Senior Mental Health Practitioner (Nurse/OT/SW/Psychologist/Therapist)
NHS AfC: Band 7
Main area: Mental Health
Grade: NHS AfC: Band 7
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref: 354-FH-20517
Site: Crawley
Probation Town: Crawley
Salary: £46,148 - £52,809 per annum
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 09/03/2025 23:59
Come and join us
We're looking for people who share our values (compassion, accountability, and optimism) to help us provide high-quality care to the patients, carers, families, and local communities we serve. We specialise in providing NHS mental health and learning disability services.
So what can we offer you in return?
We're an organisation that puts people first. We'll do everything possible to help you feel respected, valued, and included. We'll help you learn, acquire new skills, and gain further experience to support your career development. And we'll provide the opportunity for you to bring your fresh ideas to work about how we can do things differently and continue improving.
As a Trust, we are committed to making a difference. Your development is important to us, so don't forget to ask us during the interview what opportunities we can offer. We can offer fully funded lifelong learning opportunities such as an apprenticeship from GCSE to Masters level.
If you like the sound of that, then come and join our team.
Job overview
Are you excited by the challenge of launching a new service? Following a successful pilot in Brighton, the Reflect Primary Care Mental Health Treatment Requirement Service is ready to expand to Crawley. Reflect is commissioned by NHS England to provide Community Sentence Treatment Requirements in collaboration with the Probation Service and substance use services. The new service will provide Primary Care Mental Health Treatment Requirement for eligible people who are sentenced at Crawley Magistrate Court and county-wide Crown Courts.
You will be based in Crawley Probation and work closely with our partner agencies, the Probation Service and Change, Grow, Live (CGL), to deliver high-quality, evidence-based psychologically informed interventions to an often high-need and marginalised population.
As Senior Mental Health Practitioner, you will be central to the pathway, completing assessments and delivering psychologically informed interventions to the client group. You will have extensive experience in delivering evidence-based brief psychological interventions, including work with complex presentations. You will support the team through formulation, training, and supervision.
Experience of working in the Criminal Justice System and primary care settings is advantageous but not essential.
Main duties of the job
As Senior Mental Health Practitioner/Therapist, you will be central to the MHTR pathway, typically:
1. Completing the initial screening/assessment and agreeing suitability for an MHTR with the Clinical Lead,
2. Delivering, and supporting others to deliver outstanding brief psychologically informed interventions, in individual formats for the client group,
3. Communicating with the Probation Practitioner and relevant partner services throughout the order, and
4. Attending the MHTR steering group and other locally appropriate governance structures.
You will have expertise in delivering evidence-based brief psychological therapies, including working with complex presentations, and be able to support the team and others via formulation and training and by participating in systematic clinical governance.
Working for our organisation
At Sussex Partnership, we are committed to providing opportunities for flexible working. If you would like to work differently or different hours than advertised, please get in touch to discuss this in more detail.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The post holder will be an autonomous practitioner who will carry continuing responsibility for a defined caseload of service users by undertaking the following duties:
1. Operate as a specialist mental health practitioner, providing a specialised range of clinical interventions and able to demonstrate knowledge of models of practice and how to apply these.
2. Provide specialist clinical assessment, formulation, intervention, review, and be proficient in monitoring, evaluating, and modifying treatment to measure progress and ensure effectiveness of interventions.
3. To work closely with Probation and the Court Service and colleagues in the MHTR Service and other services within the Trust in a collaborative way, ensuring that decisions are made that ensure the best care for service users and that there is a seamless pathway.
4. To contribute psychological knowledge and expertise to policy and service development through participation, where practical, in regional multidisciplinary meetings and special interest groups, working parties, etc., that may impact on the functioning of the service.
See Attached JD and PS for full details of the role.
Person specification
Qualifications
* Degree/Diploma in occupational therapy or Nursing/Social Work/Or Doctorate in Clinical Psychology/Clinical training in a relevant Psychological Therapy
* Evidence of post-qualification study
* Registration with the HPC as an occupational therapist/Clinical Psychologist/social worker/Nurse-NMC/Therapist UKCP or BACP
* Training in the use of standardised assessment tools
Knowledge/Experience
* Broad experience of working with clients with a range of mental health problems
* Experience of both group and individual work
* Experience of supervising staff and students
* Experience of Multi-agency work
* Experience in applying a range of assessment tools and a comprehensive knowledge of clinical approaches
Sussex Partnership NHS FT is committed to supporting a diverse workforce that reflects our communities. Our workforce is currently under-represented from Black and Minority, Ethnic and disabled communities and we would welcome applications from these communities.
We regret that we are unable to advise candidates if they have not been shortlisted. If you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have been unsuccessful on this occasion.
In the event of an excessive number of applicants, the Trust reserves the right to close this vacancy earlier than indicated.
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust takes its responsibilities for the safeguarding and protection of children and young people and vulnerable adults very seriously and expects this of all its employees and bank workers. The Trust works with adult and children’s social care to ensure that the integrated service has systems in place to equip staff and bank workers with the knowledge and skills to recognize abuse, and take action to safeguard and protect vulnerable adults and children and young people. It is expected that all staff and bank workers familiarise themselves with the appropriate structures and policies and with the Sussex child protection and safeguarding procedures and the Sussex multi-agency policy and procedures for safeguarding vulnerable adults and undertake the relevant essential training and further training appropriate to their role.
Successful candidates are normally offered salaries at the bottom of the relevant salary range. However, where previous or equivalent NHS experience in a similar role can be demonstrated and evidenced, this may be taken into consideration when setting the starting salary.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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.
Name: Steve Eaton
Job title: Interim Service Manager
Email address: steve.eaton@nhs.net
Telephone number: 07464 925097
Gabriel Schnitzer (Clinical Lead for Brighton MHTR service)
gabriel.schnitzer1@nhs.net
07887571686
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