A Vacancy at Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust.
The role of theEating Disorders Peer Support Worker – Outpatient Therapy Team(Eating Disorders PSW) has been developed specifically for people who have lived experienceof recovery from a/an eating disorder(s) such asanorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and avoidant restrictive food intake disorder.In the context of CNWL’s Eating Disorders Servicepostholders will have experienced recovery from disordered eating challengesand accessed support through an eating disorders service in relation to this.As this post will be based in the Outpatient Therapy Team, it would be desirable, but notrequired,for the postholder to have accessed a structured therapy such as CBT, MANTRA, or CAT.Through sharing wisdom from their own experiences, Eating Disorders PSWs inspire hope and belief that recovery is possible in others.Using recovery principles and socially inclusive practice, the post-holder will support service users in their personal recovery journeys through the Eating Disorders Service. This means providing peer support for adults and young people who are currently receiving clinical support for their eating disorder.
Organisational Work
• Promote development of best practices in peer support and Lived Experience Practice across the service through active participation in internal and external training and development programmes.
• Work with the multi-disciplinary teams across both the adult and child and adolescent eating disorder service in the support of people accessing eating disorder services, ensuring the needs of individuals accessing the service are met through promoting strengths-based practice.
Lived Experience Specialist Work
• Model/mentor a recovery process, inspire hope, anddemonstrateself-management skills and techniques by skillfully using own experience of recovery.
• Support service users in making sense of their experiences of eating disorders and recovery. This might include understandings of personal and social recovery, health and wellbeing, personal and social identity whilstrecognisingthateach individual’srecovery is a distinctive and deeply personal process.
• Engage in self-reflective practices and commit to continued personal development.
Learning and Development
• Toparticipatein Trust mandatory training & development opportunities consideredappropriate tothe Eating Disorders PSW role and asidentifiedin the Personal Development Plan (PDP).
• Undertake the accredited ‘Developing Expertise in Peer Support’ Level 4 module.
The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.
As a core member of a busy multi-disciplinary team, theEating DisordersPSWwillcarry out some generic duties,which will include supporting patients who may be on close observations,undertaking andrecording physical health checks, andsupportingpatients duringmeal times.
TheEating DisordersPSWwill take a lead role in embedding recovery values within the service setting in whichthey work, alongside other Trust recovery champions, and act as an ambassador of recovery forthe Trust with external agencies and partner organisations.
TheEating DisordersPSWwill alsohave the opportunity toco-work with other colleaguesandthere will be some opportunities for group work.TheEating DisordersPSWwill work under the supervision of line management e.g. Nurse/ OccupationalTherapist.TheEating DisordersPSWwill also co-facilitate Inpatient Recovery Snapshots on a rotational basis.
Hear from our staff what it’s like working with our CNWL Eating Disorders service, please CLICK HERE to watch the video
Organisational Work
• Be committed to professional development through independent learning, keeping up to date with latest research and building connections with local and national peer networks.
• Promote development of best practices in peer support and Lived Experience Practice across the service through active participation in internal and external training and development programmes.
• Supervision requirements –Following the probationperiod, the Eating Disorders PSW will havemonthly 1-1 supervision with clinical line managerandmonthly 1-1 supervision with peer supervisor. Prior to this, and in any other periods whereadditionalsupport is needed, the frequency of supervisions can bereasonablyadjusted.
• Eating Disorder PSWs will also have group supervision every 2-months with PSWs from other CNWL services as well as fortnightly staff group with the therapy team.
• Work with the multi-disciplinary teams across both the adult and child and adolescent eating disorder service in the support of people accessing eating disorder services, ensuring the needs of individuals accessing the service are met through promoting strengths-based practice.
• Attend team meetings and contribute to the assessment, planning, and implementation and review of care with the multi-disciplinary team.
• Attendclinical, business & service development meetings asrequired.
• Assistin the development and implementation of educational and peerfacilitatedsupport groups and activities.
• Make notes of date,lengthand type of all contacts with services users in the locally agreed format.
• Ensuretimelyandaccuraterecording of clinical related data and information on the electronic patient record system.
• Monitor the service user’s progress, level of functioning, and mental state, reporting progress and areas of concern to the multi-disciplinary team (verbally and on theSystmOneelectronic record.
• Report any untoward incidents or unusual occurrences to the manager/senior clinicianimmediately.
• Maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and localpoliciesand issues in relation to eating disorders, peer support, CarersActand mental health.
• Be aware of, teach others and challenge issues in relation to stigma, lowexpectationsand anti-discriminatory practice asappropriate.
• Read and understand statutory requirements of the Mental Health Act 1983 and the Children’s Act.
Lived Experience Specialist Work
• Respect integrity, confidentiality, clinicalgovernanceand data protection requirements in line with Trust policy.
• Have responsibility for relevant safeguarding issues in relation to service users and their network, including makingdifficult decisionsas a team adhering to the Trust’s Safeguarding policy.
• Engage in self-reflective practices and commit to continued personal development.
• Establish supportive and respectful relationships with people using eating disorders services.
• Model/mentor a recovery process, inspire hope, anddemonstrateself-management skills and techniquesby skillfullyusing own experience of recovery.
• Assume a ‘coaching role’supporting users in developing personal recovery plans;this can be delivered individually or in groups.
• Support service users in making sense of their experiences of eating disorders and recovery. This might include understandings of personal and social recovery, health and wellbeing, personal and social identity whilstrecognisingthateach individual’srecovery is a distinctive and deeply personal process.
• Facilitatethe individual to move through and beyond services.
• Accept and respect serviceuserspersonal beliefs,uniquenessand identity.
• Accompanyservice users to appointments/meetings/activities of their choice and performing a range of practical tasks aligned to recovery goals.
• Sign-postindividualsto various resources, opportunities and activities within the Trust and the community to promote choice and informed decision making.
• Positively promote and support service users in the community bymaintainingextensive knowledge and links with community resources and actively supporting service users to access opportunities of their choice.
• Communicate with patients/clients and carers with empathy,reassuranceand tact.
• Support the service user to prepare for meetingsregardingtheir caree.g.assessments.
• Help service users to access information on health promotion, mental and physical wellbeing.
• Assistthe service user to understand their rights and choices within the service.
• Challenge any inequalities and to address any discrimination whilst ensuring a process of learning for theorganisation, modelling positive, strengths-based, non-discriminatory, non-jargon, non-medicalisedlanguage in all areas of work.
• Participatein and deliver Recovery Collegeprogrammeswhereappropriate.
• Raise the profile of peer support both within CNWL, and externally, through co-delivery of presentations, workshops, and participation in Trust wide peer related projects and audits: and information sharing asrequiredand as agreed with the line manager.
• Maintainprofessional relationships with particular attention to confidentiality and the maintenance of boundaries.
General Responsibilities
• Workin accordance withCNWL’s Trust Values, Aims and Objectives.
• To act as an ambassador for the Trust with external agencies and partnerorganisations.
• Workat all timesto promote equality, diversity,inclusivityand justice.As well asindividual human rights.
• Be efficient, responsible andmaintaina high levelof personalorganisation; keepingaccurateandappropriate recordsand providing information for monitoring and evaluation asrequired.
• Toprioritiseyour own personal wellbeing, and to seek support if issues arise with work-life balance.
• Work flexibly, being prepared to perform other dutiescommensuratewith the role which may include new areas of operation followingconsultation.
• Work alongside and ensure active service user andcarerparticipationin all aspects of work including design,implementationand monitoring of activities.
Learning and Development
General Responsibilities
• Workin accordance withCNWL’s Trust Values, Aims and Objectives.
• To act as an ambassador for the Trust with external agencies and partnerorganisations.
• Workat all timesto promote equality, diversity,inclusivityand justice.As well asindividual human rights.
• Be efficient, responsible andmaintaina high levelof personalorganisation; keepingaccurateandappropriate recordsand providing information for monitoring and evaluation asrequired.
• Toprioritiseyour own personal wellbeing, and to seek support if issues arise with work-life balance.
• Work flexibly, being prepared to perform other dutiescommensuratewith the role which may include new areas of operation followingconsultation.
• Work alongside and ensure active service user andcarerparticipationin all aspects of work including design,implementationand monitoring of activities.
Learning and development
• Toparticipatein Trust mandatory training & development opportunities consideredappropriate totheEating Disorders PSWrole and asidentifiedin the Personal Development Plan (PDP).
• Undertake the accredited ‘Developing Expertise in Peer Support’ Level 4 module.
• To contribute and commit to undertaking an annualdevelopment review/ Appraisal.
• To receive regular line management supervision in addition to discipline specific supervision.
This advert closes on Friday 11 Apr 2025
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