Job summary
Durham Tees Valley Mental Health Treatment Requirement (DTV MHTR) is one of three community sentence treatment requirements available for individuals being considered for a community or suspended sentence. DTV MHTR current covers County Durham and Teesside, offering a service into Durham Crown Court, Teesside Magistrates and Crown Courts, Peterlee Magistrates Court, Newton Aycliffe Magistrates Court and the Intensive Supervision Court at Teesside Crown Court. The service is aimed at adults currently going through the Criminal Justice System, who have pled or been found guilty, whose offence meets the threshold for community sentence, and who have consented to engage (our service is a voluntary service). As part of a team, with compassion you will actively work to support service users to improve mental wellbeing and overall quality of life.
Main duties of the job
The main focus of the role will be to provide assessment and subsequent intervention for up to 12 sessions. Primarily the model adopted will be cognitive behaviour therapy based to address primary care mental health needs such as anxiety and depression.
You will be led by a psychologist who operationally and clinically leads the service. You will work alongside psychological colleagues as well as partner organisations such as probation, the courts and other healthcare providers to ensure the aims and objectives of the service are met. There will be weekly supervision for the post holder and there are other supervision forums and support in place for learning and development.
The role covers the courts in Durham and Teesside. There is a considerable amount of travel required in the post.
We offer a wide range of professional development opportunities and training and encourage individuals to further develop their own clinical skills and experience. We also have a large research agenda within the Forensic Service and encourage individuals to pursue this.
About us
We are the Mental Health & Learning Disability NHS Trust for County Durham and Darlington, Teesside, North Yorkshire, York and Selby.
From education and prevention, to crisis and specialist care --our talented and compassionate teams work in partnership with our patients, communities and partners to help the people of our region feel safe, understood, believed in and cared for.
We nurture the recovery journey of anyone in need of our help. In Our Trust, everyone has a say in how they are supported and treated because we listen to every person in our care until they feel understood. Our patients, their families and carers work together with us towards better mental health.
We're committed to new thinking that improves the wellbeing of our region. We connect with our communities and partners to get mental health care right, in areas that really need it.
Details
Date posted
18 September 2025
Pay scheme
Agenda for change
Band
Band 5
Salary
£31,049 to £37,796 a year per annum
Contract
Fixed term
Duration
12 months
Working pattern
Full-time
Reference number
346-FMH-090-25-A
Job locations
Sniperley House
Lanchester Road Hospital
Durham
DH1 5RD
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for further detailed information to ensure that you meet the role criteria before applying.
Applicants must ensure that prior to applying they have agreement from their current line manager that they can be released on a secondment basis. In the event that permanent funding is secured for this post the successful applicant will be confirmed in post on a permanent basis.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
1. PWP qualification from a British Psychological Society accredited PWP programme/apprenticeship
2. If qualifying by the apprenticeship route have also passed the apprenticeship end point assessment and
3. Accredited with the BABCP or BPS as a PWP (or working towards accreditation if within six months of qualifying)
Desirable
4. Key skills in literacy, numeracy and IT
5. Core profession in mental health nursing, social work, occupational therapy, psychology
Skill
Essential
6. Computer skills
7. Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including telephone skills
8. Able to develop good therapeutic relationships with clients
9. Ability to work with service users in a way that helps address resistance
10. Able to work under pressure
11. Utilise psychometric tests competently
12. Record keeping
13. Plan and organise effectively to meet required timescales
Knowledge
Essential
14. Ability to implement NICE guidance for Step 2 interventions for mental health problems
15. Knowledge of factors that can impact common mental health problems
16. Competent in risk assessment
17. Demonstrates an understanding of anxiety and depressive disorders and how they may present in Primary Care
18. Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence based psychological therapies and how it relates to this post
Desirable
19. Demonstrates knowledge of the issues surrounding work and the impact it can have on mental health
20. Knowledge of medication used in anxiety and depression and other common mental health problems
Experience
Essential
21. Experience of working with people with common mental health problems in an IAPT setting
22. Ability to demonstrate a range of experiences in offering and delivering a full range of evidence based IAPT low intensity interventions
23. Experience of screening, assessing and working with a range of mental health issues at step 2
24. Experience of working with and manging risk
Desirable
25. Experience of "Partnership working".
26. Worked in a service where agreed targets are in place demonstrating clinical outcomes
27. Experience of working with forensic population