MH Practitioner / Specialist CAMH Social Worker

Are you a Social Worker with significant experience of working in CAMH Services and interested in progressing your career?

We are offering an exciting opportunity for a dynamic, ambitious, and motivated Social Worker to undertake our Band 7 to Band 8a Training and Progression Pathway.

The post holder will be supported to undertake training and gain experience in:

- One or more therapeutic modalities
- Advanced/ Specialist assessment (including physical health care) and the use of standardised assessment tools such ADI-r and ADOS
- Leadership and supervision
- Service Development
- Audit/Research/Quality Improvement
- Teaching and training

On successful completion of this training and demonstrating the advanced clinical skills and leadership skills necessary for the post, the post holder will progress to a Band 8a Highly Specialist Social Worker.

This role is located within the Alliance CAMH Crisis Care Team, which works flexibly across the boroughs of Ealing, Hounslow, Hammersmith and Fulham.

Main duties of the job

You will participate and lead on the delivery of clinical care for patients across the crisis pathway. You will ideally have experience in inpatient or crisis care. You will carry out specialist assessments of children and young people with severe and complex mental health presentations and will document the outcome of these assessments, providing formulation, diagnosis, and recommendations for interventions. In addition, he/she will offer a range of individual, family and group therapeutic interventions, including risk management, appropriate for children and young people attending the service. You will show initiative, demonstrate excellent leadership skills, be a team player and communicate ideas clearly to both professionals and young people alike. You need to be flexible and have the necessary skills and experience to provide high quality care that is both evidence based and client focussed. Additionally, you will need to demonstrate supervision and leadership skills

Working for our organisation

West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse providers of mental health, community and social care in the UK.

Our 3,982 staff care for people in hospital and in the community, helping them to recover and go on to lead full and productive lives. We aim to be the best organisation of our kind in the country.

We provide care and treatment for more than 800,000 people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow, delivering services in the community (at home, in GP surgeries and care homes), hospital, specialist clinics and forensic (secure) units.

We’re rated good overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Together, we’re committed to promoting hope and wellbeing, working with patients, service users, carers, families and partners across the communities we serve.

We are keen to ensure that our workforce reflects the community it serves, particularly in terms of ethnicity, gender, disability, LGBTQ+ and experience of mental illness.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post holder will provide specialised CAMHS assessment and therapeutic interventions as well as risk management work for children and young people presenting with complex and severe mental health problems.

The post holder will work in partnership with children, young people, their families, carers and significant others. They will also engage with statutory and voluntary agencies to develop networks to ensure that the needs of young people with acute, complex, long-standing and/or severe mental health problems are appropriately assessed, contained, and treated, and that the quality of life and competence of the young people and families involved are enhanced during the course of their work.

The post holder will provide an accessible, high-quality mental health assessment and intervention for children and young people that is sensitive to their cultural, ethnic, religious, contextual, family and developmental needs. The post holder will promote mental health, well-being and personal and family growth. There will be an emphasis on working towards client goals, giving the client informed choices, as well as using appropriate, evidence-based available resources and treatment packages.

The post holder will offer specialist advice and consultation to other professionals across a range of agencies including: primary care, social care, and education. They will also provide support, clinical supervision and teaching of staff and students.

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for more detailed information on the job role.
Person specification
Qualifications and Training
Essential criteria

- Qualification in Social Work (degree or DipSW) with additional therapeutic qualifications
- This should be supplemented by other specialist training and short courses.
- Current professional registration: Social Work England (SWE).
- Evidence of accredited courses in child and adolescent mental health practice
- First or higher degree in appropriate subject area or equivalent post registration training and experience.

Desirable criteria

- Relevant post graduate qualification in Mental Health related field
- Qualifications/ training in specialist skills e.g. systemic therapies, CBT, Family Intervention. Evidence based group work e.g. DBT

Experience
Essential criteria

- Demonstrable experience of assessment and working therapeutically with children, adolescents and their families within a mental health setting.
- Demonstrable experience of assessment and working therapeutically with children, adolescents and their families within a community mental health setting. Experience of working in a number of ways i.e. assertive outreach, clinic based settings, home, school or other appropriate environments
- Experience of using therapeutic skills, such as CBT, Solution Focused Therapy, Family Work
- Experience of interagency and multidisciplinary working
- Experience of assessing risk and formulating safe and effective risk management plans
- Clinical Supervision / Reflective Practice

Desirable criteria

- Experience of teaching other professionals
- Experience of management of child protection emergencies
- Experience of therapeutic work with children and families where abuse or neglect has occurred
- Experience of audit and/or research
- Experience of contributing to and implementing new service developments

Knowledge and Skills
Essential criteria

- Knowledge of legislation relevant to the Children’s Act 2004, Mental Health Act 1983 & Safeguarding Guidelines
- A sound working knowledge and application of relevant professional code, i.e. professional Code of Practice – SWE, BASW
- Knowledge of the legal issues relating to consent and capacity in children and young people.
- An awareness and understanding of the issues facing, children, adolescents and their families
- Knowledge of the various assessment tools used in CAMHS
- Knowledge of the Care Plan Approach
- Excellent communication skills
- Skills in communicating with children, adolescents and their families or carers
- The ability to present and communicate complex information
- Good organisational and prioritising skills
- Ability to work autonomously as well as part of a team
- Flexible approach Good team player Able to manage risk
- A good understanding of, and ability to use, clinical supervision
- A high level of self-awareness and capacity to reflect
- Ability to contain the anxieties of severely unwell young people and their parents

Other requirements
Essential criteria

- Evidence of continuing professional development as expected by your professional body
- Flexible approach to work