Job summary
We are looking for a committed, enthusiastic and motivated Senior Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP) to join our team at Brent Talking Therapies. We are a large, well established service based in a diverse and vibrant borough of London. Our service provides low and high intensity therapies at Step 2 and Step 3, alongside our Step 3 counselling service. We are passionate about the work we do and care provided to service users, and work by the trust values of compassion, respect, empowerment and partnership. Our team is key in the work we do and service provided to the population of Brent.
The post holder will hold a qualification (post graduate diploma / certificate) in Low Intensity working, from an accredited course, will offer evidence-based practice in facilitated self-help and will develop, support and train innovative practice to qualified and trainee Talking Therapies Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners, and to other workers qualified to act in low intensity worker roles.
The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.
Please note, previous applicants need not apply.
Main duties of the job
This is an exciting post for an experienced and confident Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner to develop within the role of Senior PWP.
You will work with the Step 2 leads and will be involved in delivering day-to-day coordination and supervision of PWP's within the service. This includes facilitation of Step 2 meetings, providing clinical skills support, line management, caseload management and supervision to trainee and qualified PWP's. You will also support service development with new in-house and community workshops, as well as carrying a clinical caseload of your own.
You will receive regular clinical supervision and support from a qualified therapist and work closely with other clinical practitioners within the team. Duty will also be a required responsibility within the team, where you will be screening for suitability and assessing incoming risk to the service.
Brent Talking Therapies has close links with all CNWL Talking Therapies services, as well as, wider links with other mental health teams within Brent. We have a strong tradition of supporting staff development and further progression onto higher training.
About us
The catchment area of the post is the London borough of Brent. The main hub for the service is based at Fairfields House in Kingsbury and there is a satellite hub at Bell House in Willesden Green. You will be required to work across both hubs and in other parts of the borough, e.g. community settings.
We operate an agile working policy where staff combine remote working and being on-site to deliver face-to-face appointments and other service commitments that require a hub-based presence. The post-holder will work full-time hours and may be required to work at any times between 8am and 8pm on weekdays including an evening clinic as required by the service. Well-being is important within our service and we are a collaborative and cohesive team. We have a dedicated wellbeing group within the service to help support individuals' and the wider team wellbeing.
Benefits of working for CNWL include: 27 days of annual leave, plus bank holidays, with an increase to 33 days with continuous service. NHS discount. Opportunities for career progression. New starters will have a 13-week probation period which is a supportive process to allow individuals to learn and work within the key aspects of their role over a period of time.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see the job description for full details on the roles and responsibilities.
Clinical
To offer rapid screening and assessment, informed by knowledge of the spectrum of mental health needs and risk factors.
To make decisions on suitability of new referrals, adhering to the departments referral protocols, refer unsuitable clients on to the relevant service or back to the referral agent as necessary or step up the persons treatment to high intensity psychological therapy.
To manage waiting-lists and capacity within the low intensity service through co-ordination of groups and other interventions across Brent
To identify and oversee the development of best practice within the low intensity service, leading, co-coordinating resources and protocols within the service, including working with the Clinical lead and deputy Leads to identify and manage service gaps or obstacles
To work closely with other members of the team ensuring appropriate step-up and step-down arrangements are in place to maintain a stepped care approach.
Provide assessment and Low intensity interventions e.g. psycho-educational interventions, Guided Self Help, and group-based CBT treatments to patients registered with GP practices/health centres and or resident in the borough of Brent, drawing from CBT theories and techniques
Provide a service that is comprehensive and accessible to a broad range of patients who have commonplace mental health problems and who are over 18 years of age
To provide a service that is equitable and non-discriminatory in terms of age, gender, ethnicity and disability.
Support GPs and other primary care workers in making appropriate referrals and in carrying out the mental health aspects of their own roles.
Make appropriate referrals to other service providers in the statutory and voluntary sectors and redirect patients to other sources of appropriate support within the local community as required.
To further develop computerized CBT to be rolled out throughout the borough.
Develop a local knowledge of the locality and its services and facilities, particularly in relation to mental health issues.
Educate and involve family members and others in treatment as necessary, conveying Low intensity CBT formulations with sensitivity in easily understood language.
Provide a service that is flexible as far as possible in terms of clinic hours.
Liaise as appropriate with secondary care mental health services and social service departments.
Conduct risk assessments, prepare risk management plans and initiate appropriate action where indicated (including requests for mental health act assessments and referrals to relevant secondary care services).
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see the job description for full details on the roles and responsibilities.
Clinical
To offer rapid screening and assessment, informed by knowledge of the spectrum of mental health needs and risk factors.
To make decisions on suitability of new referrals, adhering to the departments referral protocols, refer unsuitable clients on to the relevant service or back to the referral agent as necessary or step up the persons treatment to high intensity psychological therapy.
To manage waiting-lists and capacity within the low intensity service through co-ordination of groups and other interventions across Brent
To identify and oversee the development of best practice within the low intensity service, leading, co-coordinating resources and protocols within the service, including working with the Clinical lead and deputy Leads to identify and manage service gaps or obstacles
To work closely with other members of the team ensuring appropriate step-up and step-down arrangements are in place to maintain a stepped care approach.
Provide assessment and Low intensity interventions e.g. psycho-educational interventions, Guided Self Help, and group-based CBT treatments to patients registered with GP practices/health centres and or resident in the borough of Brent, drawing from CBT theories and techniques
Provide a service that is comprehensive and accessible to a broad range of patients who have commonplace mental health problems and who are over 18 years of age
To provide a service that is equitable and non-discriminatory in terms of age, gender, ethnicity and disability.
Support GPs and other primary care workers in making appropriate referrals and in carrying out the mental health aspects of their own roles.
Make appropriate referrals to other service providers in the statutory and voluntary sectors and redirect patients to other sources of appropriate support within the local community as required.
To further develop computerized CBT to be rolled out throughout the borough.
Develop a local knowledge of the locality and its services and facilities, particularly in relation to mental health issues.
Educate and involve family members and others in treatment as necessary, conveying Low intensity CBT formulations with sensitivity in easily understood language.
Provide a service that is flexible as far as possible in terms of clinic hours.
Liaise as appropriate with secondary care mental health services and social service departments.
Conduct risk assessments, prepare risk management plans and initiate appropriate action where indicated (including requests for mental health act assessments and referrals to relevant secondary care services).
Person Specification
TRAINING & QUALIFICATIONS
Essential
- Qualification from an IAPT compliant PWP Training Course (Post Graduate Certificate or Level 3 undergraduate course)
Desirable
- Further post graduate CBT training in relevant areas of professional psychology, health, social science, and/or research design and analysis.
- A qualification or substantial experience in professional supervision
Experience
Essential
- Significant post qualification experience as a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner
- Consolidated and reflective supervised post-qualification experience, preferably in NHS or Social Services setting
- Substantial experience of using IAPTus to record patient data
- Substantial experience of providing a range of low intensity interventions within an IAPT service, to people with a range of common mental health problems
- Experience of working by telephone, face-to-face with individual service users and facilitating groups and group based interventions
- Experience and knowledge of risk assessment and risk management
- Evidence of experience and knowledge of signposting to other services including secondary care mental health services
- Experience of managing a large workload and individual caseload
- Experience of screening, assessing and working with a wide spectrum of mental health issues and working with people with moderate common mental health problems
Desirable
- Research / audit experience
- Evidence of having worked in a service where agreed targets were in place to demonstrate effective clinical outcomes.
- Experience and knowledge of alternative treatment approaches including counselling
- Experience of working in Primary Care Services.
- Evidence of working in the local community.
- Experience of working with older people/long term health conditions/carers
- Evidence of working within a service development role and the ability to co-ordinate across the service.
- Previous line management experience
- Experience of supervising low intensity workers and trainees
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge of different models of mental health/mental illness
- Knowledge of NHS policies, procedures and guidelines
- Knowledge of working with diversity and knowledge of working with black, minority ethnic groups
- Evidence-based practice/clinical governance
- Knowledge of outcome measures and their use for clinical and audit purposes
- Knowledge of Child Protection and safeguarding legislation
- High level communication skills: written and verbal, including telephone skills
- An ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive.
- An ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a mental health context
- An ability to evaluate and put in place the effect of training.
- Computer literate.
- Ability to work under pressure.
- Ability to work within a team and foster good working relationships
- Ability to use clinical supervision and personal development positively and effectively
- Regard for others and respect for individual rights of autonomy and confidentiality
- Ability to work cross-culturally
Desirable
- Fluency in an additional (to English) locally relevant priority language.
- An awareness of serious mental health presentations (psychosis, bi-polar)
- Evidence of further training in psychological interventions/therapy
Personal
Essential
- An interest in working with people with mental health problems.
- Able to develop good therapeutic relationships with clients.
- Ability to work independently, flexibly, reliably and consistently with work agreed and managed at regular intervals.
- Ability to work within a team and foster good working relationships with staff from all disciplines
Person Specification
TRAINING & QUALIFICATIONS
Essential
- Qualification from an IAPT compliant PWP Training Course (Post Graduate Certificate or Level 3 undergraduate course)
Desirable
- Further post graduate CBT training in relevant areas of professional psychology, health, social science, and/or research design and analysis.
- A qualification or substantial experience in professional supervision
Experience
Essential
- Significant post qualification experience as a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner
- Consolidated and reflective supervised post-qualification experience, preferably in NHS or Social Services setting
- Substantial experience of using IAPTus to record patient data
- Substantial experience of providing a range of low intensity interventions within an IAPT service, to people with a range of common mental health problems
- Experience of working by telephone, face-to-face with individual service users and facilitating groups and group based interventions
- Experience and knowledge of risk assessment and risk management
- Evidence of experience and knowledge of signposting to other services including secondary care mental health services
- Experience of managing a large workload and individual caseload
- Experience of screening, assessing and working with a wide spectrum of mental health issues and working with people with moderate common mental health problems
Desirable
- Research / audit experience
- Evidence of having worked in a service where agreed targets were in place to demonstrate effective clinical outcomes.
- Experience and knowledge of alternative treatment approaches including counselling
- Experience of working in Primary Care Services.
- Evidence of working in the local community.
- Experience of working with older people/long term health conditions/carers
- Evidence of working within a service development role and the ability to co-ordinate across the service.
- Previous line management experience
- Experience of supervising low intensity workers and trainees
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge of different models of mental health/mental illness
- Knowledge of NHS policies, procedures and guidelines
- Knowledge of working with diversity and knowledge of working with black, minority ethnic groups
- Evidence-based practice/clinical governance
- Knowledge of outcome measures and their use for clinical and audit purposes
- Knowledge of Child Protection and safeguarding legislation
- High level communication skills: written and verbal, including telephone skills
- An ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive.
- An ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a mental health context
- An ability to evaluate and put in place the effect of training.
- Computer literate.
- Ability to work under pressure.
- Ability to work within a team and foster good working relationships
- Ability to use clinical supervision and personal development positively and effectively
- Regard for others and respect for individual rights of autonomy and confidentiality
- Ability to work cross-culturally
Desirable
- Fluency in an additional (to English) locally relevant priority language.
- An awareness of serious mental health presentations (psychosis, bi-polar)
- Evidence of further training in psychological interventions/therapy
Personal
Essential
- An interest in working with people with mental health problems.
- Able to develop good therapeutic relationships with clients.
- Ability to work independently, flexibly, reliably and consistently with work agreed and managed at regular intervals.
- Ability to work within a team and foster good working relationships with staff from all disciplines
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details
Employer name
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Address
CNWL Talking Therapies Service Brent
Fairfields House, Fairfield Crescent, Roe Green
London
NW9 0PS
Employer's website
https://www.cnwl.nhs.uk/work (Opens in a new tab)
