Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job outline:

To work alongside service users, families, carers and multi-disciplinary team members to co-ordinate care, supporting collaborative decision-making about care and treatment.

To 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.

Scope & Authority:

To work under close case management supervision from a suitably qualified professional to provide high quality collaborative care planning as a member of the multi-disciplinary team. To work under close clinical skills supervision from an HCPC registered clinical psychologist or BABCP accredited cognitive behavioural therapist to provide specified psychologically-informed wellbeing-focused interventions.

Key Result Areas:

Clinical

• Carry out relevant risk assessments and risk management with the multi-disciplinary team
• Engage calmly and with sensitivity and empathy to support service users in highly distressing or emotional circumstances.
• Engage with and gather information from service users, relatives and patient records to develop a formulation.

To work in collaboration with the individual service user and their family and carers as appropriate to develop care plans that are focused on strengths and are outcome based.

To attend multi-disciplinary reviews and act as a care co-ordinator, for a caseload of service users in order to support and monitor progress during the course of multi-disciplinary interventions.

• To set collaborative goals for intervention with service users
• To deliver specified wellbeing-focused psychologically-informed interventions, in line with best available evidence, under close supervision from a clinical psychologist or CBT therapist including:
• Behavioural activation and graded exposure
• Teaching problem-solving skills
• Improving sleep
• Recognising and managing emotions
• Guided self-help for bulimia and binge-eating
• Building confidence
• Medication support
• To be responsive to service users needs and choices; and uphold their right to be treated with dignity and respect.
• To include carers and families in line with the service users wishes.

To liaise with other health and care providers, including third sector agencies and primary care, to ensure continuity of care for service users.

To communicate information concerning the assessment, formulation and care plans of service users in a skilled and sensitive manner in order to promote effective multi-disciplinary working and therapeutic outcomes for clients.

To develop collaborative plans for relapse prevention

To deal with endings appropriately and safely with service users, families and carers.

Communication

To form professional relationships with service users and communicate with them in a way that respects their views, autonomy and culture.

To monitor and record progression, highlight concerns and report any perceived changes in service users wellbeing to the team

To demonstrate effective communication skills in discussing highly sensitive and complex information appropriately with people whose understanding may be temporarily or permanently impaired.

To provide relevant information, written and oral, for records and reviews relating to service users progress under supervision from a suitably qualified member of the team.

Provide highly effective written communications as required for service users and other health and care professionals

Report regularly and in detail to the clinical skills supervisor and case management supervisor.

Make good use of clinical skills and case management supervision to discuss casework, make plans for action, reflect on and implement best practice in care planning and interventions.

Documentation

To ensure that up to date clinical records are maintained in accordance with professional and Trust standards

Professional Ethics

To adhere to the employers expectations of professional behaviour and all relevant policies and procedures.

To respect the individuality, values, cultural and religious diversity of clients and contribute to the provision of a service sensitive to these needs and that actively addresses inequity of access and outcome across protected characteristics.

Training staff and students

To participate in the induction, training and education of students and other staff in this setting.

To participate in the dissemination and sharing of information and skills with staff, students and volunteers.

Professional development

To complete and stay up to date with all statutory and mandatory training.

To undertake training as necessary in line with the development of the post and as agreed with line manager.

Clinical Governance, quality, standards

Participate in clinical governance and quality improvement programs as directed by the line manager.

Line management, staff, budgets dept

• To exercise good personal time management, punctuality and consistent, reliable attendance.

To contribute to a healthy and safe working environment by adhering to health and safety regulations and the employers policies.

• To maintain and order stock and advise on resources necessary to carry out the job, including the responsible management of petty cash if required.
• To be responsible for the care and cleaning of any equipment and materials used

Research and Development

As part of a team, incorporate up-to-date evidence-based methods into the intervention programme as directed by the clinical skills supervisor

To participate in complex audit and research projects as applicable

• Abide by the standards of behaviour expected by their professional registering body and the standards of behaviour expected of all staff in the Trust disciplinary policy and procedure.

• Adhere to all Trust policies and procedures and be responsible for making themselves aware of these policies and procedures.

• Treat information relating to service users, employees and businesses of the Trust in the strictest confidence. Under no circumstances should such information be discussed with any unauthorised person(s) or organisations. At all times employees are required to comply with the provisions of the Data Protection Act.

• Maintain their own awareness of, and comply with, policies and procedures relating to Health and Safety (whether statutory or Trust), and assist in ensuring the compliance of other staff.

• Support the Trusts visions and values and in particular the promotion of a positive approach to diversity, equality, rights, and treating others with dignity and respect; to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage in service delivery and employment, and to manage, support or comply by adhering to the Trusts Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policies.

• Demonstrate the core principles of safeguarding and protection Human Rights; treating people with dignity, fairness, equality, respect and autonomy.

• Develop and maintain positive relationships with all colleagues, taking account of their age, religion or belief, ethnicity, sex, marital or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy or maternity status and any disability. Ensure that they are approachable and that their conduct towards colleagues is open and honest, dealing with differences in opinion, in ways which avoid offence.

• Take responsibility for the safeguarding and protection of children and young people and vulnerable adults very seriously, as does The Trust. The Trust works with adult and childrens social care to ensure that the integrated service has systems in place to equip staff with the knowledge and skills to recognise abuse, and take action to safeguard and protect vulnerable adults and children and young people. It is expected that all staff familiarise themselves with the appropriate structures and policies and with the local child protection and safeguarding procedures and the local multi-agency policy and procedures for safeguarding vulnerable adults and undertake the relevant mandatory training and further training appropriate to their role.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• - Experience in having at least 2 years relevant experience with people who require support and care in the community, ideally mental health but open to working with any vulnerable group including those who experience health inequalities.
• - Experience of work interacting with the public
• - Experience working as part of a team
• - Experience of analysing and communicating complex information verbally and in writing

Desirable

• - Lived experience of mental health issues/difficulties

Skills

Essential

• Communication/Relationship skills:
• - Able to establish and maintain empathic, supportive relationships with people in significant distress or who are cognitively impaired, their families and carers
• - Able to receive, understand and communicate confidential client information of a sensitive and often complex nature, including discussing care with family members within boundaries of confidentiality.
• - Able to communicate in a sensitive and reassuring manner, with empathy, and where appropriate reassurance.
• - Able to make good use of clinical supervision in a group and/or individual format
• - Liaise with other teams and services including external agencies as required for the wellbeing of service users.
• Analytical & Judgement skills:
• - Able to assist in assessment and observation activities related to individuals health and wellbeing, arriving at judgments about how to respond within the care plan
• - Able to contribute to risk assessment drawing on complex and multiple sources of information, under clinical supervision
• - Able to analyse and synthesise multiple sources of information to contribute to the teams understanding and formulation of service users difficulties and development of a multi-disciplinary care plan
• Planning & Organisational skills:
• - Able to assist in planning and delivering psychologically-informed interventions to meet peoples health and wellbeing needs
• - Able to prioritise workload according to peoples changing needs and the priorities of the team
• - People Management/Leadership/Resources
• - Able to assist in maintaining own and others health safety and security
• - Monitor and maintain physical and/ or financial resources for a work area
• IT skills:
• - To be able to use basic computer skills to collect, collate and report on clients progress on a daily basis.
• Physical skills:
• - Keyboard use
• - Fit to undertake any duties related to the role including physical interventions for the management of violence and aggression

Abilities

Essential

• Mental Effort:
• - Able to plan and deliver interventions with a variety of service users presenting with mental health difficulties, their families and carers and the clinical team, on a daily basis.
• - Able to concentrate on specific activities for up to an hour at a time.
• - Able to deal with conflicting demands in an unpredictable work pattern.
• - Able to work flexibly and adapt to each person as appropriate to their needs in a variety of settings.
• Emotional Effort:
• - Able to deal directly with distressing or emotional circumstances when they arise.

Qualifications

Essential

• A graduate certificate (Level 6) or postgraduate certificate (Level 7) delivering the national curriculum for Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioners (Adult Specialist Mental Health)

Working Conditions

Essential

• - Able to work in a variety of adult community mental health settings which may often include unpleasant working conditions such as verbal aggression or high levels of distress.
• - Demonstrate support for the values and beliefs of the Trust working in a trauma informed way, promoting social inclusion and challenging stigma.
• - Demonstrate an understanding of the practices of Human Rights in the delivery of this role
• - Commitment to team working and ability to work successfully in a team
• - Ability to travel across sites in good time
• - Punctual and flexible across hours of work when required

Desirable

• - Lived experience of mental health issues

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.

Employer details

Employer name

Primary Care Sheffield

Address

Primary Care Sheffield Ltd

28 Kenwood Park Road

Sheffield

S7 1NF

Employer's website

http://www.primarycaresheffield.org.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)