Psychologist wanted for the Siblings Team at the Center for Relatives

Psychologist sought for the Siblings Team in the Center for Relatives, Psychiatry, Region of North Jutland

The Center for Relatives is seeking a psychologist for a full-time position, equivalent to 37 hours per week, as of January 1, 2027.

We welcome applications where the applicant reflects on how their experiences and competencies can be applied in the Siblings Team, Center for Relatives.

Initiative and research

The sibling support program is part of the Center for Relatives but is also part of the SAN-IS research project (Siblings and Other Close Relatives Intervention Study) throughout 2027. The intervention in the Siblings Team has been developed as a research project and has been created through a co-creation process where peer staff and professional staff have collaborated with voluntary siblings and parents as relatives. After the data collection period of the research project, the operation of the Siblings Team will continue in line with the other teams in the Center for Relatives.

The intervention consists of a talk and group program for both parents and children (siblings as relatives), and will be offered in collaboration between healthcare professionals and sibling peer workers. In the talk program, the approach is based on a systemic, narrative, mentalization-based and holistic perspective, with the aim of increasing family well-being and functioning, reducing parental stress and promoting siblings’ well-being and mental health.

The group program is a parallel program for siblings and parents as relatives, focusing on relationship-building, psychoeducation and tools for the families. In addition, a support line operated by a sibling peer worker is offered.

During the data collection period, data from the intervention must be collected for the research project. The research group will primarily be responsible for this, but it is expected that the staff contribute with registering contact with families beyond the normal record-keeping obligations.

Target group

The target group is families living in the Region of North Jutland who have at least one child with a psychiatric diagnosis and at least one child who is a relative. The sibling relatives must be between 8-23 years old.

Center for Relatives

The Center for Relatives is an interdisciplinary center and currently consists of a daily manager, two social workers, a teacher, two psychologists, a nurse, a sociologist, a sibling peer worker and two administrative staff. At the Center for Relatives, we facilitate supportive frameworks that create space for a curious and explorative approach with the aim of exploring the illness picture and lived experiences of mental illness in interaction with family, relatives and supporting network members.

During the conversations, we together develop a common language for the expression of the mental illness, the family’s challenges and relational issues. This contributes to meaning, coherence and a sense of resilience, as well as more actions in handling a life situation with a mental illness. This means, among other things, that we intervene in relation to crises, conflicts and reactions connected to the mental illness with a focus on protective factors. This can prevent relational distance, overburden and strengthen togetherness.

Methodical approach

Two talk facilitators are initially responsible for the talk program. One staff member leads the conversation, while the other adopts a reflective position with a focus on a meta-perspective and on “the conversation about the conversation.” In the Siblings Team, the reflective position is held by a peer staff member who has personal experience of being a sibling to someone with a mental illness. Therefore, the professional talk staff member will generally take the lead in the conversation.

At the Center for Relatives, we are focused on the relational and social challenges in a broader context, as the circumstances often call for an expanded trans-contextual and systematic cross-sector understanding and effort. We use mindmapping in our work with families. We work holistically from a biological, psychological and social perspective. We draw on a systemic, narrative, mentalization-based and trauma-informed approach. In addition, the sibling offering also uses a peer-professional approach.

Tasks and responsibilities

The Center for Relatives consists of four teams: Team Adults, Team Children, Team Siblings, and Team Family. Your tasks will primarily be in the Siblings Team, but you should also be prepared to sometimes work in the other teams, just as your colleagues will contribute to the Siblings Team.

As a staff member in the Center for Relatives, Siblings Team, you will have, among other things, the following tasks:

• Hold conversations, including parent conversations, family conversations, sibling conversations and individual conversations with children.
• Facilitate conversation groups for children, adolescents and parents.
• Participate in assessment, staff meetings, supervision etc.
• Disseminate knowledge about the work at the Center for Relatives and participate in recruitment of families.
• Contribute to the research project, including participating in project meetings and collecting and recording data from the programs.

We are looking for a staff member who has

• A master's degree in psychology (cand.psych.)
• Knowledge, experience and desire to work with children, youth and families. You should have the ability to establish contact with children, so they feel safe to talk about the difficult things they experience.
• Knowledge of psychiatry.
• Experience in working with and intervening in families, and especially children and adolescents, where crises, conflicts and reactions related to mental illness and family challenges create relational distance and strain.
• Experience with group talk programs with children, adolescents and adults.
• Knowledge of or willingness to learn about recovery- and peer-support professionalism.
• Good social and human skills, including the ability to build trust and show empathy and understanding for relatives’ situations and histories.
• Good abilities to facilitate and manage difficult conversations as well as groups with both adults and children.
• Strong communication skills, both written and spoken.
• A high degree of structure and overview.
• Experience with relatives’ work.
• The ability to work both independently and in a team.
• Willingness, abilities, and courage to work closely with others in an equal, interdisciplinary collaboration.

We offer

• An interdisciplinary team
• A dynamic and exciting workplace
• Opportunity for professional sparring
• Supervision
• Good and engaged colleagues who value both social and professional community highly

Practical information

The position is a permanent post at 37 hours per week from January 1, 2027.

Salary and terms of employment according to the applicable agreement for academics employed in regions, etc., concluded with the relevant AC organizations.

Your workplace and daily routine are at the Center for Relatives in Aalborg, where you will join the staff group on an equal footing with the other employees.

In addition to belonging to the Center for Relatives, you will in 2027 also be connected to the SAN-IS research project together with another health professional staff member and two sibling peer workers. The rest of the project group consists of the project manager, a psychologist and PhD student Sofie Bystrøm-Berger, the head of the Center for Relatives Jan Sandberg, a psychologist and associate professor Christina Mohr Jensen, and the head of the Center for Recovery and Co-creation Malene Terp.

Being part of the project group involves regular participation in meetings with the project leader to ensure consistency in the delivery of the intervention and coherence in the research project.

Contact

If you would like further information about the position, you are welcome to contact Jan Sandberg at phone number 30 53 42 08.

Employment interviews will be held on Monday, 26/10-26. Notification of invitation to interview will be given during week 43.

You can read more about Psychiatry in the Region of North Jutland at Psychiatry in Region Nordjylland (rn.dk) and about the Center for Relatives at Welcome to the Center for Relatives (rn.dk).

We will obtain references for the person we wish to hire. If required for the position, we will also obtain a criminal record and a child and youth record. In Region North Jutland we have a smoke-free working day.

Salary and terms of employment according to the applicable agreement for academics employed in regions, etc., concluded with the Danish Psychological Association.

About Region North Jutland

We are about 15,000 very different employees who every day deliver welfare to around 590,000 North Jutlanders within health, regional development and the specialized social sector. We encourage all qualified to apply for the job - regardless of ethnic background, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion or age. Read more about us at www.rn.dk.

Application deadline: October 18, 2026

Department: Brandevej 5 9220 Aalborg East

Location: Aalborg University Hospital