South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Peer Support Worker

The closing date is 04 August 2025

Job summary

'Let's Talk': Multisite Randomised Controlled Trial of a peer-delivered intervention for internalised stigma in psychosis patients

Applications are invited for 2 or more Band 5 part-time Peer Support Workers (PSWs) for 1 year in first instance (SLaM).A job-share will be possible (minimum: 0.4wte (2 days a week); maximum: 0.8wte (4 days)). PSWs will be responsible for delivering a support intervention for addressing stigma in people with psychosis, under supervision.

The post is an exciting opportunity to be part of a new NIHR-funded trial, 'Let's Talk', following a pilot study (Pyle et al, 2024). It will evaluate the intervention at 4 sites: South and North-East London, Avon & Wiltshire, and Manchester. It is led by experts in the field of Psychosis, Peer Support and Stigma research (Melissa Pyle and Tony Morrison at Manchester (lead site); Emmanuelle Peters at London site). We have a strong Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) team leading the research. The intervention is adapted from the Honest, Open and Proud Programme (HOPP): To Erase the Stigma in Mental Illness, originally developed in the US.

You will be part of a local team of 2 Research Workers, PSWs, a Clinical Psychologist and a Prof of Clinical Psychology, and a national team across sites. You will be trained in the delivery of the intervention, underpinned by Peer Support principles. You will have regular supervision and the opportunity to work on a trial that will advance the field of stigma research.

Main duties of the job

You will be primarily responsible for delivering a semi-structured intervention for people with psychosis who are experiencing internalised stigma, and who report concerns about talking about their psychosis experiences or concealing their experiences because of stigma.

You will also work jointly with the Research Workers in liaising with clinical services and voluntary services across the Trust to raise the profile of the study and aid recruitment of trial participants.

You will have lived experience of psychosis and experience of working in a relevant peer support role. You will be able to work in an independent and autonomous fashion handling a diverse caseload. You will uphold peer values of supporting and promoting recovery as an expert-by-experience led concept, emphasise hope and optimism, value learning through lived experience and focus on strengths rather than deficits.

You will be managed and supervised on a weekly basis by the Clinical Psychologist on the London team, and a Peer Specialist at the lead site. Initial training will be provided by the Manchester site. You will work closely with the London team, including researchers, clinicians and experts-by-experience, attending and participating in monthly site meetings.

As the post may involve travel across SlaM, the ability to travel independently of the public transport system is important.

The posts will be for a fixed term of 12 months initially, but there is a good chance of extension for a second year.

About us

By coming to work at SLaM, you will gain experience of being part of an organisation with a rich history and international reputation in mental health care. There is an extensive range of excellent benefits for you including:

  • Generous pay, pensions and leave, we offer a comprehensive pay, pensions and leave package which is dependent on the role and length of service.
  • Work life balance, flexible working and support a range of flexible options, such as: part-time working and job sharing.
  • Career development, There are plenty of opportunities to progress your career and we support your development through a number of programmes such as mentoring, coaching, positive people management, collective leadership and other talent programmes
  • Car lease, our staff benefits from competitive deals to lease cars
  • Accommodation, our staff benefits from keyworker housing available which is available on selected sites
  • NHS discounts, with discounts up to 10% from a variety of well-known retail brands though Health Service Discounts website.

Other benefits include:

  • Counselling services
  • Wellbeing events
  • Long service awards
  • Cycle to work scheme
  • Season ticket loan
  • Childcare vouchers
  • Staff restaurants

For a full list of our benefits please visit: https://www.slam.nhs.uk/media/421262/Working%20at%20SLaM.pdf

Details

Date posted

28 July 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 5

Salary

£37,259 to £45,356 a year per annum incl. of HCAs pro rata

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Part-time, Job share, Flexible working

Reference number

334-CLI-7371056

Job locations

Middle House, Maudsley Hospital

Denmark Hill

London

SE5 8AZ


Job description

Job responsibilities

See attached document, but in brief:

The role of the Peer Support Workers (PSW) has been developed specifically for individuals who have lived experience of psychosis and internalised stigma with associated impact on wellbeing. You will have gained experience of a peer support role and be ready and able to support other colleagues through a supervised, structured psychological intervention. You will have experience of working with people who have been in mental health services and have the ability to carry a caseload of people who may live with multiple unmet needs.

Through sharing wisdom informed by experience and knowledge you will:

Support and promote recovery as a user led concept

Emphasise hope and optimism, individual aspirations and goals

Value experiential learning

Focus on strengths rather than deficits

Foster collaboration between those who need support and those who support them as an alternative to coercion

Enable and promote autonomy and self-management

Job description

Job responsibilities

See attached document, but in brief:

The role of the Peer Support Workers (PSW) has been developed specifically for individuals who have lived experience of psychosis and internalised stigma with associated impact on wellbeing. You will have gained experience of a peer support role and be ready and able to support other colleagues through a supervised, structured psychological intervention. You will have experience of working with people who have been in mental health services and have the ability to carry a caseload of people who may live with multiple unmet needs.

Through sharing wisdom informed by experience and knowledge you will:

Support and promote recovery as a user led concept

Emphasise hope and optimism, individual aspirations and goals

Value experiential learning

Focus on strengths rather than deficits

Foster collaboration between those who need support and those who support them as an alternative to coercion

Enable and promote autonomy and self-management

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • oRecognised competency-based qualification in a relevant subject (e.g. NVQ, B-TEC QCF, Apprenticeship), or equivalent demonstrable experience

Experience

Essential

  • Lived experience of psychosis.
  • Experience of receiving mental health services for people with psychosis.
  • Experience of, or feeling comfortable with, talking about their lived experience with peers and colleagues.
  • Experience of working in a relevant peer support role.
  • Experience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities. This may have been gained through work, research, volunteering and / or lived experience.
  • Experience of using a range of self-management or recovery tools and techniques
  • Evidence of pro social behaviour (e.g. empathy, actions that benefit others)

Desirable

  • Experience of training, teaching, coaching/mentoring others
  • Experience of liaison with or working/volunteering within clinical services in the NHS, ideally Early Interventions Teams or Community Mental Health Teams
  • Experience of working with individuals using motivational techniques

Knowledge/skills

Essential

  • Good knowledge of the problems experienced by and the needs of people experiencing stigma and psychosis.
  • Demonstrate an interest in and enthusiasm for working with people with psychosis, and for addressing mental health stigma and discrimination
  • Awareness of equality, diversity and inclusion issues
  • Self-sufficient: able to work in an independent and autonomous fashion handling a diverse caseload
  • Skills to support people who may be distressed and vulnerable, and manage risk appropriately, with support from supervisor.
  • Seeks to continuously improve their approach, using reflective learning and suggesting ideas to their supervisor.
  • Good written, verbal and non-verbal communication skills.
  • Ability to use IT systems.
  • Ability to maintain concentration and to remain in restricted positions for long periods during psychological interventions.
  • Professional in appearance and behaviour
  • Able to manage conflict and to help others to do so.
  • Ability to manage stress and to plan and prioritise workload.
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • oRecognised competency-based qualification in a relevant subject (e.g. NVQ, B-TEC QCF, Apprenticeship), or equivalent demonstrable experience

Experience

Essential

  • Lived experience of psychosis.
  • Experience of receiving mental health services for people with psychosis.
  • Experience of, or feeling comfortable with, talking about their lived experience with peers and colleagues.
  • Experience of working in a relevant peer support role.
  • Experience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities. This may have been gained through work, research, volunteering and / or lived experience.
  • Experience of using a range of self-management or recovery tools and techniques
  • Evidence of pro social behaviour (e.g. empathy, actions that benefit others)

Desirable

  • Experience of training, teaching, coaching/mentoring others
  • Experience of liaison with or working/volunteering within clinical services in the NHS, ideally Early Interventions Teams or Community Mental Health Teams
  • Experience of working with individuals using motivational techniques

Knowledge/skills

Essential

  • Good knowledge of the problems experienced by and the needs of people experiencing stigma and psychosis.
  • Demonstrate an interest in and enthusiasm for working with people with psychosis, and for addressing mental health stigma and discrimination
  • Awareness of equality, diversity and inclusion issues
  • Self-sufficient: able to work in an independent and autonomous fashion handling a diverse caseload
  • Skills to support people who may be distressed and vulnerable, and manage risk appropriately, with support from supervisor.
  • Seeks to continuously improve their approach, using reflective learning and suggesting ideas to their supervisor.
  • Good written, verbal and non-verbal communication skills.
  • Ability to use IT systems.
  • Ability to maintain concentration and to remain in restricted positions for long periods during psychological interventions.
  • Professional in appearance and behaviour
  • Able to manage conflict and to help others to do so.
  • Ability to manage stress and to plan and prioritise workload.

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Additional information

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Middle House, Maudsley Hospital

Denmark Hill

London

SE5 8AZ


Employer's website

https://www.slam.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer details

Employer name

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Middle House, Maudsley Hospital

Denmark Hill

London

SE5 8AZ


Employer's website

https://www.slam.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Professor of Clinical Psychology

Emmanuelle Peters

emmanuelle.peters@kcl.ac.uk

Details

Date posted

28 July 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 5

Salary

£37,259 to £45,356 a year per annum incl. of HCAs pro rata

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Part-time, Job share, Flexible working

Reference number

334-CLI-7371056

Job locations

Middle House, Maudsley Hospital

Denmark Hill

London

SE5 8AZ


Supporting documents

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