Adolescent Mental Health Practitioner - Early Intervention Psychosis

• Maintain good relationships and clear lines of communication with other professional agencies and departments, providing specialist advice and support where appropriate. The role will involve consultation and liaison to practitioners within Southwark CAMHS and other local agencies, such as education, statutory & voluntary agencies to ensure appropriate service provision & ensure that care plans for individuals are co-ordinated efficiently across agencies.
• Ability to communicate complex and sensitive information effectively with patients, relatives and carers, where there may be barriers to understanding. Ability to deal effectively with patient or carer concerns, complaints and anxieties as they arise.
• Communicates sensitive/ highly sensitive, confidential information concerning patients or clients requiring empathy, persuasion and reassurance. Some may have special needs; patients or clients may be hostile, antagonistic or aggressive due to mental state.
• To communicate skilfully and sensitively complex and sensitive information with clients, carers and colleagues overcoming barriers to communication including sensory, and emotional difficulties, cultural differences and hostility to or rejection of information.

• The post holder will lead and develop the early intervention for psychosis pathway across all Southwark CAMHS teams and is the lead clinician supporting those under 18y with first-episode psychosis.
• Provide highly specialist assessment, care co-ordination, care planning & treatment within the CPA framework & NICE guidelines for young people with psychosis, within the context of the multi-disciplinary Southwark CAMHS teams and STEP.
• The post holder will have a caseload from both CAMHS and STEP.
• Take a lead in specialist complex assessments for possible first-episode psychosis and unusual experiences with other disciplines and other agencies.

• The post holder will have excellent diagnostic assessment, risk assessment and care planning skills, specialising in those with first-episode psychosis and at-risk-mental-state for psychosis and other co-morbid diagnoses.
• The role will involve administering a range of assessment tools and frameworks to evaluate outcomes and progress.

• Ensuring there is collaboration between CAMHS and STEP by liaising between the services and facilitating joint meetings where required in order to provide a seamless transfer of care between the services. Highlighting and addressing issues where there are ineffective transitions.
• Ensure that legal and Trust requirements affecting service users and staff are adhered to and ensure a safe working environment for users and staff. Cooperate with statutory agencies with the responsibility to protect children and ensure that issues of risk and safety of young people are assessed, and any necessary safeguarding action is implemented.
• Development of specialist health, social, educational care plans, working closely with appropriate agencies.

• A high level of good verbal communication, written and report writing skills.
• Experience of conducting high quality risk assessments and implementing risk management plans.
• If qualified RMN, then the post-holder will take a leading role in administering intermuscular medication to clients.
• The post-holder will have the ability to adapt interventions and work creatively with younger clients.

• Providing specialist assessment, formulation and intervention for those with psychosis, involving individualised approaches for complex clients & families.
• Gives highly specialist advice to young people and families based on the NICE guidelines for Early Intervention for Psychosis.

Essential

• All applicants will require a professional training and relevant CAMHS experience in combination with professional registration with one of the following statutory bodies: NMC, Social Work England or HCPC
• Evidence of post-graduate qualification or continuing professional development as required by relevant Professional body e.g. Masters level -HCPC/UKCP, RCN, BABCP
• 2 years minimum CAMHs or EIS experience

Desirable

• Familiarity with therapeutic approaches commonly used in CAMHS & EIS eg CBTp, Family Intervention
• Additional training on working with adolescents
• Training in Clinical supervision/mentorship

Essential

• Experience of working with children and adolescents with severe mental health disorders (including psychosis)
• Experience of working with a wide variety of service users and presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity evident in populations with psychosis in community settings
• Experience of conducting high quality risk assessments and implementing risk management plans, often in crisis interventions
• Experience of supervision, training and leadership roles

Desirable

• Experience of working with adolescents and with young adults.
• Experience of applying Cognitive Behaviour Therapy approaches to psychosis
• Specialist experience of working in an Early Intervention for Psychosis Team.

Essential

• A high level of knowledge and expertise about CAMHS and Early Intervention for Psychosis services and related legislation/policy
• Evidence of using NICE guidelines to inform practice and understanding transition models and processes.
• Knowledge of social care legislation including the Children's Act and the Care Act
• Evidence of using child protection or adult safeguarding in practice effectively

Desirable

• Experience administering a range of assessment tools and frameworks to evaluate outcomes and progress.
• Experience of carrying out relapse prevention work with individuals experiencing psychosis.

Essential

• Excellent diagnostic assessment, risk assessment and care planning skills
• Ability to work in partnership with service users and carers in the planning and delivery of care
• Ability to maintain effective professional relationships with all team members, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles
• Ability to manage emotionally stressful situations such as working with victims of abuse or trauma, or with people who engage in severe self-harming or aggressive behaviour

Desirable

• Ability to work with learning disability and neurodivergent clients
• Ability to work with dual diagnosis clients