UCARMHSS Mental Health Practitioner

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT); Cambridge; On-site; GBP 37,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is seeking experienced Mental Health Practitioners for a new service tailored for university students. This role focuses on providing specialized support and interventions, facilitating students' mental health needs through flexible access to care aligned with their needs.

Qualifications

• Registered qualification at graduate level.
• Post-qualification experience with young people/adults.
• Experience of mental health risk assessments.

Responsibilities

• Provide mental health assessments and formulations.
• Support students with complex mental health needs.
• Deliver evidence-based interventions.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Communication skills

Judgment and decision making

Ability to assess and treat

Education

Graduate level qualification in nursing, social work, occupational therapy, arts therapy or psychological therapy

Post-graduate training in an evidence-based therapeutic intervention

Job description

Site University of Cambridge Student Services Town Cambridge Salary £37,338 - £44,962 per annum pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 16/06/2025 23:59

Job overview

We are seeking an experienced, innovative, and enthusiastic Mental Health Practitioners to join our exciting new Universities of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin Mental Health Student Service (UCARMHSS) pilot which is set to launch in 2025.

This new service will offer multiple pathways: psychiatry, psychology, and care coordination, allowing students to access tailored interventions. The goal is to improve access to support for students' mental health, inform about available support, and guide them in managing their mental health.

Key features of the service include:
• A focus on student needs rather than diagnosis, with every referral undergoing thorough triage and, where necessary, formulation assessments.
• Proactive support to help students succeed academically and socially at university.
• Flexible access to services, with face-to-face, telephone, video, and other online options available to meet individual preferences.
• Comprehensive care coordination, encompassing assessment, case management, self-management support, and liaison with university services.

Main duties of the job

To provide evidence-based, specialist interventions to university students attached to Cambridge University and Anglia Ruskin University. Working autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the team’s policies and procedures.

Working for our organisation

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health and social care organisation dedicated to providing high-quality care with compassion to improve the health and wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting andempowering them to lead a fulfilling life.

Our clinical teams deliver many NHS services, not only via inpatient and primary care settings, but also within the community. These services include children's, adult and older people's mental health, forensic and specialist mental health, learning disabilities, primary care and liaison psychiatry, substance misuse, social care, research and development.

To achieve our goal, we look to recruit high-calibre candidates who share our vision and values. As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all sectors of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including people with long term conditions and members of our ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ communities.

Please be advised we reserve the right to close adverts earlier than the closing date should we receive sufficient applications.

Regrettably, we cannot offer sponsorship for all our job roles. If you apply for a role that we cannot offer sponsorship for, unfortunately, your application form will be rejected from the process.

For further information on CPFT, please visit our website at www.cpft.nhs.uk

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities

1. To work as an integral member of the UCARMHSS Team, providing mental health assessments and formulations, through information gathering and analysis, including the use of routine outcome measures and within bio-psychosocial models of mental health.
2. To provide support to a diverse population that can present with complex mental health needs whilst maintaining high functioning.
3. To actively liaise with students’ supports which may be outside of the CPFT catchment area.
4. To utilise specialist knowledge and evidence-based models of mental health to make decisions about a student’s mental health needs.
5. To participate in the prevention and early detection of emotional and mental health difficulties in students referred to the service.
6. To participate in the planning and delivery of evidence-based interventions.
7. To evaluate and care plan, considering individual, contextual and social factors.
8. To use routine outcome monitoring to inform clinical practice and care planning.
9. To utilise individual, group and peer supervision to support assessments, care planning and decision making.
10. To participate in the team’s use of routine outcome monitoring to inform service design across the directorate.

• A recorded/registered qualification in one of the following at graduate level in nursing, social work, occupational therapy, arts therapy or within a psychological therapy.
• Post-graduate training in an evidence-based therapeutic intervention

Experience

• Post-qualification experience of assessments, care planning and interventions with young people or adults.
• Experience of undertaking mental health risk assessments and risk management with adults and young people
• Working towards agreed targets, demonstrating clinical outcomes.
• Experience of working within a multicultural framework

Skills & Abilities

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Willingness and ability to participate as an independent practitioner in assessments.
• Evidence of ability to keep clear and accurate clinical records.
• Evidence of ability to exercise a high level of judgement and decision making.
• Ability to assess and treat young people and adults with developmental disorder, making reasonable adjustments where needed.
• Knowledge of the Trust’s and Local Safeguarding policy and procedures
• Knowledge and understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Here at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) we are dedicated to providing high quality care with compassion. We deliver many of the NHS services that are provided outside of hospital and in the community such as physical, mental health and specialist services.

We are a health and social care organisation, offering a wide range of services, including:

• Integrated physical and mental health services for adults and older people;
• Specialist mental health and learning disability services;
• Children’s community services in Peterborough;
• Ground-breaking research

We strongly encourage applications from all sections of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including disabled people and members of our ethnic minorities and LGBTQ+ communities. For further information about our positive equality, diversity and Inclusion work, please visit https://www.cpft.nhs.uk/equalityanddiversity .

CPFT is looking to build upon its pool of temporary workers with Temporary Staffing Services (TSS). You will be asked at interview if you would be willing to register with TSS. This is an excellent opportunity for those looking to take on additional hours that are flexible around your personal circumstances.

Please be advised that in line with the WHO Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List, 2020 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust currently are unable to accept applications from overseas candidates whose country of residence is classed as a ‘Red List’ country.

Applicants who require entry into the UK will be required to provide a valid police certificate from the relevant authority from each country (except the UK) where the applicant has been present for 12 months or more, 10 years before the date of visa application, while aged 18 or over.

If you are successful at interview you will be subject to pre-employment checks, including a DBS (if appropriate), references and Occupational Health. To ensure a smooth process please bring all identity documents to your interview. A list of required identity documents will be attached to your interview invitation.

All communications will be sent to you via TRAC Systems. By applying for this post you are agreeing to CPFT transferring the information contained in this application to TRAC. If you are made an offer, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

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.

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