South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust
Clinical Nurse Specialist
Closing date: 14 January 2026
We are looking for a committed CAMHS Clinical Nurse Specialist who is passionate about working with children and young people with complex presentations, is seeking to expand their therapeutic skills and is looking for ongoing professional development opportunities within a specialist CAMHS setting.
Kingston CAMHS is an established Tier 3/Getting More Help service that supports children, young people and their families with moderate to severe mental health difficulties. The multi‑disciplinary service includes psychiatry, psychology, family therapy, CBT therapists and child psychotherapy.
The service offers assessments and time‑limited evidence‑based interventions for children and young people presenting with moderate to severe mental health conditions, including formulation, diagnosis where appropriate and signposting to partner services.
Additional CAMHS services within the Trust include Mental Health in Schools Teams, an Adolescent Outreach Team, 12‑bed adolescent inpatient unit (Aquarius ward), learning disabilities and youth offending services, a DBT service and specialist and national services such as All‑Age Eating Disorders day and inpatient services, Deaf CAMHS services in London, Kent and Cambridge and Corner House inpatient unit at Springfield Hospital.
Main Duties
The role will provide a flexible, timely response to young people and their families who require mental health assessments and robust risk management. The postholder will manage a high‑risk caseload within the Multi‑disciplinary Tier 3 CAMHS Service at Kingston.
The children and young people will be known to Kingston CAMHS or may be referred by GP, schools or social workers. The role is embedded in a multi‑disciplinary team and facilitates joint working with team consultants, therapists, children’s emergency care team, A&E, T3 Duty, waitlist support and case management with young people deemed at risk.
Key responsibilities include:
* Providing specialist advice, guidance and consultation to professionals contributing to assessment, formulation and treatment planning of young people.
* Working in close liaison with other child services, including health, social care, education and the voluntary sector.
* Formulating assessment plans and implementing treatment for self‑harm mental health needs using evidence‑based frameworks.
* Managing complex meetings with parents, carers and professionals where viewpoints may conflict.
* Managing emotionally charged meetings with children and families who may be hostile or antagonistic.
* Prioritising own workload for children and adolescents with self‑harm.
* Delivering appropriate therapeutic interventions as part of a multi‑disciplinary assessment and treatment plan.
* Co‑facilitating group interventions focused on life skills, motivation, creativity and psychological therapies for individuals, carers, families and groups.
* Developing formulations that consider risk such as sexual abuse and adjusting treatment options accordingly.
* Recording clinical work and communicating complex or distressing information orally and in writing.
* Sharing assessment and treatment plans using sensitive, age‑appropriate language.
* Being mindful of the needs of children, young people and families from diverse racial, cultural, religious and social backgrounds.
Professional and Teaching Duties
* Ensuring Trust standards of recording and information governance are maintained.
* Providing consultation and training on self‑harm to colleagues and professional groups.
* Receiving regular supervision and undertaking mandatory and statutory training, supervision and annual appraisal.
* Contributing to an annual Development Review/appraisal and personal development plan.
* Maintaining high professional standards through internal and external CPD training and programmes.
* Keeping up‑to‑date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies relevant to the client group and mental health.
Qualifications and Experience
* Registered Mental Health Nurse, registered with the NMC.
* Experience working with children and young people in a variety of settings and within multi‑disciplinary teams.
* Ability to relate to and provide accessible services to a diverse community.
* Efficiently managing a high‑risk caseload.
* Knowledge and skills in risk management and safeguarding.
* Experience delivering a range of evidence‑based interventions.
* Interest in further professional development such as DBT training.
* Significant experience of working with self‑harm and adolescents with mental health difficulties.
* Clinical risk assessment and management of vulnerable client groups.
* Leadership experience and influencing change processes.
* Experience of developing services and establishing collaborative relationships across professional groups.
* Experience of racial awareness/diversity training, conducting service evaluations and coaching.
* Working collaboratively with service users and/or carers to develop services in a range of settings (inpatient, community, residential).
Training and Qualifications Required
* Professional registration with the NMC.
* Evidence of relevant professional development and post‑registration training in child and adolescent mental health.
* Supervision training and qualification to supervise students (e.g. ENB 998 or Practice Teacher Award).
* A postgraduate qualification in a therapeutic modality relevant to child mental health.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post requires a Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 check and a Disclosure and Barring Service submission to check for any previous criminal convictions.
About Us
South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust is proud to belong at a comprehensive network of expert services. The Care Quality Commission rates our services as ‘good’ and we aspire to be ‘outstanding’. We are committed to inclusive and diverse practice, actively anti‑racist, and to co‑producing care with local communities.
We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.
Job location: Tolworth Hospital, Surbiton. The site will be transformed in 2026 to add new wards to the existing three.
Salary
£43,000 to £48,520 a year inclusive of Outer London HCAs
#J-18808-Ljbffr