Senior Mental Health Practitioner

Job responsibilities

JOB SUMMARY

This job description is an outline of the main duties of the post. The post-holder will be required to undertake other duties commensurate with the grade as directed.

The content of this post will be reviewed in consultation with the post-holder when necessary and in line with the service developments.

To provide highly specialist skills and expertise, facilitating interventions of the highest quality in the field of mental health, including emergency assessments and intensive interventions with children, young people and their families.

To work autonomously and collaboratively within the MDT, providing consultation and teaching for other agencies/professionals.

To provider supervision and teaching to all other disciplines within CAMHS and to deputise as agreed for the team leader.

To promote safeguarding and the welfare of children and young people

KEY RESULT AREAS:

CLINICAL

To work autonomously within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility in accordance with the Trust Policies and procedures

The post-holder will have highly developed skills in assessing the needs of children and their carers based on the analysis of highly complex facts and situations. Interventions will be planned based on the assessment information and interpretation of this. The clinical assessment will include gathering appropriate historical information from the child and family, allied to clinical observation of family relationships and mental state of the child and other family members, and obtaining relevant information from other agencies. Offering highly specialist expertise in child and adolescent mental health, ensuring clear documentation in all appropriate case notes and sharing assessments and information with the family and all relevant professionals.

To undertake highly specialist initial assessments of young people following acts of serious self-harm and attempted suicide in line with evidence based practice.

To undertake highly specialised risk assessments following referral for presentations requiring urgent mental health or psychiatric assessment and plan relevant interventions.

To implement intensive interventions with young people and their families, as relevant to the post-holders main clinical role, i.e. group and individual work, systemic family interventions. This will include analysis, interpretation and evaluation to reformulate plans of care.

The post-holder will provide therapeutic care to emotionally demanding clients in highly emotive situations.

The post-holder will develop and maintain therapeutic relationships with children and carers. This will include cases of high complexity which require more specialised levels of assessment and therapeutic skills.

As part of multi-disciplinary team, the Senior Mental Health Practitioner will deliver and devise complex packages of care. Provide individual and family review/follow-up sessions to children, young people or their carers.

To take a lead role in setting guidelines and standards that will ensure all young persons identified with complex problems are discharged from Specialist CAMHS with an appropriate package of care from universal services.

The post-holder will have skills to communicate highly complex information regarding personal psycho-social problems in an empathic and supportive way using the highest level of interpersonal skills in situations which can be highly emotional and sometimes antagonistic. Service users and families may have difficulty or be reluctant to understand what is communicated to them.

Communicate complex, sensitive or contentious information utilising highly developed interpersonal skills. Take into account issues of confidentiality and the consent of Adults and Young People. Considering and assessing a child's maturity to consent.

To work with children, young people (0-18) and their families, liaising with external agencies, e.g. Education, Social Services and Paediatric Services. Presenting problems are frequently complex and require that sophisticated packages of care are negotiated and delivered. To actively promote user/carer involvement in all aspects of care planning/delivery whilst respecting the rights, capabilities and wishes of the individuals concerned.

To apply a sound knowledge of safeguarding children and guidelines in clinical work.

To deputise for the team leader in his/her absence.

Apply Trust policies and procedures in instances of aggression, acute distress and disturbed mental health presentations.

HUMAN RESOURCES

The Senior Mental Health Practitioner will take the responsibility in developing, managing and coordinating the supervision systems for the team.

The post-holder will support other team members in managing cases, providing joint working where appropriate on specific therapeutic techniques.

To manage and coordinate rotas for all disciplines within CAMHS specific to their own area of specialism.

To support the Clinical Governance Lead within the service and participate in the development and maintenance of governance processes, i.e. clinical incident reporting, risk management.

Contribute to the induction of new starters in the service.

Responsible for first line resolution of complaints in line with Trust policy.

Responsible for budgetary requirement of equipment necessary for clinical interventions.

RESEARCH

The post-holder will identify and undertake R and D activity, where appropriate, and be responsible for regular audit projects/service evaluations and for the development of research projects in line with evidence based practice.

To participate and take a lead role in audit, service evaluation and quality management initiative.

The post-holder will deliver and supervise others to participate in audit pertaining to their specialist area ensuring agreed results are implemented.

To utilise theory, evidence based literature and research to support evidence based practice in work with client and that of the service planning, development and delivers. To maintain links with academic institutions.

To introduce, through consultation with colleagues, quality initiatives.

To be committed to a quality approach for patient care.

POLICY AND SERVICE DEVELOPMENT

To lead on service developments and to provide information and data for other proposals as required.

Promote and lead patient and public involvement strategies within the clinical environment.

To deputise in the team leaders absence at service business meetings within CAMHS and relevant departments within Childrens Services.

To identify training and development needs for the continued provision of an effective service.

To address the clinical governance agenda (e.g. clinical effectiveness, education and training, communication, audit, risk management) as appropriate. This includes active involvement in one or more of the multidisciplinary clinical improvement groups in CAMHS.

Contribute to and change practice in response to corporate developments.

TEACHING, TRAINING AND SUPERVISION

To provide clinical supervision to CAMHS staff in highly specialist areas of complex mental health presentations.

Organise and facilitate relevant professional development and training opportunities on specialist subjects to the CAMHS MDT.

To contribute fully to the in service training programme provided within the CAMHS team and Childrens services. This will include the provision of teaching sessions to other members of the team.

To provide clinical teaching/supervision to CAMHS staff and students whilst maintaining close links with higher education institutions. To provide a developmental environment in which junior members of staff develop skills in effective caseload management.

Provide teaching and training to multi-agency services both statutory and voluntary on highly specialist subjects.

To provide advice, consultation and supervision to professionals caring for young people both within statutory and voluntary agencies displaying symptoms of severe emotional and behavioural problems and mental health issues of a highly complex nature.

To act as an information source to other team members regarding children and young peoples mental health needs and the range of service provision available.

To actively share specialist knowledge, skills and expertise for the benefit of service users and their carers.

To offer knowledge and skills of cross cultural therapeutic work in order to enable others to work effectively and sensitively with clients from a range of racial, cultural and religious backgrounds.

Contribute to multi-disciplinary team case discussions. Provide active peer group support and advice utilising own professional knowledge and practice whilst respecting the knowledge and theoretical practices of other professions.

To take responsibility for own continuing professional development, identifying own development areas in negotiation with line management.

To receive clinical supervision utilising this and the quality performance management process to facilitate evidence based practice and ensure continuing professional development.

Participate in regular training and up-date and develop own portfolio to maintain professional qualification and registration in accordance with the requirements of own professional body and professional codes and conduct/guidelines.

Participate in annual appraisals.

For full job description, please see attached supporting documents.

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Qualifications

Essential

• Relevant professional qualification, e.g. nursing, or other professional allied to medicine.
• Post qualification training in identified portfolio, e.g. LD. LAC, eating disorder.
• Dip SW or relevant mental health profession.
• A teaching and assessing qualification.
• Membership of professional body.

Desirable

• Post graduate qualification in mental health (e.g. CBT, Family Therapy, Counselling).
• Masters Level qualification.
• Formal management/supervisory qualification.

Physical Attributes

Essential

• Ability to undertake the duties and demands of the post. A satisfactory sickness record over the previous 2 years (subject to the need to act with fairness and equality of opportunity, particularly where the sickness is related to a disability and/or pregnancy).

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Able to work autonomously and as part of a team.
• Commitment to multi-agency approach/working.
• Ability to work and make decisions under pressure.
• Calm, confident, innovative, creative and assertive.
• Ability to make and lead decisions under pressure/crisis situations.
• Willingness to be flexible and adaptable in accordance with changing service priorities.
• Commitment to challenging discrimination and improving accessibility of services.
• Ability to cope calmly in a crisis.
• To demonstrate good self-care and encourage the same in team members.
• A Current driving licence and access to a car during the working day is essential (reasonable adjustments will be considered for any applicants who are unable to drive due to a disability).
• To have integrity, be honest, open, transparent and respectful.

Special Knowledge & Skills

Essential

• Excellent verbal and communication skills.
• Ability to manage own caseload and to be a self-reliant and autonomous practitioner.
• Excellent negotiation skills, and problem solving skills.
• Customer service orientation.
• Excellent record keeping and report writing skills to include care planning and risk assessments.
• IT skills.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of delivering training to others.
• Extensive experience in identified portfolio requirements.
• Substantial post qualification experience, some of which must be working with Children, young people and their carers in a mental health or other complex care setting.
• Experience of working in different cultural contexts.
• Knowledge and experience of working with Equality and Diversity.
• Multidisciplinary team working.
• Inter-agency liaison and consultation.
• Experience of providing highly specialist advice and supervision to other professionals.
• Knowledge of relevant legislation and guidance for working with children, young people, mental health and safeguarding.
• Evidence of advanced clinical/therapeutic knowledge and skills in mental health.
• Extensive experience in assessment and risk management and ability to implement evidence based practice.
• Advanced experience of safeguarding children and young people.

Desirable

• Experience of community settings.

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).