Job summary
Mental Health Practitioner
Band 6
Permanent post
37.5 Hours per week
Sefton Mental Health Support Teams (MHST) at Alder Hey have an exciting opportunity for a Mental Health Practitioner to join our team!
As a B6 Mental Health Practitioner (MHP) you will work across a range of educational, healthcare and community settings to provide early intervention/evidence based interventions for children and young people and their families, enabling children and young people to access support in schools.
The successful candidates will have already undertaken further training in one of the IAPT modalities (CBT, SFP and IPTA is desirable) and will undertake direct work with children and young people, families and carers as well as education providers. In addition, the post holder will deliver training and work with education providers to develop the Whole School and College Approach. The post holders may also provide supervision to our Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHP's).
Main duties of the job
To communicate to the client and family, knowledge of therapeutic processes, confidentiality and available options involved in their assessment and care plan, to enable them to engage appropriately from a position of informed consent. This will sometimes include communication about highly sensitive material and outcomes.
Utilising analytical skills, specialist knowledge and experience provide a comprehensive assessment and formulation of the presenting problem taking into account the child's educational attainment, chronological/ developmental stage, inner world/ emotional wellbeing, the mental health of the child's parents, the family dynamics and environment, and the broader social context including school.
Develop a planned programme of intervention utilising behavioural, cognitive, psychodynamic and systemic perspectives as indicated by the formulation, the needs of the client and the evidence base.
Provide individual, couple, family and group interventions as appropriate as part of a client's integrated, therapeutic programme.
Undertake with supervision/consultation, case management of cases of some severity, risk and complexity, co-ordinating multi-disciplinary inputs and working in partnership with other agencies where appropriate.
About us
Alder Hey MHST is part of the Education Mental Health Team within the Liverpool CAMHS; and North and South Sefton Partnership. MHST covers both Liverpool and Sefton and currently has links with around 200 schools. Sefton MHST has 3 teams North, South Sefton; and the third team in Sefton is aimed to focus on Transitions. Developing and building strong relationships with schools is a priority. The teams comprise of several multi-disciplinary teams including staff from varied backgrounds, including psychology, occupational therapy, social work, nursing and psychotherapy. In addition, our team members are trained in a wealth of different therapeutic interventions and approaches, making the teams truly multi-disciplinary.
Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust is a provider of specialist health care to over 275,000 children and young people each year. In addition to the hospital site located in the West Derby area of Liverpool, Alder Hey has a presence in community outreach sites and, in collaboration with other providers, our clinicians help deliver care closer to patients' homes by holding local clinics at locations from Cumbria to Shropshire, in Wales and the Isle of Man. The Trust also provides inpatient care for children with complex mental health needs at our Alder Park building in the nearby borough of Sefton
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post holder will provide a substantial contribution to the clinical work of the team, including accepting, prioritising, assessing, and treating referrals of children and their families. Initially this will be at a level to be agreed with the candidate but over time they will take full case management responsibility for their case load.
In addition, they may provide consultation, under supervision, to professionals from other services and participate in service development. The proportion of direct clinical work, consultation and service development work undertaken will be negotiated with the clinical team manager and the professional lead.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post holder will provide a substantial contribution to the clinical work of the team, including accepting, prioritising, assessing, and treating referrals of children and their families. Initially this will be at a level to be agreed with the candidate but over time they will take full case management responsibility for their case load.
In addition, they may provide consultation, under supervision, to professionals from other services and participate in service development. The proportion of direct clinical work, consultation and service development work undertaken will be negotiated with the clinical team manager and the professional lead.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Qualified in core profession such as Mental Health Nurse (RMN/RLD), Mental Health Practitioner, Clinical Psychologist, Occupational Therapy, Social Work or creative therapies e.g. Art Therapy - with proof of relevant professional registration Or Recognised degree level broad based health & social care qualification which will require completion of The British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) Knowledge Skills and Attributes
- Training in child & family mental health related field
- Two years' experience of post graduate work in core profession / following qualification
- Two years' experience working collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary setting
Desirable
- Experience of working in child and adolescent mental health services.
Knowledge
Essential
- Able to demonstrate application of therapeutic and analytical skills
- Able to demonstrate ability to be self-reflective in relation to practice.
- Able to provide, (with appropriate supervision), assessment of emergency/ self-harming behaviour.
- Must demonstrate a working knowledge of health, education, social services and the voluntary sector.
- Knowledge of relevant, current legislation.
- Knowledge of safety factors in management of self-harming behaviours and child protection issues
- An understanding of principles underlying psychodynamic, systemic, cognitive and behavioural therapies.
- Working knowledge of child development
- Awareness of recent government initiatives
- Organisational skills to manage and prioritise workload balance appropriately
- Able to demonstrate a commitment to the overall vision and the development of the professional group of mental health practitioners
- Must demonstrate utilisation of professional development planning in own career progression
Desirable
- Knowledge of audit and evaluation methodology
Personal Attributes
Essential
- Enthusiasm for and appreciation of multidisciplinary and multiagency working
- Must demonstrate a professional mannger
- Excellent communication skills
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Qualified in core profession such as Mental Health Nurse (RMN/RLD), Mental Health Practitioner, Clinical Psychologist, Occupational Therapy, Social Work or creative therapies e.g. Art Therapy - with proof of relevant professional registration Or Recognised degree level broad based health & social care qualification which will require completion of The British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) Knowledge Skills and Attributes
- Training in child & family mental health related field
- Two years' experience of post graduate work in core profession / following qualification
- Two years' experience working collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary setting
Desirable
- Experience of working in child and adolescent mental health services.
Knowledge
Essential
- Able to demonstrate application of therapeutic and analytical skills
- Able to demonstrate ability to be self-reflective in relation to practice.
- Able to provide, (with appropriate supervision), assessment of emergency/ self-harming behaviour.
- Must demonstrate a working knowledge of health, education, social services and the voluntary sector.
- Knowledge of relevant, current legislation.
- Knowledge of safety factors in management of self-harming behaviours and child protection issues
- An understanding of principles underlying psychodynamic, systemic, cognitive and behavioural therapies.
- Working knowledge of child development
- Awareness of recent government initiatives
- Organisational skills to manage and prioritise workload balance appropriately
- Able to demonstrate a commitment to the overall vision and the development of the professional group of mental health practitioners
- Must demonstrate utilisation of professional development planning in own career progression
Desirable
- Knowledge of audit and evaluation methodology
Personal Attributes
Essential
- Enthusiasm for and appreciation of multidisciplinary and multiagency working
- Must demonstrate a professional mannger
- Excellent communication skills
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).
