Mental Health Practitioner

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust; Taunton; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 58,000; Full time

Job summary

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Senior Practitioner to work within a multidisciplinary Community Mental Health Service. The role delivers specialist mental health assessments and interventions, promoting recovery and social inclusion for adults with complex needs.

You will work with service users to identify goals, develop personalised care plans and support individuals through stability, relapse, and recovery.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering specialist mental health assessments.
• Experience supervising junior staff and students.
• Knowledge of CBT-informed and recovery-focused approaches.

Responsibilities

• Deliver specialist mental health assessments and interventions.
• Promote recovery, social inclusion, and positive outcomes for service users.
• Collaborate with service users to set goals and develop personalised care plans.
• Provide supervision and mentorship to Band 5 practitioners and students.
• Coordinate team activities and deputise for the Team Manager when needed.
• Contribute to clinical governance, audits, and quality improvement initiatives.

Skills

Communication

Risk assessment

Leadership

Supervision

Job description

You will join a multidisciplinary Community Mental Health Service providing support to adults with complex and enduring mental health needs across Somerset. You will be responsible for delivering specialist mental health assessments and interventions while promoting recovery, social inclusion and positive outcomes for the people you support.

Using a strengths-based and recovery-focused approach, you will work collaboratively with service users to identify goals, develop personalised care plans and support individuals through periods of stability, relapse and recovery. You will utilise a range of psychosocial interventions and draw upon knowledge of psychological approaches such as CBT-informed and solution-focused practices.

You will assess, manage and respond to risk, exercising sound professional judgement in challenging and complex situations. The role requires excellent communication skills, enabling you to engage effectively with service users, carers, families and a broad range of professionals and agencies.

As a senior practitioner, you will contribute to the leadership and development of the service by providing supervision, mentorship and support to Band 5 practitioners, support workers and students. You may also be required to coordinate team activities, support recruitment and induction processes, and deputise for the Team Manager when appropriate.

You will actively contribute to clinical governance, audit, service evaluation and quality improvement initiatives, ensuring practice remains evidence-based, safe and aligned with professional standards. You will be expected to maintain continual professional development and remain up to date with developments in mental health practice and policy.