Senior Practitioner - Mental Health Support Team (MHST)
Job Description
Job summary
As part of Hertfordshire CYPMHS transformation, our priority is simple: to increase access and availability of mental health and wellbeing support for children and young people.
Driven by this goal and in line with NHS long term plans, we have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Practitioner with extensive experience delivering mental health interventions to children and young people. You will be based in the Watford area and will work at the forefront of innovation in Children and Young Peoples Mental Health and play an instrumental role in a forward-thinking service delivering interventions in schools and other settings in South Hertfordshire.
This role is a chance to make a difference in young lives, and as such duties will include elements of operational management in support of the team leader and clinical activity.
Main duties of the job
You will work closely with schools in and around the Watford area delivering early intervention mental health interventions and support. You will also be expected to:
- Support the Team Leader in the operational and clinical leadership of the team and deputise where appropriate in the Team Leaders absence.
- Facilitate case management, clinical skills and line management supervision.
- Complete initial assessments and risk assessments
- Deliver CBT based group and 1:1 interventions in school as well as other clinical activity.
To be eligible for this role, you will need to have:
- Completed the Postgraduate Diploma in Education Mental Health Practice or Psychological Wellbeing Practice for children and young people or have some level of formal CBT training e.g., CYP IAPT
- Consolidated postgraduate experience of working with children and young people with emotional and mental health difficulties,
- You will have extensive experience in delivering evidenced-based CBT interventions for mild to moderate mental health difficulties such as anxiety, low mood and behaviours that challenge to CYP both individually and in groups.
- Have completed or willing to complete the Postgraduate Diploma in Supervision of EMHPs/CWPs or the Senior Wellbeing Practitioner training including the supervision year.
About us
Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) is an outstanding organisation with ambitions to match. We are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of 'Outstanding' from theCare Quality Commission, and our aim is to be the leading provider of mental health and specialist learning disability services in the country.
Our family of over 3500 members of staff provide health and social care for over 400,000 people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. We also deliver a range of nationally commissioned specialist services including Tier 4 services for children and young people, perinatal services, plus medium and low secure learning disabilities services.
The care we provide makes a fantastic difference to the lives of our service users, their families and carers - everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout:
Our Trust values are:
Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.
These values are at the core of who we are, everything we do, and how we do it!
Job responsibilities
You will be based and predominantly work in schools in and around the Watford area, meaning a commitment to travel is required. You will be expected to work closely with school staff to support CYP, their families and staff to foster a whole school approach to mental wellbeing. You will also support in the supervision of MHST staff.
The Senior Practitioner will play a key role in:
- Forming strong working relations with a variety of stakeholders
- Providing consultations to education colleagues and support education settings to embed a whole school approach to wellbeing
- Developing and delivering evidence-based, time limited interventions (group and 1:1) to children and young people within education settings
- Evidencing the outcomes of the MHST service
- Providing clinical and line management supervision to EMHPs, CWPs and other mental health practitioners
- Overseeing and supporting with case allocations and telephone triages
- Supporting staff with risk assessments, the management of risk and safeguarding concerns.
- Supporting with service improvement tasks
Person Specification
Other
Essential
- Car driver who is able to travel independently (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010 which prevents you from driving)
- Full, enhanced and current satisfactory DBS disclosure for the role
- Ability and willingness to work outside office hours when required by the role.
- Good time management and prioritisation skills including the ability to manage and plan own diary to accommodate assigned tasks.
- Ability to personally manage a sensitive, traumatic and potentially emotionally distressing caseload including disclosures of risk to self, abuse and safeguarding disclosures.
Communication Skills
Essential
- Ability to communicate complex and sensitive information clearly, both verbally and in writing, to service users, families, carers, and professionals.
- Ability to communicate sensitive information to children and young people, carers and colleagues in a way that addresses psychological resistance.
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non- professional groups.
- Ability to communicate in a respectful, culturally sensitive manner to service users, families, carers and colleagues
- Ability to contain and have difficult conversations with service users, colleagues, supervisees and other staff.
Desirable
- Ability to fluently speak another language
Skills and Ability
Essential
- Ability to deliver care with respect, dignity and compassion which is recovery focused.
- Ability and confidence to manage own caseload, work autonomously in the community and use own initiative.
- Ability to deal sensitively with stressful situations including; staff and organisational problems; child abuse; family breakdown; mental ill health and risk of self-harm.
Desirable
- Ability and skills to teach and train others using multi-media materials suitable for presentation within public, professional and academic settings.
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge of legislation related to children and young peoples mental health and social care e.g. Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act, Care Act, Child Protection and Safeguarding of Vulnerable Children etc.
- Knowledge of the core EMHP functions
Desirable
- Knowledge of recent developments and research in mental health/learning disability provision for young people including government initiatives.
Experience
Essential
- Significant post qualification experience delivering EMHP, or CWP guided self-help interventions; Senior Wellbeing Practitioner or CBT interventions
- Experience and knowledge of implementing safeguarding procedures for children and adults.
- Experience and knowledge of working in a multi-ethnic community in a culturally sensitive manner
- Experience of providing case management and clinical skills supervision to trainee and/or qualified practitioners. If not, a willingness to complete a post graduate certificate in supervision
- Experience of completing comprehensive risk assessments and managing risks, including implementing safety plans with children and young people.
- Experience of working with and making adjustments for SEND and neurodivergent children and young people
- Experience of completing triage calls and initial assessments with children and young people presenting with mild to moderate mental health difficulties
- Experience working with parents (parent led interventions) and involving parents in assessments and where appropriate interventions with young people
Desirable
- Experience of supporting young people in an educational setting
Training & Qualifications
Essential
- Core postgraduate qualification in the provision of low intensity CBT, e.g., Postgraduate Diploma Educational Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP programme) Or Postgraduate Certificate/Diploma in Child and Young Persons Psychological Wellbeing Practice (CWP) Or an accredited CBT qualification
- Appropriate UK professional registration
- Psychological Therapies or CYP IAPT Supervision qualification (Please note if you have not completed this training, you will be expected to undertake a 1-year ...
