to add some personality to it, but they are not a requirement the UK, so you don’t have to.
Quick tip: Creating a professional CV style can be difficult and time-consuming when using Microsoft Word or Google Docs. To create a winning CV quickly, try our quick-and-easy CV Builder and use one of their eye-catching professional CV templates.
CV structure
As you write your CV, divide and sub-head into the following sections:
- Name and contact details – Always start with these, so employers know exactly how to get in touch with you.
- CV profile – Add a short summary of your relevant experience, skills and achievements, which highlights your suitability.
- Core skills section – A 2-3 columned list of your key skills.
- Work experience – A detailed list of any relevant work experience, whether paid or voluntary.
- Education – An overview of your academic background and any training you may have completed.
- Hobbies and interests – A brief overview of your hobbies and interests, if they’re relevant (optional).
Now you understand the basic layout of a CV, here’s what you should include in each section of yours.
Contact Details
Tuck your contact details into the corner of your CV, so that they don’t take up too much space.
Stick to the basic details, such as:
- Mobile number
- Email address – It should sound professional, such as your full name.
- Location -Just write your rough location, rather than your full address.
- LinkedIn profile or portfolio URL – If you include these, ensure they’re sleek, professional and up-to-date.
Therapist CV Profile
Grab the reader’s attention by kick-starting your CV with a powerful profile (or personal statement, if you’re a junior applicant).
This is a short introduction paragraph which summarises your skills, knowledge and experience.
It should paint you as the perfect match for the job description and entice recruiters to read through the rest of your CV.
How to write a good CV profile:
- Make it short and sharp: Recruiters are busy, so to ensure your profile is actually read, it’s best to keep it short and snappy. 3-5 punchy lines makes for the perfect profile.
- Tailor it: If recruiters don’t see your suitability within a few seconds, they may close your CV straight away. Your CV profile should closely match the essential requirements listed in the job ad, so make sure to review them before you write it.
- Don’t add an objective: Want to talk about your career goals and objectives? While the profile may seem like a good space to do so, they’re actually much better suited to your cover letter.
- Avoid generic phrases: If your CV is riddled with clichès like “Dynamic thought-leader”, hit that delete button. Phrases like these are like a broken record to recruiters, who read them countless times per day. Hard facts, skills, knowledge and results are sure to yield far better results.
Example CV profile for Therapist
What to include in your Therapist CV profile?
- Experience overview: Demonstrate your suitability for your target jobs by giving a high level summary of your previous work work experience, including the industries you have worked in, types of employer, and the type of roles you have previous experience of.
- Targeted skills: Make your most relevant Therapist key skills clear in your profile. These should be tailored to the specific role you’re applying for – so make sure to check the job description first, and aim to match their requirements as closely as you can.
- Important qualifications: If you have any qualifications which are highly relevant to Therapist jobs, then highlight them in your profile so that employers do not miss them.
Quick tip: If you are finding it difficult to write an attention-grabbing CV profile, choose from hundreds of pre-written profiles across all industries, and add one to your CV with one click in our quick-and-easy CV Builder. All profiles are written by recruitment experts and easily tailored to suit your unique skillset.
Core skills section
Add a core skills section below your profile to draw attention to your most applicable skills and make them stand out to readers.
This should consist of 2-3 columns of bullet points that emphasise your relevant skills.
Before creating this section, review the job description and compile a list of any specific skills, specializations, or knowledge needed. Incorporate these findings into your list to portray yourself as the ideal candidate for the position.
Important skills for your Therapist CV
Assessment and Diagnosis – Assessing and diagnosing mental health conditions accurately by conducting thorough evaluations and using diagnostic tools.
Evidence-Based Therapeutic Approaches – Proficiency in evidence-based therapeutic techniques and interventions such as Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).
Treatment Planning – Creating individualized treatment plans for clients, setting clear goals, and selecting appropriate therapeutic strategies.
Crisis Intervention – Using crisis intervention techniques to provide immediate support and safety for clients in acute distress.
Psychopharmacology – Using medication in mental health treatment and collaborating with psychiatrists when medication is part of a client’s treatment plan.
Cultural Competency – Understanding of cultural diversity to provide culturally sensitive therapy to clients from diverse backgrounds.
Trauma-Informed Care – Proficiency in trauma-informed approaches to therapy, recognising the impact of trauma and creating a safe environment for clients.
Family and Group Therapy – Conducting family and group therapy sessions to address interpersonal dynamics and provide support to clients in those settings.
Ethical and Legal Knowledge – Maintaining an awareness of ethical guidelines and legal requirements related to therapy, including client confidentiality and reporting obligations.
Documentation and Record Keeping – Maintaining accurate and organised client records, including progress notes and treatment plans, in compliance with professional and legal standards.
Quick tip: Our quick-and-easy CV Builder has thousands of in-demand skills for all industries and professions, that can be added to your CV in seconds – This will save you time and ensure you get noticed by recruiters.
Work experience
Now that recruiters have a good overview of your skills and abilities, you need to jump into the detail of your career history.
Give them a more thorough insight into what you can do by creating a detailed list of your relevant experience.
Start with your current role, and work backwards through all the relevant positions you’ve held.
This could be freelance, contract or voluntary work too; as long as it’s related to the role you’re applying for.
Structuring each job
Lengthy, unbroken chunks of text is a recruiters worst nightmare, but your work experience section can easily end up looking like that if you are not careful.
To avoid this, use my tried-and-tested 3-step structure, as illustrated below:
Outline
Start with a brief summary of your role as a whole, as well as the type of company you worked for.
Key responsibilities
Next, write up a punchy list of your daily duties and responsibilities, using bullet points.
Wherever you can, point out how you put your hard skills and knowledge to use – especially skills which are applicable to your target role.
Key achievements
Round up each role by listing 1-3 key achievements, accomplishments or results.
Wherever possible, quantify them using hard facts and figures, as this really helps to prove your value.
Sample job description for Therapist CV
Outline
Work as part of a team of therapists at a leading private therapy practise, providing individual and group psychotherapy to clients seeking profound emotional transformation and self-empowerment.
Key Responsibilities
- Skilfully tailor mindfulness-based interventions and incorporate creative arts therapies to cater to a diverse range of clients
- Collaborate intimately with clients to co-create personalised wellness plans, integrating positive psychology techniques and goal-setting strategies
- Lead dynamic group therapy sessions focusing on resilience-building and emotional regulation
- Contribute as a co-author to a groundbreaking study on the efficacy of EMDR in treating trauma-related disorders, enhancing the clinic’s prominence in evidence-based therapies
Quick tip: Create impressive job descriptions easily in our quick-and-easy CV Builder by adding pre-written job phrases for every industry and career stage.
Education section
In your education section, make any degrees, qualifications or training which are relevant to Therapist roles a focal point.
As well as mentioning the name of the organisation, qualification titles and dates of study, you should showcase any particularly relevant modules, assignments or projects.
Hobbies and interests
The hobbies and interests CV section isn’t mandatory, so don’t worry if you’re out of room by this point.
However, if you have an interesting hobby, or an interest that could make you seem more suitable for the role, then certainly think about adding.
Be careful what you include though… Only consider hobbies that exhibit skills that are required for roles as a Therapist, or transferable workplace skills.
There is never any need to tell employers that you like to watch TV and eat out.
Once you’ve written your Therapist CV, you should proofread it several times to ensure that there are no typos or grammatical errors.
With a tailored punchy profile that showcases your relevant experience and skills, paired with well-structured role descriptions, you’ll be able to impress employers and land interviews.
Good luck with your next job application!