Job summary
Bromley Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
A very exciting opportunity has arisen to join Bromley CAMHS, Looked After and Adopted Children’s (LAAC) team at a time of change. We are initiating a whole service improvement to the patient journey, enabling children and families to access help earlier and enabling staff to have job plans better tailored to their expertise and development.
As a result of significant investment in Bromley CAMHS and to support the Transformation of the service, we have vacancy for a specialist CAMHS practitioner.
The post holder will offer assessment, formulation and evidence-based psychological intervention for children and young people (CYP) within the LAAC pathway. The successful applicant will have experience with working with Look after and adopted children, training in evidence-based interventions and experience of working with children and young people in a mental health setting.
Main duties of the job
Postholder will be required to utilise specialist therapy skills to deliver both individual and group interventions, adapted flexibly and creatively for CYP with mental needs. The role also involves providing consultation, support and training to colleagues within and external to the service. This post offers great potential for the candidate to pursue specialist interests and develop skills, including opportunities for trainings relevant to the field and to contribute to further development of evidence-based pathways for CYP within Bromley CAMHS.
Bromley CAMHS is transforming its service, with focus on improving services and the collective wellbeing for our Children, Young People, Families and Staff.
Bromley CAMHS is currently in the process of redesigning its Service Model to align with the Thrive framework, a nationally recognised approach, to help us deliver timely, responsive and needs based mental health interventions for the children and young people in Bromley. Bromley is a place where every child and young person can achieve their full potential. We all recognise and value the importance of promoting good mental health and building resilience in children,& young people.
About us
Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children’s centres, schools and people’s homes.
We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.
Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:
- We’re Kind
- We’re
- We Listen
- We Care
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To provide a specialist systemic assessment of referrals of a significant and complex nature in order to formulate and implement plans for the treatment and/or management of a childs or adolescents mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework and employing methods based upon evidence. To use routine outcome measures as laid down by the Trust.
- To assess children, adolescents and their families as part of a risk assessment.
- To consult to parents/carers (including foster parents) as part of a treatment plan.
- To work in ways which are sensitive to and appropriate for the needs of families from a wide range of racial, cultural and religious backgrounds. This includes abilities to understand and offer therapeutic interventions to a variety of family forms including single parents, same sex couples and their wider family networks, accommodated children and their network of care, children with learning difficulties, and children who are on the Child Protection Register, and parents with mental health difficulties. Competence is required in undertaking systemic therapy with families through the use of an interpreter where families do not yet have sufficient understanding of the English language.
- To provide specialist systemic psychotherapy with clinical autonomy drawing on a range of models and wherever possible brief interventions. To practice in a way which is inclusive and considerate of the needs of each individual in the system including family members in their varying developmental stages and current emotional state.
- To make highly skilled evaluations and decisions about treatment options taking into account highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the child, family or group, and their difficulties.
- To be responsible for implementing a range of systemic psychotherapeutic interventions for children, adolescents and their families, including couples and groups, drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses in reaching a formulation and treatment plan. Interventions may include family therapy, individual work, chairing professionals and network meetings, liaising with other agencies, observations of patients in different settings, and the use of a range of systemic models.
- To exercise full autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients, and formulate effective care plans in collaboration with the client and family. To undertake risk assessment and risk management relevant to individual patients, including protective and risk factors present in the network of significant relationships, and to do this using the knowledge of the multi professional context that is a mental health service for the locality.
- To work jointly and collaboratively with other team members in order to enhance and develop work with families by providing specialist knowledge and skills.
- To provide specialist consultation, advice and guidance to other professionals at all levels working with families both within the service and in partner agencies. This will include liaison and working with professional networks involved with highly complex, emotive and often conflictual issues such as those involving child protection, deliberate self harm, violence, trauma, suicide risk, criminal offending behaviour, sexualised behaviour, and mental health problems of parents.
- To maintain current knowledge of the operation of video equipment and promote ethical and effective use in line with Directorate policy. To introduce this practice to families in a sensitive way, and to advise and instruct clinicians in other disciplines and systemic psychotherapy trainees on the fitting and appropriate use of this therapeutic tool. To use video tape review to enhance the skills of colleagues and to help parents understand their familys difficulties, dilemmas, and traumatic experiences.
- To act as care coordinator, as required, taking responsibility for initiating, planning and review of care plans and giving consideration to the views of patients, their family, carers, referring agents and other professionals involved in the network of care. This includes organising complex professional network meetings.
- To work in accordance with CAMHS and team objectives by adhering to Trust and Directorate policies, including risk assessment in all work, ensuring care plans are in place, recording up to date, attending and contributing a systemic view in case discussion and team meetings.
- To be an active member of the professional clinic.
- To contribute to overall service delivery and development as required.
- To attend monthly professionals meetings and team meetings.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To provide a specialist systemic assessment of referrals of a significant and complex nature in order to formulate and implement plans for the treatment and/or management of a childs or adolescents mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework and employing methods based upon evidence. To use routine outcome measures as laid down by the Trust.
- To assess children, adolescents and their families as part of a risk assessment.
- To consult to parents/carers (including foster parents) as part of a treatment plan.
- To work in ways which are sensitive to and appropriate for the needs of families from a wide range of racial, cultural and religious backgrounds. This includes abilities to understand and offer therapeutic interventions to a variety of family forms including single parents, same sex couples and their wider family networks, accommodated children and their network of care, children with learning difficulties, and children who are on the Child Protection Register, and parents with mental health difficulties. Competence is required in undertaking systemic therapy with families through the use of an interpreter where families do not yet have sufficient understanding of the English language.
- To provide specialist systemic psychotherapy with clinical autonomy drawing on a range of models and wherever possible brief interventions. To practice in a way which is inclusive and considerate of the needs of each individual in the system including family members in their varying developmental stages and current emotional state.
- To make highly skilled evaluations and decisions about treatment options taking into account highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the child, family or group, and their difficulties.
- To be responsible for implementing a range of systemic psychotherapeutic interventions for children, adolescents and their families, including couples and groups, drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses in reaching a formulation and treatment plan. Interventions may include family therapy, individual work, chairing professionals and network meetings, liaising with other agencies, observations of patients in different settings, and the use of a range of systemic models.
- To exercise full autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients, and formulate effective care plans in collaboration with the client and family. To undertake risk assessment and risk management relevant to individual patients, including protective and risk factors present in the network of significant relationships, and to do this using the knowledge of the multi professional context that is a mental health service for the locality.
- To work jointly and collaboratively with other team members in order to enhance and develop work with families by providing specialist knowledge and skills.
- To provide specialist consultation, advice and guidance to other professionals at all levels working with families both within the service and in partner agencies. This will include liaison and working with professional networks involved with highly complex, emotive and often conflictual issues such as those involving child protection, deliberate self harm, violence, trauma, suicide risk, criminal offending behaviour, sexualised behaviour, and mental health problems of parents.
- To maintain current knowledge of the operation of video equipment and promote ethical and effective use in line with Directorate policy. To introduce this practice to families in a sensitive way, and to advise and instruct clinicians in other disciplines and systemic psychotherapy trainees on the fitting and appropriate use of this therapeutic tool. To use video tape review to enhance the skills of colleagues and to help parents understand their familys difficulties, dilemmas, and traumatic experiences.
- To act as care coordinator, as required, taking responsibility for initiating, planning and review of care plans and giving consideration to the views of patients, their family, carers, referring agents and other professionals involved in the network of care. This includes organising complex professional network meetings.
- To work in accordance with CAMHS and team objectives by adhering to Trust and Directorate policies, including risk assessment in all work, ensuring care plans are in place, recording up to date, attending and contributing a systemic view in case discussion and team meetings.
- To be an active member of the professional clinic.
- To contribute to overall service delivery and development as required.
- To attend monthly professionals meetings and team meetings.
Person Specification
Qualification or Qualified
Essential
- Post-graduate qualification in relevant mental health/social welfare profession (e.g. social work, nursing, psychology, psychiatry, teaching) and demonstrable practice over a minimum of four years.
Desirable
Experience
Essential
- Minimum of 2 years working with children and families in a relevant mental health or social welfare setting.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
- Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients’ psychotherapeutic care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified care coordinator and also within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan.
- Experience of self-harm assessment and intervention with both individual child/adolescent and their families
- Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team
- Experience of risk assessment and risk management
Experience of risk assessment and risk management
Essential
- Skills in the use of complex methods of systemic assessment and treatment of individuals, couples, family systems, groups and organisations, frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
- Knowledge of and skill in using a wide variety of systemic theories and interventions and the ability to use these appropriately in relation to client need and work setting
- Skills in professional consultation; skills for offering consultation to multi-disciplinary colleagues.
- Ability to work within a multi-disciplinary team
- Well developed skills to communicate effectively, orally and in writing at an age appropriate level (including use of play, drawing and metaphor, stories) complex, highly technical and /or clinically sensitive information to children, adolescents, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS including reports for the Courts
- Knowledge of child development/ mental health issues
- Up-to-date knowledge of relevant legislation, ethical issues and strategic frameworks including The Children Act 1989, and its implications for both clinical practice and professional management
- Ability to work with a racially and culturally diverse community in a wide variety of contexts including highly specialist skills for working therapeutically in family homes
Person Specification
Qualification or Qualified
Essential
- Post-graduate qualification in relevant mental health/social welfare profession (e.g. social work, nursing, psychology, psychiatry, teaching) and demonstrable practice over a minimum of four years.
Desirable
Experience
Essential
- Minimum of 2 years working with children and families in a relevant mental health or social welfare setting.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
- Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients’ psychotherapeutic care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified care coordinator and also within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan.
- Experience of self-harm assessment and intervention with both individual child/adolescent and their families
- Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team
- Experience of risk assessment and risk management
Experience of risk assessment and risk management
Essential
- Skills in the use of complex methods of systemic assessment and treatment of individuals, couples, family systems, groups and organisations, frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
- Knowledge of and skill in using a wide variety of systemic theories and interventions and the ability to use these appropriately in relation to client need and work setting
- Skills in professional consultation; skills for offering consultation to multi-disciplinary colleagues.
- Ability to work within a multi-disciplinary team
- Well developed skills to communicate effectively, orally and in writing at an age appropriate level (including use of play, drawing and metaphor, stories) complex, highly technical and /or clinically sensitive information to children, adolescents, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS including reports for the Courts
- Knowledge of child development/ mental health issues
- Up-to-date knowledge of relevant legislation, ethical issues and strategic frameworks including The Children Act 1989, and its implications for both clinical practice and professional management
- Ability to work with a racially and culturally diverse community in a wide variety of contexts including highly specialist skills for working therapeutically in family homes
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab) .
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab) .
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab) .
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab) .
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
