Mental Health Practitioner

West London NHS Trust; Greater London; On-site; GBP 56,000 - 63,000; Full time

Job summary

West London NHS Trust is seeking a Mental Health Practitioner for the MHARRS within Hounslow. The role spans GP practices and local community mental health services, focusing on holistic assessments, brief interventions and coordinated care for adults with complex needs.

You will work autonomously within a PCN, supported by MINT teams, and contribute to annual reviews and training for primary care colleagues to shape integrated mental health pathways.

Qualifications

• Professional qualification in mental health e.g. OT, SW or RMN with current registration.
• Registered/qualified in psychology, nursing, social work, OT, or arts therapy with appropriate body registration.
• Degree or Diploma level with courses relevant to primary care mental health e.g. CBT, Brief Solution Focused Therapy.

Responsibilities

• Provide holistic mental health assessments and risk assessments.
• Develop care plans and offer brief psychological interventions where qualified.
• Support access to services and promote recovery via person-centred approaches.
• Collaborate with PCN staff and MINT teams for integrated pathways.

Skills

Autonomous practice

Mental health assessment

Brief interventions

Interdisciplinary collaboration

GP/PCN liaison

Risk assessment

Care planning

Communication skills

Education

Degree or Diploma in mental health field

Registration with NMC/HCPC/SW England or BPS accreditation

Postgraduate courses in CBT/DBT/Brief Therapy

Professional development evidence

Tools

SystmOne

EMIS

MS Office (Word, Excel)

Job description

Use the job search to find and apply for roles using keywords or look at the roles listed below.

Site Brentford Lodge Town London Salary £55,524 - £62,652 per annum inclusive of HCAS (Outer) Salary period Yearly Closing 25/09/2026 17:00 Interview date 07/10/2026

West London NHS Trust provides a full range of mental health, community and physical healthcare services for children, adults and older people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow.

We also provide some specialist services that are commissioned regionally, such as our medium secure services; and nationally, such as the Cassel Hospital for people with complex and severe personality disorder and our high secure services at Broadmoor Hospital.

Job overview

Are you a passionate mental health professional looking to make a real difference in primary care? We are seeking a Mental Health Practitioner to join the Mental Health Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (MHARRS) within Hounslow.

Working across GP practices and alongside West London NHS Trust’s Mental Health Integrated Network Teams (MINT), you will provide holistic mental health assessments, risk assessments, brief interventions, care planning and support for adults with a range of mental health needs. You will play a key role in supporting people with serious and complex mental illness, facilitating access to appropriate services, and promoting recovery through a person-centred approach.

This autonomous role offers the opportunity to work within multidisciplinary teams, contribute to annual SMI reviews, provide advice and training to primary care colleagues, and help shape integrated mental health pathways across Hounslow.

If you are a registered mental health professional with experience in community mental health, primary care, or integrated services, and are committed to delivering excellent patient outcomes, we would love to hear from you.

Main duties of the job

Working as an autonomous practitioner with one of the five Hounslow PCNs, 80% of the role is based within the PCN and 20% with the local community mental health service for adults of working age.

In your role you will

• work with patients to support shared decision-making about self-management; facilitate onward access to treatment services; and provide brief psychological interventions, where qualified to do so and where appropriate.
• work closely with other PCN-based roles (e.g. pharmacist and social prescribers) to address the potential range of biopsychosocial needs of patients with mental health problems.
• work as part of the primary care team, operating without the need for formal referral from GPs, including accepting some direct bookings.
• be supported through the local MINT teams by robust clinical governance structures to maintain quality and safety.
• work as part of the wider PCN team, supporting colleagues with home visits where needed You will received supervision from both the MINT Team Manager and from the PCN Clinical Director and have support form the other MHARRs workers working in the other PCNs in Hounslow.

Working for our organisation

West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.

Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ over 5,000 staff, of whom 59% are BME. Our turnover for 2024-25 is over £500m.

The Trust is rated as ‘Good’ overallby the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as ‘Outstanding’.

The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached

The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Professional qualification in mental health e.g. Occupational Therapy, Social Work or Mental Health Nursing (RMN) with current NMC/HCPC / SW England registration or Psychology as accredited by the BPS.
• A recorded/registered qualification in one of the following – psychology, nursing, social work, occupational therapy, arts therapy and registration with the appropriate body for that profession
• Educated to degree or Diploma level with other courses relevant to primary care mental health services e.g. CBT, Brief Solution Focussed Therapy etc.
• Evidence of recent and on-going relevant further professional development
• Attendance at specialist short courses relevant to the post (e.g. CBT or DBT, Trauma Informed Care, Group Approaches)

Experience

• Experience of work in the NHS, PCNs or outreach work, or local engagement work (e.g. youth worker, mentoring, peer support etc.), experience of working in voluntary sector, working in community groups.
• Experience of working with Complex Emotional Needs (previously termed Personality Disorders) Work with client groups with serious mental health problems:
• mental health care and/or
• working with carers and/or
• delivering therapeutic group interventions and/or
• working in MDTs and/or
• Work in multi-cultural settings and work with interpreters
• Evidence of experience in a Band 6 position or equivalent
• Experience of case finding
• Experience of working in GP
• Experience of working within a multi-disciplinary team
• Experience of conducting audit, evaluation or research
• Work with behaviours that challenge services
• Experience of teaching/training in a formal or informal setting
• Experience of working in a primary care setting/ social care/ voluntary sector
• Experience of supervising junior staff within own and/or other disciplines

Knowledge

• Basic understanding of health care systems and structures: staffing, roles and responsibilities, the role of hospitals, primary care and community care
• Team/self-management and organisation skills that enable a number of complex activities and clinical work to be undertaken, revising and adjusting these according to the needs of individual patients and the service
• Knowledge of counselling skills/cognitive behavioural skills, psychosocial interventions
• Knowledge of recovery approaches as used with those with mental health conditions
• Work with people from a wide range of backgrounds
• Contain and work with organisational stress and able to hold the stress of others
• Manage effectively exposure to distressing/highly emotional circumstances
• Manage effectively verbal aggression from service users, families, etc. and the risk of physical aggression
• Respectful and collaborative approach to service users, families, carers, colleagues and other professionals
• Able to negotiate and ability to handle confrontation effectively and professionally
• Ability to engage challenging and/or acutely distressed patients in potentially hostile and/or antagonistic situations and use de-escalation techniques effectively
• Assessment and treatment of Deliberate Self Harm
• Risk assessment/management and crisis intervention skills
• Use of psychosocial assessment methods
• Higher level communication skills, both written and oral
• Sufficient clinical knowledge to be able to make autonomous decisions, based on an analysis of complex presenting problems and judgement about available options, with senior clinical support/supervision
• Ability to interpret research and apply to practice
• Specialist knowledge of mental health conditions as well as their relationship to physical disorders
• Understanding of NHS England’s plans with regard to Primary Care Networks.

Skills

• Computer literate including use of IT packages – word processing, e-mail and internet, Excel and Access
• Being able to work flexibly across local environments
• Awareness of diversity of cultural norms and being able to respond to this appropriately
• Concentrate intensely for a substantial proportion of working time, during client contact, teaching/supervision sessions, team meetings, preparing written work etc.
• Ability to use or learn NHS clinical systems such as SystmOne and EMIS
• Work cross-culturally and/or in different languages
• Work to professional guidelines
• Accept accountability for own work, and of working towards defined results
• Plan, organise and prioritise own workload
• Record and report on clinical information as required

Other Requirements

• Ability to influence without authority
• Work as part of a team spread across multiple locations operating with a matrix structure
• Ability to work effectively, timely and independently
• Ability to frequently work under pressure and maintain intense concentration, particularly in unpredictable situations where there will be exposure to highly distressed and/or disturbed patients, often exhibiting challenging behaviours and the risk of physical violence
• Ability to meet deadlines
• Commitment to equal opportunities
• Ability to accept constructive feedback
• Self-motivated, able to work autonomously and independently with confidence when required.
• Exercise initiative, flexibility and tact and self-awareness
• Willing to use peer and group supervision creatively
• Be able to work flexibly if required
• Be aware of the limitations in your competencies and seek appropriate senior advice and leadership.
• Personal experience of a mental health condition

As an employee of West London NHS Trust, you have a responsibility to maintain a sound understanding of, and a commitment to uphold the National Health Service values and principles set out in the NHS Constitution.

We reserve the right to close adverts prior to the closing date stated should we receive a high volume of applications.

By applying for this post you are agreeing to West London NHS Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, you will be required to undergo a pre-employment checks which can take between 4-8 weeks . After which your information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system (ESR ).

Please ensure you include email addresses for your referees which MUST be at supervisory or managerial capacity covering the last 3 years of employment to date to avoid delay in the recruitment process.

West London NHS Trust is committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We encourage the thoughtful use of technology as a demonstration of strong time management and a commitment to innovation. However, we encourage applicants to personalise your recruitment application to showcase your unique skills and experiences.

While AI-generated content can be a helpful tool, relying solely on generic responses instead of highlighting your own strengths and achievements may impact the success of your application. The success of an application will always be assessed against the essential and desirable criteria for the role, so it is important to ensure that your application and any supporting information clearly demonstrate how you meet these requirements.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name Georgina Hyslop Job title Team Manager, Hounslow East MINT Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 07484013177

If you have problems applying, contact

Address Human Resources – Trust Headquarters

West London NHS Trust

1 Armstrong Way - Southall

UB2 4SA

Telephone Mob: [phone]

At West London NHS Trust, we want you to support you to build a career you can be proud of and this starts before your first day with us. Our people live our values every day as they deliver, manage and work to improve our services to patients, carers, families and other professionals.

We’re committed to making our recruitment process clear and efficient. It’s in everyone’s interest that we get the very best people on board as soon as we can.