Band 7 Senior Mental Health Practitioner - Bristol

NHS; Bristol; On-site; GBP 47,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider is seeking a Band 7 Senior Mental Health Practitioner for a 12-month maternity cover in Bristol. The role involves working with children and young people experiencing complex mental health challenges. Candidates must have relevant qualifications and experience in psychological or therapeutic approaches. This position emphasizes inclusivity and collaboration across various professional agencies.

Qualifications

• Professional qualification in mental health nursing, psychology, social work or related field.
• Registered with appropriate professional body (e.g., HCPC, UKCP).
• Experience working therapeutically with children and young people.

Responsibilities

• Complete assessments of young people with complex emotional and mental health needs.
• Provide 1:1 treatment for clinical presentations.
• Plan care in partnership with young people, families, and professionals.

Skills

Ability to work with children, young people and families

Organizational and prioritization skills

Clinical risk assessment skills

Flexibility in service delivery location

Sensitivity to complex emotional issues

Concise report writing for referrers

Effective communication of sensitive information

Ability to establish good working relationships

Education

Relevant completed professional qualification

Maintenance of appropriate professional registration

Additional training in assessment and therapeutic approaches

Job description

Band 7 Senior Mental Health Practitioner - Bristol

We are looking for 12 month maternity cover to the Band 7 Senior Mental Health Practitioner role within the North Bristol CAMHS team.

We are a service working withchildren and young people with complex mental health needs. We use the CAPA model of assessment and treatment, which would involve working with a variety of clinical presentations and needs, including: suicidal thoughts, low mood, anxiety, OCD and emerging psychosis, often alongside neurodiversity. We also have a lot of referrals for young people with disordered eating and diagnosed Eating Disorders, and there are opportunities to work within this clinic if this is something you are interested in.

We are looking for a practitioner with a core professional registration, including registered nurses, social workers, psychologists, occupational therapists, family therapists, art therapists and CBT therapists.

North Bristol is an area of significant disparities in health, wealth and access. We are committed to working in a manner which is inclusive and anti-oppressive, and invite applications from staff who share these values.

P.S: The proposed interview date is 6th October 2025.

Main duties of the job

The key elements of the role include, but are not limited to:

• Completing assessments of young people with complex emotional and mental health needs;
• Completing 1:1 treatment interventions for a variety of clinical presentations, drawing on techniques including: CBT-informed work, DBT-informed work, systemic work and creative therapies;
• Care and safety planning, in partnership with young people, families and carers, and other professionals;
• Multi-professional and multi-agency working, including close working with social care, schools, primary care and acute hospital trusts;
• Proactively safeguarding young people who may be experiencing abuse or who are at risk of abuse;
• Utilising your own clinical supervision, reflective practice and caseload management to work in an evidence-based manner and in a way that is sustainable for your own wellbeing.

About us

We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust)a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care. We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.

Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.

At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.

Job responsibilities

Please see attached job description and person specification.

Please contact Hazel Nash (Clinical Service Manager) if you would like any further information.

Person Specification

Qualification

• Relevant completed professional qualification (eg clinical psychology, mental health nursing, social work, family therapy, occupational therapy, accredited CBT, psychotherapy)
• Maintenance of appropriate professional registration (ie HCPC, UKCP,NME)
• Additional training in assessment and therapeutic approaches in a specialist area relevant to CAMHS
• Evidence of working therapeutically with children and young people

Experience

• Knowledge of national and local guidelines/ policy regarding provision of public sector services to children/young people and their families
• Experience of risk assessment and management appropriate to children and young people. Including young people who are suicidal and present a risk to self and/or others.
• Experience of multi-disciplinary team working
• Knowledge of working together arrangements in particular, Children in Need assessments Clinical Risk assessment and Child Protection guidelines.
• Experience in a community CAMHS service
• Experience of managing self injurious behaviour
• Clinical Risk management in relation to children

Skills

• Ability to work with children, young people and families from a wide range of social, cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
• Ability to organise and prioritise client caseload
• Skilled in Clinical Risk assessment and management in relation to children and young people including experience of managing self-injurious behaviour.
• Ability to be flexible about where the child and family are seen e.g. clinic, school or home
• Ability to be sensitive to complex emotional issues.
• Ability to write concise reports for referrers, families and other agencies
• Ability to communicate sensitive and difficult information to clients and their carers.
• Ability to establish and maintain good working relationships with other professionals within the team.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This 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.

£47,810 to £54,710 a year per annum, pro rata