Job summary
Employer heading
Mental Health Practitioner
Band 6
Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust is a provider of specialist health care and has a presence in community outreach sites and, in collaboration with other providers, our clinicians help deliver care closer to patients’ homes by holding local clinics at locations from Cumbria to Shropshire, in Wales and the Isle of Man. The Trust also provides inpatient care for children with complex mental health needs at our Sunflower House building newly relocated, and opened on the hospital site.
We currently have more than 4,000 staff working across our community and hospital sites. We’re also a teaching and training hospital providing education and training to around 540 medical and over 500 nursing and allied health professional students each year.
As black and minority ethnic (BME) employees are currently under-represented in this area, we particularly welcome applications from members of our BME communities. All appointments will be made on merit.
You can expect a warm welcome at Alder Hey Childrens NHS Foundation Trust, our staff are friendly and welcoming. We listen to each other and work together to embed our Trusts values and behaviours. At Alder Hey we appreciate our staff and reward them with an outstanding benefits package including:
- Great flexible working opportunities
- Lease car scheme and Home Electronics Scheme
- Generous annual leave and pension scheme
- Extensive staff health and well-being programmes
Job overview
Liverpool Mental Health Support Teams (MHST) at Alder Hey are looking for maternity cover for a Mental Health Practitioners.
As a B6 Mental Health Practitioner (MHP) you will work across a range of educational, healthcare and community settings to provide early intervention/evidence based interventions for children and young people and their families, enabling children and young people to access support in schools.
The successful candidates will have already undertaken further training in one of the IAPT modalities (CBT, SFP and IPTA is desirable) and will undertake direct work with children and young people, families and carers as well as education providers. In addition, the post holder will deliver training and work with education providers to develop the Whole School and College Approach.
The post holders may also provide supervision to our Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHP’s). From April 24 2024, EMHPs will be required to be registered with either British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) or the British Psychological Society (BPS).
Main duties of the job
To communicate to the client and family, knowledge of therapeutic processes, confidentiality and available options involved in their assessment and care plan, to enable them to engage appropriately from a position of informed consent. This will sometimes include communication about highly sensitive material and outcomes.
Utilising analytical skills, specialist knowledge and experience provide a comprehensive assessment and formulation of the presenting problem taking into account the child’s educational attainment, chronological/ developmental stage, inner world/ emotional wellbeing, the mental health of the child’s parents, the family dynamics and environment, and the broader social context including school.
Develop a planned programme of intervention utilising behavioural, cognitive, psychodynamic and systemic perspectives as indicated by the formulation, the needs of the client and the evidence base.
Provide individual, couple, family and group interventions as appropriate as part of a client's integrated, therapeutic programme.
Undertake with supervision/consultation, case management of cases of some severity, risk and complexity, co-ordinating multi-disciplinary inputs and working in partnership with other agencies where appropriate.
Working for our organisation
Alder Hey has already earned our place as one of the world’s leading children’s hospitals, thanks to innovation and pioneering medical work. We treat 250,000 young patients a year and have a broad range of hospital and community services, serving the local population of children, as well as being a tertiary referral centre for children from across Merseyside, Cheshire and parts of Lancashire, Shropshire and North Wales.
We would welcome applications from people from diverse backgrounds as our ambition is that our workforce is fully reflective of the communities that we serve. Alder Hey is signed up to the disability confident scheme.
Alder Hey are offering excellent benefit schemes;
Refer a friend – Alder Hey staff
Successful candidates who are introduced to the trust by existing staff members will receive £1000 after completion of six months in post. Please include the name/Alder Hey email for your friend in the additional information section of your application.
This will be paid in two parts, £250 in first month pay on commencement in post, and £750 on completion of six months.
Accommodation
Alder Hey will support the cost of accommodation for up to 3 months from the date of employment (up to £500 per month)
The cost is to be paid by the staff member and reclaimed as expenses.
Relocation package
Relocation packages to support new hires and will be consulted on an individual basis, please link in with [email protected] for further information.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The post holder will provide a substantial contribution to the clinical work of the team, including accepting, prioritising, assessing, and treating referrals of children and their families. Initially this will be at a level to be agreed with the candidate but over time they will take full case management responsibility for their case load.
In addition, they may provide consultation, under supervision, to professionals from other services and participate in service development. The proportion of direct clinical work, consultation and service development work undertaken will be negotiated with the clinical team manager and the professional head.
Please see the attached job description for further detail about main responsibilities.
Person specification
Education and Training
Essential criteria
- Qualified in core profession such as Mental Health Nurse (RMN/RLD), Mental Health Practitioner, Clinical Psychologist, Occupational Therapy, Social Work or creative therapies e.g. Art Therapy - with proof of relevant professional registration Or Recognised degree level broad based health & social care qualification which will require completion of The British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) Knowledge Skills and Attributes
- Training in child & family mental health related field
- Two years’ experience of post graduate work in core profession / following qualification
- Two years’ experience working collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary setting
- Experienced in and able to demonstrate proficiency in case management responsibility
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working in child and adolescent mental health services.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Able to demonstrate application of therapeutic and analytical skills
- Able to demonstrate ability to be self-reflective in relation to practice.
- Able to provide, (with appropriate supervision), assessment of emergency/ self-harming behaviour.
- Must demonstrate a working knowledge of health, education, social services and the voluntary sector.
- Knowledge of relevant, current legislation.
- Knowledge of safety factors in management of self-harming behaviours and child protection issues
- An understanding of principles underlying psychodynamic, systemic, cognitive and behavioural therapies.
- Working knowledge of child development
- Awareness of recent government initiatives
- Organisational skills to manage and prioritise workload balance appropriately
- Able to demonstrate a commitment to the overall vision and the development of the professional group of mental health practitioners
- Must demonstrate utilisation of professional development planning in own career progression
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge of audit and evaluation methodology
Personal Attributes
Essential criteria
- Must demonstrate utilisation of professional development planning in own career progression
- Must show enthusiasm and appreciation for multi[1]disciplinary and multi-agency working
- Must demonstrate a professional manner
- Must demonstrate a high level of communication skills commensurate with the nature of clinical and professional contacts required of the post
- Works within professional ethics and Trust policies
- Accountable for own professional actions
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Steve Gowland
- Job title
- Service Manager MHST
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07890398107
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