Job overview
We are looking for highly motivated individuals to join our adult mental health services. The post would be suitable for qualified Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioners (or an assistant psychologist). This is an exciting new development for this role created by NHS England to support the transformation of adult mental health care. This role will contribute to ensuring adults with acute presentations of severe mental health problems receive trauma informed care and have greater access to psychologically informed interventions.
Main duties of the job
You will be expected to work under supervision as part of a multidisciplinary team supporting adults to receive the right care. You will need to have flexibility and adaptability and a passion for working with adults with severe mental health problems, across the MDT and employing wellbeing-focused psychologically informed interventions for serious mental health problems for adults individually and in groups, as well as supporting their families and carers.
Working for our organisation
The second largest inner London Borough with an official population of around 350,000. The local population has needs related to a high level of social deprivation such as unemployment, poor social housing and child poverty. There are also pockets of greater affluence. There are high levels of morbidity, and levels and complexity of mental health problems are above the national average
Lambeth Community Mental Health Teams comprise three Living Well Centres in Brixton and Streatham; Lambeth Hospital comprises five acute wards, a psychiatric intensive care unit, and a rehabilitation ward.
The Trust: The South London and Maudsley (SLaM) NHS Foundation Trust is part of King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) and committed to innovation, effective interventions and improved service user outcomes. It provides mental health services to the people of Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham and Croydon, and some more specialist services to people from across the UK.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
·The Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner (or assistant psychologist) will:
owork in a multidisciplinary mental health team
odevelop and practice psychologically-informed interventions under supervision, working directly and indirectly with adults
osupport collaborative care planning, alongside other members of the multi-disciplinary team
owork closely alongside a team of mental health professionals to deliver a set of brief wellbeing-focused psychologically informed interventions - not therapy - for example:
oBehavioural Activation and Graded Exposure using the “GOALS” programme
oProblem-solving
oImproving sleep
oRecognising and managing emotions
oGuided self-help for bulimia and binge-eating
oConfidence building
oSupport with medicines management
The Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner will be required to:
oHave successfully completed MHWP training or equivalent experience
oHave worked within a CMHT as a care-co-ordinator under supervision or equivalent experience
oDemonstrate the ability to establish and maintain empathic, supportive relationships with people in significant distress, their families and carers
oTo work alongside service users, families, carers and multi-disciplinary team members to co-ordinate care, supporting collaborative decision-making about care and treatment.
oTo deliver a set of wellbeing-focused psychologically-informed interventions, aligned to cognitive-behavioural principles, based on the best evidence available, that address problems often experienced by people with severe mental health problems.
The post-holder will work under care management supervision from a suitably qualified professional to provide high quality collaborative care planning as a member of the multi-disciplinary team. The post-holder will work under clinical skills supervision from an HCPC registered clinical / counselling psychologist, BABCP accredited cognitive behavioural therapist or Senior MHWP to provide specified psychologically-informed wellbeing-focused interventions.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
1. A graduate certificate (Level 6) or postgraduate certificate (Level 7) delivering the national curriculum for Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioners (Adult Specialist Mental Health) or equivalent degree and experience A)
Experience
Essential criteria
2. •Experience of working with people with mental health needs gained through a graduate certificate or postgraduate certificate training (or by other means) with significant supervised practice (A/I)
3. •Experience running groups/activities, team working, care planning, using supervision (team and psychological therapy)
Knowledge & Skills
Essential criteria
4. Ability and commitment to successfully build relationships and work with teams, individuals and families in line with role
5. To manage complex communication, liaise and communicate appropriately including using technology, use supervision, and analyse/synthesise information from multiple sources
6. To assess care needs and risk, and provide intervention under supervision, managing own workload and mindful of equity of access and relevant adjustments