Advanced Mental Health Practitioner

Reading, South East England, United Kingdom Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The "must haves" for this role:

1. Qualification in one of the core mental health professions - Nurse, OT, Social Worker.
2. Experience in Children's Mental Health services.
3. The ability to manage complexity.
4. Training or experience in risk assessment and management.

For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification. We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted. For further application tips - see the help with your application document attached once you click apply.

If you're someone who shares our passion for excellence and care, you belong at Berkshire Healthcare!

We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please don't hesitate to contact: Christina Subrai by email on [email removed] who'll be delighted to help.

We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics. Reasonable adjustments will be made for disabled applicants where required.

Person specification

Education/Qualifications/Training

Essential criteria

• To have undertaken a qualification in one of the core mental health professions with associated professional registration including: Nursing qualification and registration as RMN, RNLD, RNC by NMC OR Social Worker with Social Work England registration OR Occupational Therapy registered by HCPC

Continuous Professional Development

Essential criteria

• Demonstrates a commitment to ongoing professional development relevant to Mental Health and CAMHS, evidenced through up-to-date CPD activities and certification.
• Provides clear evidence of specific training, experience, and/or interest in the service area, including work with service users presenting with significant or severe mental health difficulties, particularly children and adolescents.
• Training or experience in risk assessment and management, including crisis intervention.

Desirable criteria

• Additional training in evidence-based psychological approaches (e.g. CBT skills, DBT skills, Systemic approaches, trauma-informed care).
• Relevant postgraduate qualification or equivalent level short courses, such as: Practice Assessor qualification OR Training in clinical supervision and appraisals

Previous Experience

Essential criteria

• Strong knowledge of, and significant experience in, mental health practice, including working with CYP presenting with a range of emotional, behavioural, and psychological needs.
• Demonstrated experience of managing highly distressing or emotionally charged situations, including serious mental illness, child abuse including physical/sexual/exploitation, and complex family dynamics
• Experiencing of working with complex situations concerning safeguarding and risk management including understanding of safeguarding legislation, guidance, and multiagency working.
• Demonstrated experience of working assertively with CYP to support their engagement in therapeutic activities.
• Significant experience of working with and knowledge of neurodevelopmental conditions (e.g., ASD, ADHD) and their impact on mental health.
• Experience of working with, and addressing issues of diversity, including experience of working with diversity, multiculturalism, and equality of access to service.
• Demonstrated experience of working effectively within a multidisciplinary team, contributing to collaborative decision-making and high-quality, integrated care.
• Proven ability to work both as an effective team member and independently, using own initiative to make sound clinical decisions without direct supervision.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of autonomously managing a caseload in a community mental health setting.
• Experience of service development and carrying out clinical audit, supporting research and applying the findings.
• Experience or training in delivering group interventions.
• Familiarity with ROMs and outcome monitoring tools.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

Essential criteria

• Ability to manage difficult situations with service users that have complex presentations and/or challenging behaviours and to manage a demanding and complex caseload.
• Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, technical and/or sensitive information to service users, their carers/families and other professional colleagues, both within and outside the NHS.
• Well-developed interpersonal skills, with the ability to support, influence and engage with clinicians, stakeholders and service users to create change and improvement.
• The ability and skills to act as an advocate for the service, to engage and foster good professional relationships with all health professionals in promoting the good integration of this service with the wider health care system.
• Ability to confidently cope well under pressure, resolve issues and competing demands, with excellent time management skills and an ability to respond constructively to challenge or resistance, applying practical problem-solving skills in everyday and complex situations.
• Advanced IT skills and the ability to navigate various systems and software packages (such as RiO, Outlook, databases, MS office/Teams, One Consultation and the internet).

Additional Requirements

Essential criteria

• Able to work flexibly around working patterns as required.
• Able to travel independently between locations in Berkshire Healthcare geographical area to fulfil the requirements and duties of the position.

Our Trust's vision is 'To be a great place to get care, a great place to give care.'
This vision guides everything we do - for our patients, their carers, their families, our staff, and our partners. To achieve it, we are committed to a strong set of values that underpin the way we work:

• Caring for and about you is our top priority - we put people at the centre of everything we do.
• Committed to providing good quality, safe services - we strive for excellence in care and in our ways of working.
• Working together with you to develop innovative solutions - we collaborate with patients, carers, colleagues, and communities to deliver care that makes a difference.

These values are brought to life through our four Trust Behaviours, which are essential to how we work and the culture we create:

• Compassionate - Motivated to positively impact the wellbeing of self and others.
• Curious - Listening, learning and exploring new ideas and ways of working to continually improve what we do.
• Inclusive - Valuing diversity and championing equity by ensuring everyone feels recognised.
  able to contribute and committed to actively addressing unfairness.
• Perseverance - Demonstrates resilience and flexibility even during periods of uncertai