Organisation: Warrington and Halton Early Intervention in Psychosis Team (Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust)

Base: St Johns Unit, Widnes, Cheshire, WA8 7QA

We are looking to recruit enthusiastic, motivated and flexible qualified Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) practitioners to join our Early Intervention Team. Applicants either need to be accredited with the BABCP or able to achieve accreditation within a year of their employment start date.

We offer staff weekly Clinical supervision along with regular Continuing Professional Development (CPD) time to support with theexpansion of skills in the service.

The applicant must be subject to a regulatory body- NMC. The applicant must have experience of providing CBT for individuals experiencing psychosis or personality disorder. The successful applicant will be offering CBT to individuals on the teams At Risk Mental State Pathway, which is a primary care mental health pathway.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be part of a team providing evidence based high intensity CBT interventions, working with clients primarily experiencing Psychosis, depression, personality disorder and anxiety disorders.

The post holder will work with people from a wide range of different cultural backgrounds and of different ages (from 14+), using interpreters when necessary, and should be committed to equal opportunities.

The post holder will be supporting individuals who may be identified as an At Risk Mental State and those who are experiencing a first episode of psychosis.

Experience of delivering CBT is a essential criteria, you must have experience of working with individuals with a Serious Mental illness.

About us

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 11 million people.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Job description Job responsibilities

You will work to agreed targets and manage your own caseload, delivering evidence based High Intensity CBT interventions with regular clinical supervision; there may be opportunities to use or develop supervisory skills to support other therapists as well as maintaining or achieving BABCP accreditation.

The successful applicants will be required to work monday- friday 9am-5pm. Applicants must be willing to travel to different locations throughout the Trust for clinical work, training and supervision purposes. Bases for this team include St Johns in Widnes, the Brooker centre and Wakefield House in warrington. The applicant will be travelling across the mersey gateway bridge.

NB. Due to the on-going evolving COVID 19 situation, the service is working more flexibly which may include remote/ home working.

Person Specification Experience Essential

• Demonstrable experience of working in mental health services.
• Ability to meet agreed/specified service targets.
• Ability to manage own caseload and time.
• Demonstrates high standards in written communication.
• Able to write clear reports and letters to referrers.
• Experience with routine outcome monitoring.
• Experience of teaching and liaising with other professional groups.

Desirable

• Experience of working in Primary Care Services.
• Worked in a service where agreed targets in place demonstrating clinical outcomes.

Knowledge Essential

• Qualification from High Intensity IAPT Course (Post Graduate Diploma).
• A recorded/registered doctoral level qualification in clinical or counselling psychology/ a recorded/registered qualification in one of the following - nursing, social work, occupational therapy, arts therapy or a psychological therapy - plus further post graduate qualification training in a psychological therapy which may be CBT or another IAPT appropriate evidence based therapy (i.e. IPT) to at least equivalent of a post graduate diploma.
• significant experience working as a psychological therapy practitioner and demonstrating the competences as required.
• Demonstrates an understanding of anxiety and depression and how it may present in Primary Care.
• Demonstrates a knowledge of the issues surrounding work and the impact it can have on mental health / benefits & employment systems.
• Knowledge of medication used in anxiety and depression and other common mental health problems.
• Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence based psychological therapies and how it relates to this post.
• Knowledge of child protection issues and other relevant legislation.
• Able to attend supervision training if not already trained, and other training as the post develops.
• Good record of Continuing Professional Development and willingness to continue this.

Desirable

• Relevant experience in Primary Care treating anxiety and depression.

Skills Essential

• Full range of skills and competencies as laid out in the competence framework for CBT (Roth and Pilling 2007).
• Computer literate
• Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Has received training (either formal of through experience) and carried out risk assessments within scope of practice.
• Able to develop good therapeutic relationships with clients.
• High level of enthusiasm and
• Advanced communication skills.
• Ability to work within a team and foster good working relationships.
• Ability to use clinical supervision and personal development positively and effectively.
• Ability to work under pressure.
• Regard for others and respect for individual rights of autonomy and confidentiality.
• Ability to be self reflective, whilst working with service users, & in own personal and professional development and in supervision.
• The ability and skills to act as an advocate for a new 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.

Desirable

• Trained in provision of supervision for CBT.
• Accredited with a professional psychological therapy organisation
• Completed clinical audits within a service.
• Car driver and/or ability and willingness to travel to locations throughout the organisation.
• Fluent in languages other than English.

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

350-MEN4587453