Mental Health Support Worker

Job responsibilities

The successful candidate will play a critical role in supporting the mental and emotional well-being of CYP within our community. This position involves providing direct urgent mental health services, collaborating with families, emergency services, CAMHS, schools, and community organisations, and contributing to a positive, inclusive, and supportive environment for young people.

The ideal candidate will have experience in providing direct mental health support, a strong understanding of the challenges faced by young people. The risks presented on engagement with emergency and urgent services and effective responses to behaviours that challenge and de-escalation techniques, and a commitment to delivering high-quality, compassionate care.

Main Duties and responsibilities:

Haven (Evening service) In this part of the role you will be responsible for providing direct urgent emotional support for CYP presenting safety needs and behaviours that challenge. After initial contact with one of our identified urgent / emergency service referral partners, the Haven service provides immediate emotional support.

This service supports CYP through person centred support addressing individual immediate care needs within the Getting Advice / Getting Help elements of the iTHRIVE model.

Independently conduct rapid assessment of referred CYP against service inclusion / exclusion criteria in liaison with Police, Ambulance, ED and CAMHS, collaborate with these services to agree and coordinate ongoing safety on acceptance to service.

Implement immediate mood regulation techniques and emotional support for CYP experiencing mental health distress.

Conduct safety assessments and agree necessary collaborative approaches to support with referral partners to identify the of mental health need, mitigate identified risks and develop appropriate, effective and individualised support plans.

Deescalate and compassionately manage presenting CYPs potential behaviours that challenge.

Report any identified safeguarding concerns of CYP and coordinate necessary actions to mitigate any immediate risks to self / others.

Liaise with Caregivers and referral partners to ensure ongoing safety of CYP post support and coordinate a safe return to home residence or work with partners to identify safe emergency accommodation.

Develop and implement follow-up care plans, including referrals to appropriate mental health services (internal Be U Swindon & external service offers).

Offer guidance and support to families and caregivers, helping them understand and effectively respond to the mental health needs of their children.

Maintain accurate and up-to-date records, ensuring all support sessions and plans are thoroughly documented.

Participate in ongoing training and professional development opportunities to stay current with best practices in mental health care.

Hubs (Day services) This part of the role delivers emotional support to CYP in community settings inc. education settings, community centres and Be U therapeutic spaces.

This service supports CYP presenting with care needs within Getting Advice / Getting Help elements of the iTHRIVE model.

Develop individualised care plans based on assessments, considering the unique needs and circumstances of each child.

Provide evidence-based social and emotional wellbeing support, including individual and group emotional support to CYP.

Engage with children in various settings, including schools and community centres.

Work closely with families as appropriate to offer guidance and support in managing their child's mental health challenges.

Advocate for the mental health needs of children and adolescents within the community, promoting awareness and reducing stigma.

Respond to identified safeguarding concerns and provide support to children and families in need.

Maintain accurate and up-to-date records of assessments, support plans, progress notes, and other relevant documentation.

Stay current with developments in child and adolescent mental health, attending training sessions, workshops, and conferences as needed.

Participate in regular supervision and peer support meetings to ensure best practices and continuous professional growth.

Engage with local communities to raise awareness about mental health issues and available support services for children and young people.

Any other duties appropriate to role to support the development of the service offer and quality of care received by CYP.

This job profile is intended as a general guide to the responsibilities attached to the post and may be altered from time to time, following consultation with the post holder to reflect changing needs of the service &/or ABLs priorities

Skills & Competencies required:

Strong emotional support, de-escalation and risk assessment skills.

Understanding of emergency and urgent services and effective collaboration to mitigate identified risks.

Resilience to highly demanding care environments.

Compassionate when responding to significant behaviours that challenge.

Excellent understanding of CYP MH challenges.

Proficiency in maintaining detailed and accurate documentation.

Familiarity with local mental health resources and services.

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trust and rapport with children, families, and professionals.

Ability to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team.

Cultural competency and sensitivity to the diverse needs of the community.

Please note that we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role

Job Specific Requirements

Essential

• ork flexibly and adapt to suit service need.
• Work flexibly across a rota system inc. evenings and weekends.
• Ability to travel across service area footprint.
• Enhanced DBS check.

Qualifications

Essential

• Up to date knowledge of CYP emotional wellbeing / early mental health clinical evidence-based practice and support for parents/carers

Desirable

• Relevant qualification NVQ / Uni Qualification.

Experience

Essential

• Knowledge of development in MH CYP, family development and of transitions.
• Experience of working in an enhanced need MH multi-disciplinary team environment and with external professionals such as emergency services.
• Experience providing direct urgent mental health services within an urgent care setting or working with clients presenting with significant safety needs and behaviours that challenge.
• Ability to work independently to assess and manage risks inc. urgent needs with experience of developing appropriate plans to meet urgent challenging needs.
• Ability to recognise and respond to concerns about child protection and safeguarding.
• Ability to make use of supervision to support own wellbeing and professional development.
• Up to date knowledge of CYP emotional wellbeing / early mental health clinical evidence-based practice and support for parents/carers.

Desirable

• Experience in quality improvement measures.
• Experience in delivering training and workshops to CYP and parents / carers.
• Experience in delivering training to professionals.
• Experience in running group interventions / peer support groups.

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Excellent communication skills including listening, verbal and written.
• Ability to communicate with CYP of different ages, developmental level and backgrounds.
• Excellent telephone manner.
• Ability to prioritise work tasks.
• Highly resilient, with the ability to work under high pressure and in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills.
• Understanding and evidence of adhering to information governance and data protection policies.
• Efficient problem-solving skills.
• Ability to interact with colleagues and other stakeholders politely and courteously.
• Excellent IT skills and proficient in all areas of Microsoft Office,
• Experience with reporting in client database packages.
• Excellent customer care.
• Evidence of accuracy and paying attention to detail in tasks.
• Punctuality, reliability and honesty.
• Ability to use own initiative and confident to do so in the workplace.
• Work flexibly and adapt to suit service need.
• Work flexibly across a rota system inc. evenings and weekends.
• Ability to travel across service area footprint.
• Enhanced DBS check.

Desirable

• Local knowledge of services and need

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).