Specialist Mental Health Practitioner
Job overview
We are looking for an innovative and motivated Specialist Mental Health Practitioner to work in the developing Mental Health Treatment Requirement (MHTR) Service.
The MHTR Service aims to improve the opportunities for an individual who is in the Criminal Justice System to access psychological therapies/intervention. The MHTR is a Community Treatment Order: a form of diversion within rather than away from the criminal justice system, providing meaningful treatment provision outside of custody and inpatient settings .The service treatment aims to offer an individual the opportunity to access and engage in individualised psychological therapies, improving health and social outcomes and addressing the underlying cause of offending behaviour.
If you would like a challenge and the opportunity to be an inclusive, creative clinician, this job may be for you.
Main duties of the job
This is a new development within Notts Healthcare and is a great opportunity to work in a developing service for service users within the criminal justice system, creating the best opportunity for supporting their engagement with services and helping to break the cycle of offending.
The MHTR service comprises of a team of psychologically informed practitioners, led by an accredited psychologist (Clinical Lead). This role will include supporting and working alongside service users in a collaborative, therapeutic partnership and participation in the development and provision therapeutic activities/psycho-educational programmes and self-management interventions.The Specialist Mental Health Practitioner will likely work with the more complex service users.
In this role, the Mental Health Practitioner will undertake screening, assessment and case formulation relating to service users referred into the service. The role will also include signposting to other service/3rd party organisations so good links with the local community are essential.Due to this being a developing service and having interface with a range of services, the post holder will be involved in promotion of the service and supporting the delivering training and awareness of the MHTR.
Working for our organisation
#TeamNottsHC comprises over 11,000 dedicated colleagues who #MakeADifference every day. We deliver intellectual disability, mental health, community health, forensic, and offender healthcare services across Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, and South Yorkshire.Our care is provided from over 200 sites, spanning community locations, acute settings, and secure environments, including prisons.
We are one of the largest mental health and community Trusts in the East Midlands and one of Nottinghamshire's biggest employers. We also host national and regional services, such as the National High Secure Deaf Service and the Nottingham Centre for Transgender Health.
We offer a variety of employee-led staff networks, including Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) groups, the Green Champions network, the Freedom to Speak Up network, the Health and Wellbeing Champions network, and the Menopause Champions network.These networks play a vital role in supporting our diverse workforce and promoting a culture of inclusivity.
The health and wellbeing of our colleagues is a top priority. We invest significantly in this through our in-house occupational health and staff counselling services, supported by a dedicated Health and Wellbeing team.
The Trust is committed to reducing its carbon emissions, with a specialised Energy and Environmental team working to ensure compliance with environmental legislation, enhance our environmental performance, and achieve our net-zero commitment
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
This recently established service operates from the Nottingham City Magistrates Court and Westminster House (home of the community forensic services). The current post sits alongside one Senior Assistant Psychologist post and an Assistant Psychologist/Research Assistant post within a team focused on delivering high quality assessments and psychological interventions. Main duties to include:
Referral – Decision making on suitability of new referrals, adhering to the service referral protocols, signpost/refer unsuitable service users on to the relevant service or back to the referral agent as necessary.
Assessment - To undertake service user centred assessments (inc. risk assessments) and create, with them a shared understanding of their needs and difficulties, using this formulation to identify the most appropriate psychological therapy. Expected to create written reports in relation to assessments, formulations, treatment recommendations and communicate to referrers, the courts and other clinicians.
Active engagement – Facilitate treatment interventions as appropriate and required by the service. This engagement may extend to family/friends/carers of the service users where appropriate/necessary.
Develop good working relationships - To effectively liaise and develop links with services with partner agencies i.e. probation, substance use services, Trust services and 3rd party services etc. To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and procedures in relation to Mental Health, Primary Care Services and Criminal Justice Services.
Support & Supervision of others - Provide clinical supervision and support to junior staff. Plan and provide specialist and core training and education as service/staff needs are identified.
Service evaluation – The Nottingham/Nottinghamshire MHTR service has been identified as an evaluation site. This role will require the post holder to be actively engaged in data collection, collection of routine outcome measures and support Clinical Lead in undertaking periodic evaluations of the service.
Appointed applicants will have access to robust clinical and managerial supervision and career development opportunities. The service is committed to ensuring the staff in the team are well equipped to work with the complex service users accessing the service and so training is well supported and there is a range of access to robust supervision.
Please note that this post does not meet the pay level required for a Skilled worker visa.Successful applicants with no prior NHS experience would normally be placed at the bottom of the band in line with Agenda for Change. This salary is below the minimum salary required for sponsorship for a Skilled Worker / Health & Care visa. In these circumstances the Trust would not, therefore, be able to sponsor for a Skilled Worker / Health & Care visa.
Applicants requiring a Skilled Worker Visa can determine the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship against the relevant criteria here https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa
Person specification
Experience
Essential criteria- Substantial post registration experience of working with individuals of all ages within a healthcare/social care setting.
- Experience and understanding of working in team setting, liaising with colleagues, other agencies and services.
- Experience of having responsibility for planning and delivering a range of therapeutic interventions drawn from different evidence-based models.
- Experience of caseload management.
- Experience and understanding of working in team setting, liaising with colleagues, other agencies and services.
- Experience in delivering clinical supervision to other mental health clinicians.
- Experience of assessing service users with a broad range of mild to moderate mental health issues.
- Experience of working in/alongside the Criminal Justice System.
Qualifications
Essential criteria- Recognised qualification in one of the core mental health professions e.g. psychiatric nursing, clinical psychology, social work and occupational therapy OR other training/significant experience with demonstrable competence to work in the mental health field.
- At least introductory level knowledge of the therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Cognitive Analytic Therapy, Mentalization Based Treatment / or equivalent.
Knowledge and Skills
Essential criteria- Demonstrates an awareness of wide range of vulnerabilities inclusive of mental health/neurodiversity needs.
- Experience of planning and delivering a range of therapeutic interventions.
- Demonstrates an understanding of cultural and diversity needs of individuals.
- Understanding, and experience of, the importance of maintaining boundaries in the workplace.
- Specialist skills to facilitate 1:1 and small group treatment programmes
- Awareness of the MHTR Services.
- Awareness of the interface of the Health, Social Care and Criminal Justice Systems.
- The closing date given is a guide. We reserve the right to close the post early once we have received a sufficient number of applicants, so we advise you to submit your application early to prevent disappointment.
- We will be requesting references by email. Please ensure you include email addresses and contact numbers for your referees to avoid delay in the recruitment process.
- The Trust believes in treating everyone with dignity and respect and encourages applications from all sectors of the community. We guarantee an interview to candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum essential criteria.
- Communication regarding your application will be sent via email therefore, please ensure you regularly check your spam/junk folder.
- In submitting an application form, you authorise Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to confirm from your previous or current NHS employer and other prior employers; previous NHS service details and personal data held about you. This data will be transferred using NHS Electronic Staff Record and third party systems via an automated process and only used for the purposes of obtaining and maintaining accurate employment records, should you be appointed to the post. Should you require any further information please refer our Privacy Policy shown on the Trust website, please click here for more information.
- For eligible posts, DBS disclosures are mandatory before commencement of employment. If you are in a position that is deemed a regulated adult and/or child care role, you will not be able to start your employment until we have received a satisfactory DBS Disclosure. The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Convictions which would otherwise be considered as 'spent' will also be checked as part of an Enhanced DBS Disclosure.