Mental Health Practitioner

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job title: Mental Health Practitioner (Assessment, Formulation & Intervention)

Service: 2gether Cluster

Contract: Permanent

Salary/pay band: £26,260 £32,830 pro rata

Pension: Eligible employees will be auto-enrolled in a defined contribution scheme.

Holidays: 28 days annual leave per year plus statutory holidays, pro rata, and up to 3 discretionary leave days between Christmas and New Year

Working hours and days: 17.5 hours per week

Working pattern to be negotiated and fixed on appointment. This will be based on service need, and some flexibility may be required.

Please specify your availability and preference for working hours/days on the application form.

Location: The post will be based within the cluster locality, usually in a school or similar community setting. You may be required to transfer, temporarily or on a continuing basis, to other locations within the cluster locality. This will be subject to consideration of your employment, domestic and personal circumstances.

Start date: February 2021 (or as soon as possible thereafter)

Accountability and reporting: The post holder is ultimately accountable to the Board of Northpoint, through the Director of Northpoint. The post holder will be line-managed by Northpoints School Services Manager and will have access to support from the Northpoint Clinical Lead for Children and Young People. Direction/management on a day-to-day basis will be provided by the Cluster Leader, or other named person.

Disclosure and Barring Service Certificate: Due to the nature of the work, this post will be subject to an enhanced DBS check. Northpoints policy on the recruitment of ex-offenders is available on request a past criminal conviction will not necessarily be a bar to employment.

Summary of the role

The post holder will provide therapeutic input and assessment to the cluster team and make onward referrals to specialist services.

Northpoint Wellbeing is a charity with a track record of providing accessible therapeutic services to local communities. Northpoint has provided school-based therapeutic services since 2009, and now works with children, young people and families in Leeds by providing a therapeutic service in 17 clusters of schools across the city, including the 2gether Cluster.

The post holder will act as an assessing practitioner in the 2gether Cluster Partnership in the inner city area of East Leeds, with responsibility for the holistic assessment and formulation of complex referrals made to the cluster for social, emotional and mental health concerns, and specifically for therapeutic support. The practitioner will work closely alongside the cluster Therapist and Cluster team.

Such referrals will normally be made to the cluster by schools within the cluster locality and partners such as CSWS, or by the MindMate Single Point of Access (SPA), which triages all non-urgent CAMHS referrals from GPs. The referrals will include children and young people who may need onward referral into specialist CAMHS for more specific mental health diagnoses, or those where there is a history of complexity and/or a lack of clarity about previous interventions. The role will involve talking to families about their needs and those of their child and discussing the support options available, providing referral information to relevant professionals, and working within the multi-disciplinary team in the cluster.

A flexible and community-focused practitioner is required, who is able to work within education settings and who can manage and build relationships to ensure positive outcomes for children.

The role will have a strong consultative element, for which experience and/or knowledge of working with mental health disorders such as ASD and ADHD will be essential, alongside the ability to formulate understanding and offer clear advice and guidance. The cluster team is looking for a practitioner who has the relevant skills and expertise in this field and who can add value to an experienced team and group of professionals in schools. Knowledge of school and cluster systems and processes would also be helpful.

This is an opportunity for enthusiastic and experienced clinician to work collaboratively in a committed and forward-thinking organisation and make a tangible difference to the lives of young people and families in Leeds.

This is an all year-round post (i.e. the service is commissioned to provide a service during school holidays).

Approach: The approach used by the practitioner should be consistent with:

Relevant evidence-based/NICE guideline-indicated mental health interventions

British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Ethical Framework and Good Practice Guidance for Counselling in Schools

Professional requirements of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), if registered

Evidence base contained within the Department for Education guidance Counselling in schools: a blueprint for the future (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/497825/Counselling_in_schools.pdf)

In addition:

Knowledge of brief supportive techniques, confidence in working with families in a solution-focused way, and strong communication will be key to the role.

It may also be appropriate to consider group interventions on the basis that the delivery is consistent with the above approaches.

Client group: Families, children and young people up to the age of 19 (if on a school roll within the cluster) who will be seen either in school settings, at home, via video link or community venues. Referrals will be assessed against best practice criteria to ensure interventions are prioritised for the most vulnerable and clinically appropriate young people. The practitioner will be able to refer/signpost to other services.

Caseload: The caseload will be dependent on the nature of referrals. It is envisaged that the role will be focused on early intervention 1-1 clinical work, evaluating need and providing consultation to staff and families. The post may include extended assessment work, group work and training.

Main duties

Be involved in a multi-agency approach to referrals into the cluster team

Respond to incoming telephone calls/emails/letters where appropriate and gather information to inform decisions and clinical thinking about such referrals

Hold a caseload of referrals and gather information to allow accurate assessment and formulation of emotional and mental health needs for children and young people

Provide brief time-limited support to parents/carers to strengthen problem-solving techniques and coping strategies around presenting needs

Provide individualised brief psycho-educational work for parents/carers to increase knowledge and understanding around common presenting needs seen in children and young people

With a developed understanding of local services, assist the cluster team to establish the most appropriate cluster practitioner to work with specific referrals or provide supporting information for onward referrals into specific CAMHS pathways

Use existing links with schools, clusters and other key services to encourage discussion about referrals that may be forwarded to their service

Offer consultation and advice to professionals as and when appropriate

Support and deliver training to school staff

Hold a strong understanding of other available services and criteria along with the ability to hold professional discussions about referrals

Complete 1-1 meetings with families and children to best assess their needs from mental

health services.

Referrals

Provide input into complex referrals and support extended assessment of mental health need

Work with allocated referrals to gather information, feed into multi-disciplinary triage team and support thinking and decision-making for individual referrals

Maintain a detailed and accurate recording system for messages and information, taking appropriate action where necessary, and contacting members of the team as appropriate if messages require urgent/early attention

Be involved in group work if appropriate for specifically identified young people.

Be involved in training and awareness-raising for school staff if appropriate, in relation to children and young peoples mental health presentations.

Record-keeping system

Maintain appropriate and up-to-date records of all case notes and discussions in line with cluster requirements and systems

Ensure patient-sensitive information is recorded in line with Information Governance protocols.

Other duties

Promote safeguarding and child protection, and ensure that the wellbeing and safety of children and young people is central to all discussions and decisions

Support the Cluster Manager and team members in ensuring the premises provides a safe, clean and secure working environment

Participate in the appraisal and performance review process, ensuring objectives are met and a personal development plan is maintained and evaluated where relevant

Undertake mandatory training and access other relevant learning opportunities

The above list of duties is not intended to be exhaustive. The post holder will be required to undertake any other duties in line with the requirements of the post. The duties and responsibilities may be subject to change, which will be done in discussion with the post holder.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• A relevant professional qualification OR a relevant therapeutic qualification (E)
• A relevant professional qualification would include nursing, occupational therapy, social work, or a similar allied health profession.
• A relevant therapeutic qualification would include a diploma from a BACP-accredited training (or equivalent*) OR a relevant HCPC-registered title (i.e. art therapist, arts psychotherapist, drama therapist, counselling psychologist, clinical psychologist).
• *NB Equivalent therapy qualifications from non-accredited courses should be of a level that would be recognised for professional accreditation purposes and sufficient to practise as a counsellor/therapist (i.e. minimum of 450 taught hours over at least 1 year full-time or 2 years part-time, supervised practice within a therapeutic organisation, with teaching which covered elements of theory, skills practice, professional issues and personal development).

Desirable

• Post-registration training in relevant evidence-based/NICE guideline-indicated mental health interventions (e.g. CBT, brief family work, group work) (D)

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working in a CAMHS setting or equivalent service working therapeutically with children and young people (E)
• A minimum of 1 years post-qualification experience of working with children and young people with emotional/behavioural issues (E)
• Experience of working collaboratively with children and young people across different age groups with a range of presenting mental health difficulties (E)
• Experience in the delivery of short-term supportive approaches (e.g. CBT, brief solution-focused therapy, family work, creative/play interventions etc) (E)
• Experience of demonstrating outcomes in client work, and in using monitoring, evaluation, and wellbeing measurement systems (e.g. Goodmans SDQ) (E)
• Experience in carrying out comprehensive mental health assessments including assessment of risk, analysis of strengths and protective factors (E)
• Experience in assessing child protection concerns and the ability to act on these in accordance with relevant safeguarding procedures (E)

Desirable

• Experience of delivering training (D)
• Experience of organising and delivering groups (D)

Knowledge

Essential

• Knowledge of initiatives, priorities and agendas facing staff working in schools & childrens services, such as CAF/Early Help Initiative, Children & Young Peoples Plan, Child Protection Plan etc (E)

Desirable

• Knowledge of the Leeds area and local services including CAMHS, children & family services, and other relevant agencies (D)

Skills

Essential

• Ability to provide advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals on matters of childrens mental health and emotional wellbeing (E)
• Ability to work positively and inclusively with families while retaining the confidentiality and privacy of young people (E)
• Ability to participate in a multi-agency approach around matters of importance to childrens wellbeing (e.g. NHS, social services and other universal services) (E)
• Ability to write positive and professional reports and letters (e.g. referral letters, discharge summaries) (E)

Desirable

• Fluent in languages other than English (D)

Professional registration/membership

Essential

• The relevant qualifications, experience and willingness to achieve registration/membership with a relevant professional body within 12 months (E)

Desirable

• Registration/membership with a relevant professional body (e.g. NMC registered, GSCC registered, HCPC registered, BACP membership, UKCP registered) (D)
• Accreditation with a professional body (e.g. BACP accredited) (D)

Other

Desirable

• Car driver with clean driving license and access to own vehicle (D)

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Northpoint Wellbeing Ltd

Address

Northpoint Wellbeing Ltd

Hunslet Road

Leeds

LS10 1JN

Employer's website

https://northpoint.org.uk (Opens in a new tab)