Qualified Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner - HMP Durham

Join Our Team as a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner at HMP Durham, Old Elvet, Durham. Rethink Mental Illness works alongside Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV) to deliver an integrated stepped care mental health service within North East Prisons. The team comprises a range of highly skilled professionals who work collaboratively to provide the highest quality of care for those with mental health needs within the prison.

Your work will make a real difference by helping people in prison take positive steps toward recovery and a better future. You’ll play a vital role in supporting mental health, reducing risk, and empowering individuals to manage their wellbeing. In this role, you will:

• Assess and manage referrals: Accept referrals via agreed protocols, determine suitability, and ensure clients receive the right level of care, including stepping up treatment when necessary.
• Support recovery and self-management: Work with individuals to identify their goals, assess risk, and empower them to manage their mental health effectively.
• Deliver evidence-based interventions: Provide low-intensity treatments such as Guided Self-Help and psycho-educational support, drawing on CBT principles.
• Collaborate with a multi-disciplinary team: Attend meetings, share insights, and ensure smooth step-up and step-down arrangements for clients.
• Maintain high standards of clinical practice: Record outcome measures, keep accurate data, and uphold confidentiality at all times.
• Contribute to service performance: Meet agreed activity targets, minimise waiting times, and support monthly performance reporting.
• Build strong partnerships: Work with statutory and non-statutory agencies to ensure continuity of care post-release.
• Communicate effectively and professionally: Engage with clients, colleagues, and stakeholders in a clear and supportive manner.
• Commit to personal development: Use supervision constructively, maintain professional registration, and stay up to date with best practice.
• Represent Rethink Mental Illness values: Act with integrity, professionalism, and flexibility, including providing contingency cover for other prison sites when required.

Key Responsibilities & Commitments:

• Work within Prison Service policies and procedures, supporting programmes and contributing to risk management and public protection.
• Comply with legal and regulatory requirements, including Enhanced DBS Disclosure and Home Office Prison Clearance, Data Protection Act 1998 and Information Governance policies, Health & Safety at Work Act 1974.
• Promote Rethink Mental Illness membership, donations, and activism.
• Adhere to Professional Boundaries, Health & Safety, and Safeguarding policies; promptly report concerns to your line manager.
• Attend regular clinical and managerial supervision as agreed.
• Take responsibility for personal performance reviews, objectives, and relevant training.
• Respond to supervisory feedback and engage in personal development to improve clinical practice.
• Maintain professional registration and comply with internal standards and external regulatory requirements.
• Keep up to date with Department of Health guidelines and charity policies.
• Undertake other reasonable duties and projects as required by your line manager.

Essential Skills and Experience:

• Successfully completed academic training aligned with the IAPT Low Intensity National Programme and qualified as a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP), e.g., Postgraduate Diploma in Psychological Therapies.
• Accredited PWP with BACP or BPS.
• Post-qualification experience delivering the full range of evidence-based IAPT low-intensity interventions at Step 2.
• Proven experience working within a stepped care service, supporting individuals with mental health problems and achieving recovery outcomes.
• Strong knowledge of assessment procedures, screening, referral processes, record-keeping, and evidence-based brief psychological interventions.
• Understanding and application of evidence-based psychological therapies relevant to this role.
• Ability to build effective therapeutic relationships and practice inclusively, respecting cultural diversity and individual beliefs.
• Commitment to an inclusive values base that promotes recovery and respects diversity.
• Experience using clinical outcome measures to inform and improve practice.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Proficiency in standard IT packages (Microsoft Word, Excel) and database/information systems.
• Ability to engage positively with clinical supervision and personal development, demonstrating self-reflection and continuous improvement.

If you’re passionate about empowering individuals, reducing stigma, and improving mental health outcomes, we’d love to hear from you!