Primary Mental Health Worker

We are looking for a newly qualified band 5 nurse to join the CAMHS West Hampshire Early Help Service, covering Ashurst, Eastleigh and Winchester/Test Valley (Andover). As a member of our Early Help Service, your role is to offer early intervention and preventative work to children and young people experiencing mental health challenges. You will be joining a friendly, supportive and creative multi-disciplinary team, dedicated to providing a high-quality service which complements the work done by our wider CAMHS colleagues and in liaison/partnership with other key young people's services. Our core business includes assessing young people's mental health, including attention to risk management and care planning, and working with families and the wider systems that support these young people.

Covid-19 full vaccination may be a condition of employment for this role, unless an exemption applies. The successful applicant may have contact with vulnerable service users and we will therefore seek proof of being fully vaccinated during the recruitment process.

You will work as part of a team offering early intervention based on a stepped care approach. We offer a range of intervention from the first point to contact, through to assessments, individual therapeutic intervention and group work.

The Single Point of Access responds to all referrals into the service providing consultation, triage, risk assessment and care planning.

You will undertake initial assessments for the service and more specialist assessments where appropriate. You will hold a small case load and deliver specialist and evidence based therapeutic interventions on an individual basis and within a group setting.

You will be required to work within schools and the community, delivering workshops, group work, mental health forums, training and consultation, requiring you to have a good understanding of a range of therapeutic interventions.

**Working in Hampshire**: With a blend of beautiful rural New Forest settings and bustling city locations, Hampshire is known to be a very desirable place to live.The ancient Cathedral City of Winchester and the seaside cities of Portsmouth and Southampton provide attractions and amenities to suit everyone’s taste.With easy access to Gatwick, Heathrow and excellent railway links, there is plenty of opportunity for adventure.

We’d love you to join our organisation that is rated ‘good’ overall and ‘outstanding’ for caring by the Care Quality Commission. Our staff agree, with 82% of people in our recent staff survey telling us that they recognise that care for patients is our top priority.

You will work in our clinics or from home working in the Single Point of Access Service that triages all referrals into the service. You will respond to urgent and priority referrals and calls from families and professionals. You will work with the team to provide triage, telephone assessment and consultation, advice and liaison with third party sector and stakeholders, risk management and care planning and decide on an appropriate course of action. Many referrals are urgent and you will need to demonstrate good clinical judgement and skill, the ability to manage high levels of distress and expectation and demonstrate good interpersonal skills. This is considered an essential role in CAMHS and a percentage of your working week will be spent in this role. It is a very busy frontline role and you will require excellent IT skills, the ability to work under pressure, good mental health knowledge, excellent mental health assessment skills, and be able to demonstrate resilience and tenacity.

You will deliver initial and specialist assessments, utilising a range of theoretical knowledge, evidenced based therapeutic interventions, and relevant assessment tools. You will join multi disciplinary clinical meetings to determine outcomes and planning for future interventions.

You will hold a small case load and deliver evidence based interventions such as CBT, DBT, ACT, systemic based therapy and hold a knowledge of theoretical understanding for example attachment, trauma, neuro-developmental, mood disorders, anxiety, eating disorders etc.

Experience of risk assessment, care planning, care management and collaborative working with young people and families is a key part of this role.

You will contribute to the development, planning, delivery, and critical evaluation of therapeutic interventions based on the stepped care approach in line with our service expansion, incorporating group work and work shops, mental health forums, training and consultation

You will need to demonstrate skills and attitudes for time management and execution of tasks promptly to meet CAMHS targets.

You will be required to keep abreast of current training and practice in all relevant areas.