Job summaryDo you have experience of working with people with mental health difficulties?Have you trained in low or high intensity CBT?We would love to hear from you!We have exciting opportunities to join West Sussex County Councils Mental Health Support Team as a Mental Health Practitioner.Within this role you will hold a case load of children and young people with mild to moderate mental health problems within schools, being responsible for developing packages of care.You will deliver a variety of evidence-based interventions against a CBT model, working collaboratively with children, young people, their families, schools, and other mental health professionals.Key areas of responsibility:Providing advice to schools and families, and liaising with external specialist services, to get the right support for children and young people.Keep clear records, case files, assessments, and data.Work in line with safeguarding protocols and follow the Local Safeguarding Board guidance.Attend and participate in multi-disciplinary and multi-agency meetings relating to the people you are supporting.You will need to be able to demonstrate personal resilience as some cases may be sensitive, traumatic, or potentially emotionally distressing.Main duties of the jobAssess and deliver outcome-focused, evidence-based interventions with a caseload of children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties, always working in collaboration with the child or young person, their parents/carers, and relevant professionals.Give timely advice to school and college staff, and, liaising with external specialist services, help children and young people to get the right support and stay in education.Support the senior mental health lead in each education setting to introduce or develop their whole school or college approach.Keep clear, professionally coherent records of all activity in line with both health and WSCC service protocols and use these records and outcome data to inform decision making.Undertake and record accurate assessments of risk and operate clear risk management processes in line with agreed procedures including the safeguarding protocols of the team and educational setting and Local Safeguarding Board guidance.Support children, young people and their families who either do not meet the referral criteria for MHSTs, or whose needs escalate, to a more appropriate service.Attend and participate in multi-disciplinary and multi-agency meetings relating to young people you are supporting.There may be a requirement to undertake clinical / task supervision for a small team of 2-3 EMHPs, depending on service need and capacity.About usOur Mental Health Support Team is made up of over 60 professionals, and we are continuing to increase our service to support the growing needs of our communities.We currently have opportunities for Mental Health Practitioners to make a real difference in supporting Mental Health in Children. You will be working within our Mental Health Support Team (MHST) on exciting new initiatives and an important strand of the Governments 2017 Green Paper Transforming Children and Young Peoples Mental Health Provision.We fulfil 3 core functions:Delivering evidence-based interventions in education settings (primary and secondary schools and colleges) for mild to moderate mental health issues.Supporting the senior mental health lead in each education setting to introduce or develop their whole school or college approach.Giving timely advice to school and college staff, and liaising with external specialist services, to help children and young people to get the right support and stay in education.For more information, please visit ourEducation, Children and Familiespage on our West Sussex County Council (WSCC) website.If you are interested in making a difference and working in a friendly and supportive team with a role that offers variety and challenge, then this could be the role for you.Job descriptionJob responsibilitiesYou will be self-motivated and an effective team player who demonstrates integrity, openness and an awareness of others, with the ability to represent the service to customers and partners.You will have excellent time management, organisational, communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate complex or sensitive information to children, parents and professionals.You will have a good knowledge of the education system and of evidenced based mental health interventions, and a passion for bringing the two together, and will be able to take the initiative to lead on areas of support for schools.You will have the confidence and enthusiasm to carry out interventions with children and young people, support their families and work closely with colleagues in schools.You will need to be able to demonstrate personal resilience as some cases may be sensitive, traumatic or potentially emotionally distressing. You will also need to be able to travel independently to carry out assessments, and there will be periodic physical requirements to the role.Person SpecificationQualificationsEssentialCore professional qualification relevant to mental health, e.g., nursing with specialism in mental health or learning disability nursing, Occupational Therapy, Social Worker, CBT Therapist.Appropriate professional registration e.g., NMC, HCPC, BABCP.Evidence of continuous professional development.Training in Low Intensity or High Intensity CBT and/or experience OR Demonstrable experience as set out in the NHS England Southeast Region Childrens Wellbeing Practitioner (CWP) and Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP) Band 5 to Band 6 Progression Framework*. This will be evidenced through CPD and post-qualification supervisor reference / report.Minimum of 2 years post-qualification experience.Experience of working with people with mental health problems.Experience of working with children and young people, parents and families.Experience of managing risk.Experience of carrying out comprehensive assessments.Experience of multidisciplinary and multi-agency working.ExperienceEssentialAbility to carry out low-intensity, CBT-informed 1:1 therapeutic mental health assessments and interventions with children and young people, and/or their families.Ability to carry out initial (mental health) assessments which will include thorough assessments of risk and safeguarding or where there may be additional complexities.Ability to work flexibly with a range of professionals and other adults including teachers, parents/carers, social workers, and other mental health professionals in the best interests of the child or young person, communicating complicated or sensitive information effectively.Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to quickly build effective therapeutic rapport with a child, young person and / or their parents.Ability to effectively manage an allocated caseload including assessing, recording, and communicating risk appropriately and taking necessary actions.Ability to positively make use of clinical and peer group support supervision.Ability to complete and maintain data recording and paperwork appropriate to the work undertaken.Disclosure and Barring Service CheckThis post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.UK RegistrationApplicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).Employer detailsEmployer nameWest Sussex County CouncilAddressWest Sussex County CouncilCounty HallWest StreetChichesterWest SussexPO19 1RGEmployer's websitehttps://www.westsussex.gov.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)