Senior Community Practitioner

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust; City Of London; On-site; GBP 56,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS mental health service is seeking a Senior Community Practitioner in London. This role involves conducting assessments and delivering psychological care within a multidisciplinary team. Ideal candidates will have experience in mental health, particularly in DBT and CBT, and a recognised qualification in a core mental health profession. A commitment to professional development and effective supervision of other staff is essential. Salary ranges from £56,276 to £63,176 annually.

Qualifications

• Relevant experience at Band 6/7 in community mental health settings.
• Experience supervising and mentoring junior staff.
• Knowledge of clinical and managerial supervision.

Responsibilities

• Conduct comprehensive assessments for service users.
• Manage caseload and deliver psychological interventions.
• Liaise with crisis services for care continuity.

Skills

Expertise in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)

Expertise in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Strong interpersonal skills

Time management and workload prioritisation

Education

Recognised qualification in core mental health professions

Degree standard or professional equivalent

Mentorship Training

Job description

Go back South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Senior Community Practitioner

The closing date is 17 November 2025

We are pleased to announce a rewarding opportunity for nurses, occupational therapists, and social workers to join the Primary Care Mental Health Team (PCMHT) based at Chaucer Resource Centre.

You will be part of a dynamic, fast‑paced multidisciplinary team, working collaboratively to deliver short‑term care coordination. The team includes:

• Band 7 Senior Practitioners
• Band 6 Community Psychiatric Nurses (CPNs)
• Occupational Therapists
• CAMHS Transitional Practitioners
• Medical Team (2 Consultants & 2 Junior Doctors)
• Lived Experience Workers
• Psychology and Psychotherapy Professionals

This role offers a unique opportunity as senior member of staff to contribute to an innovative service model, providing high‑quality mental health care within a supportive MDT environment.

We welcome applications from passionate and experienced professionals who are ready to make a meaningful impact.

We look forward to receiving your application.

Main duties of the job

Clinical Responsibilities

Conduct expert comprehensive initial assessments and develop psychological formulations for service users. Manage a caseload, delivering appropriate psychological interventions for individuals experiencing transitional mental health challenges. Exercise autonomous clinical judgment (under supervision) in the assessment, coordination, and transfer of service users to appropriate treatment pathways. Provide ongoing assessment and outcome monitoring for all clients on your caseload. Participate in the team's duty rota. Liaise effectively with crisis services and emergency out‑of‑hours teams to ensure continuity of care. Deliver evidence‑based interventions in line with NICE guidelines.

Training & Supervision

Attend regular clinical and managerial supervision sessions, as well as annual appraisals. Contribute to the teaching and training of mental health professionals and other staff within the service. Provide mentorship and support to students undertaking placements within the team.

About us

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well as substance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London and are part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. There are very few organisations in the world that have such wide‑ranging capabilities working with mental illness. Our scope is unique because it is built on three major foundations: care and treatment, science and research, and training.

SLaM employ around 5000 staff and serve a local population of 1.1 million people. We have more than 230 services including inpatient wards, outpatient and community services. Currently, provide inpatient care for approximately 5,300 people each year and treat more than 45,000 patients in the community in Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark; as well as substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich.

Job responsibilities

Knowledge and Expertise

Strong understanding of how mood, anxiety, and personality disorders present and affect mental well‑being. Demonstrated psychological skills and knowledge transferable to working with adults experiencing severe, enduring, and psychotic disorders in secondary care settings. Clear understanding of the interface between primary and secondary mental health services. Sound theoretical and practical knowledge of psychological therapies, with particular expertise in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). In‑depth understanding of psychopathology and the evidence base underpinning relevant treatment approaches. Familiarity with key legislation and statutory responsibilities, including Adult Safeguarding, Child Protection, and Clinical Governance frameworks. Professional Skills

Ability to work autonomously while engaging in appropriate clinical and managerial supervision. Effective time management and workload prioritisation skills. Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build and maintain healthy working relationships within and beyond the team. Skilled in giving and receiving constructive feedback. High standard of written communication, including clear and professional report and letter writing. Ability to work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team and foster positive team dynamics. Resilience under pressure and capacity to use supervision to support clinical practice. Competence in managing sensitive clinical issues and providing supervision to others. Commitment to ongoing professional development, reflective practice, and partnership working.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Recognised qualification in one of the core mental health professions.
• Mentorship Training /998 Other professional development, particularly within psychological modalities.
• Degree standard or professional equivalent.

Experience

• Relevant experience at Band 6/7 in PCMHT, psychiatric liaison service, home treatment team or community mental health team.
• Experience of using clinical and managerial supervision to effectively provide safe, evidence based psychological interventions across a range of interventions
• Experience of supervising and mentoring junior staff and students

Knowledge and Skills

• Demonstrates an understanding of how mood, anxiety and personality difficulties manifest itself and the impact on mental well‑being.
• Transferable psychological skills and knowledge relevant to work with working age adults with severe and enduring & psychotic disorders in secondary care.
• Knowledge of modalities of therapy. An understanding of the relationship between primary and secondary care services. Knowledge of the theory and practice of psychological therapies, particularly DBT and CBT.
• Willingness to contribute to research and evaluation.

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.

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

£56,276 to £63,176 a year per annum inclusive of HCAS