Mental Health Practitioner

Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust; Bournemouth; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 38,000; Part time

Job summary

Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust is recruiting a Mental Health Practitioner for the Retreat Bournemouth, a 365-day open access crisis service. The role involves clinical assessments, brief interventions, signposting, and working with peers to support people in emotional distress, with shifts 16:00–00:00 and part-time 22.5 hours.

Applicants must have a professional qualification in mental health nursing, general nursing, occupational therapy, or social work, be registered, and

Qualifications

• BAND 5 or equivalent experience in mental health settings.
• Experience delivering crisis support and using safeguarding processes.
• Experience working with lived experience and peer support models.
• Ability to work autonomously and manage own time within busy crisis settings.
• Proficiency with IT systems and clear written English communication.
• Fluent written and spoken English.

Responsibilities

• Assess and identify those needing further clinical input or risk assessment.
• Provide brief therapeutic interventions and risk management.
• Signpost and liaise with other services to support individuals in distress.

Skills

Band 5 experience

Crisis services

Lived experience

Autonomy

IT competence

English proficiency

Education

Degree in mental health nursing, general nursing, OT or social work

Job description

Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust

Mental Health Practitioner

The closing date is 11 November 2026

The Retreat Bournemouth offers an open access service for people in crisis and distress. The purpose is to provide a space for people to be listened to, to connect with others and access peer support and brief interventions.

We are seeking compassionate, experienced registered mental health professionals, to join our Retreat Bournemouth team.

The partnership between lived and clinical experience is fundamental to the ethos and values of the Retreats, where registered practitioners and peer specialists work together to offer an open access crisis mental health service every evening; providing a welcoming, safe space for people to come and receive support, without referral or judgement.

This is a diverse role, providing mental health crisis support to visitors and carers, including clinical assessments, brief therapeutic interventions, advice and signposting.

We are committed to professional development and support, offering internal and external training/education programmes and supervision.

Part time hours are available (22.5). The service operates 365 days of the year, and whilst all reasonable flexible working requests will be considered, you will be required to work weekends and shift times are set at 16:00-00:00, in line with the opening hours of the service.

Main duties of the job

You will be required to use your professional judgement to identify those attending the Retreat who may need further clinical input, risk assessment, and treatment which is beyond what the Retreat can offer and support the person to access other services and liaise with other services.

You will be working with people in significant emotional distress to support them to access their own resources to keep themselves safe.

You will work, alongside peer specialists in a socially inclusive way alongside in line with the principles of the retreat.

Applicants who subscribe to the DBS update service are able to present a valid DBS certificate instead of requiring a new check.

Employment in this post requires an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, which the Trust will cover the cost of.

About us

At Dorset HealthCare we're on a mission to empower people to make the most of their lives through our outstanding, joined-up healthcare services. We're a dynamic, forward-looking Trust, running 12 community hospitals, specialist inpatient facilities and a wide range of integrated community and mental health services for a population of almost 800,000 people.

We do things differently here - it's one of the reasons the CQC rated us 'outstanding' in 2019. It's also why 95% of patients across our services say they have a good or very good experience of our services and 89% of staff feel they can really make a difference.Whether you're looking to work with us in one of our bustling market towns, vibrant urban locations, thriving seaside spots, or among the rolling hills of Dorset, there are lots of ways you can make a difference in our communities.

Our 7,000-strong workforce is at the heart of what we do and our success is a testament to our brilliant people. We're all about building a workplace for the future, we believe in equal opportunities and we celebrate diversity. We're an inclusive workplace, where everyone is welcome, everyone can be authentic, and we are all encouraged to be the best version of ourselves.

Working with us you'll be part of a strong team, challenge yourself, build a career, and teach us what we don't know. And you'll be working towards our vision to be better every day through excellence, compassion and expertise in all we do.

Job responsibilities

For the main duties and responsibilities for this role please read the attached job description and person specification. When completing your application please ensure your supporting statement reflects the criteria set out in these documents by showing how your experience and skills apply to this post.

We understand that AI can be a useful tool when completing your application. However, we are seeing an increasing over-reliance of AI tools, which can negatively affect your application as it reduces a candidates individuality, and makes it difficult for us to gain a clear and authentic understanding of your experience, skills, and in turn your suitability for the role.

All submissions must be truthful and if you do use AI, it should only be used to enhance your application and not create your supporting statement in its entirety. Your supporting statement should be in your own words and must accurately reflect your personal experience and achievements. Where we have concerns that AI has been used to generate content that misrepresents your experience and suitability for the role, we may withdraw your application.

As part of our vision to have a skilled, diverse and caring workforce, Dorset HealthCare offers support for people getting into work. We offer an employability service to support individuals with application writing, interview skills and other employment support. If you would like or know of anyone who would value this support, please do contact [e-mail].

Please note visa sponsorship for this role is unfortunately not available. Ensure you hold valid right to work in the UK and will not require sponsorship if successful.

You will be required to undertake a Prevention and Management of Violence and Aggression course and it is a condition of your employment that you successfully complete all aspects of this course; if this is not achieved you will not be able to commence working in the post.

Person Specification

Professional Qualification

• A professional qualification at degree level or equivalent in either mental health nursing, general nursing, occupational therapy or social work (with experience working in mental health settings)
• Hold current registration with pertinent body
• Evidence of post registration training and development
• Further evidence of professional development and training
• Training in Motivational Interviewing, Brief Solution Therapy, Trauma informed approaches, dialogical approaches and/or self harm and suicide prevention

Skills/Experience/Knowledg

• Experience at Band 5 or equivalent
• Experience of receiving clinical supervision
• Knowledge and experience of modern mental health services; social inclusion, recovery, peer support, carer support
• Ability to work autonomously, with the ability to organise and manage own time according to delegated workload.
• Experience of working in crisis services
• Experience of working alongside intentional use of lived experience
• Significant experience at Band 5 or equivalent in a community setting

Personal Qualities

• Ability to work in a compassionate and empathetic way to people experiencing and expressing emotionally distressing thoughts and behaviour
• Ability to be flexible and adapt to changing situations
• Collaborative approach to client care

Additional

• Ability to use IT systems to undertake practitioner duties
• Demonstrable skills in written and spoken English, adequate to enable the post holder to carry out the role effectively

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.

Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust