Band 6 Senior Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner - Devizes/Salisbury

The Wiltshire Talking Therapies service offers support to clients who may be experiencing common mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, stress and low mood, offering evidence-based treatments based on the difficulties the patient is experiencing.

An opportunity has arisen for a Senior Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (Snr PWP). This post is open to qualified and experienced PWPs who have completed low intensity supervision training. You will work as a key member of the senior PWP team to provide Case Management Supervision, Clinical Skills Supervision and Line Management to Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners, Trainees and Assistants.

We are currently operating a hybrid working arrangement, where you will be based at either Green Lane Hospital, Devizes or Fountain Way Hospital, Salisbury combined with opportunities for remote working from home.

Main duties of the job include:

• Providing high-volume, low-intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) based self-management interventions to support clients presenting to the service with mild to moderate common mental health problems.
• Providing Case Management Supervision, Clinical Skills Supervision and Line Management to Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners, Trainee Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners and Assistant Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners under the direction of the Lead Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner and Head of Service.
• Offering assessment and referral advice, informed by knowledge of service provision, the spectrum of mental health needs and presenting risk factors.
• Providing low-intensity interventions e.g. psychoeducational courses/workshops, computerised CBT and one-to-one guided self-help using telephone, video conferencing and face-to-face formats.
• Maintaining the relevant Professional Registration required for the post.
• Providing a service that is comprehensive and accessible to a broad range of patients who are experiencing mild to moderate common mental health problems, who are over 16 years of age and registered with a GP Practice/Health Centre in the Wiltshire area.
• Providing a service that is equitable and non-discriminatory in terms of age, gender, ethnicity and disability.
• Supporting GPs and other Health Care Professionals to make decisions regarding appropriateness of patients for primary care Talking Therapies interventions.
• Making appropriate referrals to other service providers in the statutory and voluntary sectors and redirecting patients to other sources of appropriate support within the local community as required.
• Developing a local knowledge of the locality and its services and facilities, particularly in relation to mental health issues.
• Educating and involving family members and others in treatment as necessary, conveying Low Intensity CBT formulations with sensitivity in easily understood language.
• Liaising as appropriate with secondary care mental health services and social service departments.
• Conducting risk assessments, preparing risk management plans and initiating appropriate action where indicated.
• Being flexible in terms of clinical hours, enabling at least one clinic to be run outside of normal working hours.
• Participating in the services Duty system offering support and guidance to practitioners, administrators, other professionals and to clients and their families as required.
• Taking a lead on the development, planning and promotion of courses/workshops, teaching new and existing staff members in facilitating these courses/workshops as required.
• Taking a lead on the computerised CBT offering within the service ensuring patients are being referred to and entering this therapy in a timely manner, supporting and training practitioners in the effective delivery of digitally enabled therapy.
• Taking a lead in the recruitment, induction, planning, ongoing supervision and management of Trainee PWPs, supporting trainees as they progress through their training enabling them to gain their qualification, and as they transition into Qualified PWP positions.
• Working proactively with Senior PWP colleagues towards shared objectives, ensuring the constant effective functioning of CBT and group interventions, and the supervision and training of practitioners.

Person Specification:

• Qualifications: Essential: Talking Therapies Low Intensity CBT Therapies Practice/Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner qualification; Recognised training in Low Intensity Supervision. Desirable: Recognised training in adapting Low Intensity interventions to those with Long-Term Health Conditions or Medically Unexplained Symptoms.
• Knowledge: Essential: Knowledge and understanding of how common mental health problems may present in primary care; Knowledge and understanding of the Stepped-Care model and evidence-based brief psychological intervention. Desirable: Knowledge of the Talking Therapies Positive Practice Guides and ability to adapt care to meet diverse need; Knowledge of national strategies and priorities for Talking Therapies, the NHS and mental health care.
• Skills: Essential: Able to work under pressure, manage competing demands, deal effectively with a high volume caseload and recognise the limitations of the role; Possess high levels of enthusiasm, motivation and a strong desire to contribute to service improvement.
• Experience: Essential: Evidence of significant, consolidated, reflective and supervised post-qualifying experience working with people with common mental health problems; Experience of developing, updating and facilitating CBT-based psycho-educational courses and computerised interventions. Desirable: Experience working in a service with agreed targets in place to demonstrate clinical outcomes.

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 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.

Applicants must have current UK professional registration.