Mental Health Practitioner (12 month fixed term) in Castleford

Full time - 37.5 hours per week

Are you passionate about helping young people with mental health problems? Do you have experience of working with Children in Care and their extended networks and are committed to getting the best outcomes for them? If you answer yes to these questions, then Wakefield CAMHS is for you!

Job Summary

Full time - 37.5 hours per week

Are you passionate about helping young people with mental health problems? Do you have experience of working with Children in Care and their extended networks and are committed to getting the best outcomes for them? If you answer yes to these questions, then Wakefield CAMHS is for you!

We are looking for an experienced and confident Mental Health Practitioner in the Wakefield CAMHS Enhanced Outreach Team. You will work within a busy multidisciplinary team. You must have significant experience and be able to demonstrate your ability to work with young people and their families/carers/networks, particularly Children in Care, who can often present with a range of complex mental health needs. The teams criteria also covers forensic like behaviours including animal cruelty and fire setting.

You must have a range of skills and knowledge to deliver the clinical aspects of the role. You must be able to work as an autonomous practitioner within professional practice guidelines and a structured supervision framework.

Secondment opportunities may be considered for internal candidates.

All employees of the Trust are strongly encouraged to have their up-to-date flu vaccination to protect staff and patients.

While this role meets the eligibility requirements for Skilled Worker sponsorship, due to the short-term nature of the contract, the Trust will not be offering sponsorship for this post.

We welcome applications from individuals who already have the right to work in the UK or are on a visa route that permits employment without sponsorship. Such applications will be considered alongside all others.

About Us

We are a specialist NHS Foundation Trust that provides community, mental health and learning disability services for the people of Barnsley, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield. We also provide low and medium secure services and are the lead for the west Yorkshire secure provider collaborative.

Our mission is to help people reach their potential and live well in their communities, we do this by providing high-quality care in the right place at the right time. We employ staff in both clinical and non-clinical services who work hard to make a difference to the lives of service users, families and carers.

We encourage and welcome applications from all protected characteristic groups, we value diversity and want our workforce to be reflective of our communities.

Being a foundation Trust means were accountable to our members, who can have a say in how were run. Around 14,300 local people (including staff) are members of our Trust.

Join us and you will be one of over 4,500 staff committed to supporting and improving the mental, physical and social needs of the thousands of people we meet and help each year.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all colleagues and volunteers to share this commitment.

Details

• Date posted: 12 October 2026
• Pay scheme: Agenda for change
• Band: Band 6
• Salary: £39,959 to £48,117 a year
• Contract: Fixed term
• Duration: 12 months
• Working pattern: Full-time, Flexible working
• Reference number: C9378-W1561
• Job locations: Airedale Health Centre, The Square Fryston Road, Castleford, WF103JJ, United Kingdom

Main duties of the job

• Hold a caseload of young people with complex mental health concerns to provide therapeutic intervention.
• Attend MDT meetings.
• Liaise with other agencies, such as Social Care Direct, on a regular basis.
• Ensuring documentation and relevant paperwork is up to date and accurate.
• Conduct risk assessments and support young people, carers/parents to manage the risks identified.
• Offer therapeutic intervention to young people on your caseload.
• Support with the duty worker rota (within working hours).

Job Description

Job responsibilities

Provide assessment and treatment to children and young people with mental health needs;

Work autonomously and collaboratively within the MDT, providing consultation for other agencies/professionals;

Promote the safeguarding and welfare of children and young people.

To provide routine and urgent assessment and interventions to young people with a wide range of emotional and psychological problems who are referred to specialist CAMHS, in keeping with evidence based practice with supervision from a senior clinician within professional guidelines and within the overall framework of the teams policies and procedures.

Key Result Areas

1. To support the ongoing process of delivering a comprehensive CAMHS system.
2. To provide assessment, interventions, therapy to children, young people with the most severe, complex and persistent mental health problems, including those who are severely mentally ill or at suicidal risk and where appropriate, families as both an autonomous practitioner and as part of a multidisciplinary team in a variety of settings to address need. This will include working with the CAPA model.
3. To apply a sound knowledge of safeguarding children and guidelines in clinical work.
4. To be committed to a quality approach for patient care.
5. The post-holder will demonstrate high levels of concentration and provide sustained effort in assessment of complex family issues.
6. To manage own caseload, accessing support and guidance appropriate to individual need.
7. To operate within the clinical and case management supervision framework.
8. To provide training, consultation and supervision to other service providers, partner agencies and junior members of staff as required regarding intensive interventions with children, young people and families.
9. To participate in the development, audit and review of this extension to existing service provision.
10. To undertake extended hours of work alongside fellow specialist CAMHS practitioners.

Experience

Essential:

• Substantial post qualification experience, some of which must be working with Children, young people and their carers in a mental health or other complex care setting
• Multidisciplinary team working
• Inter-agency liaison and consultation
• Experience of supervising/mentoring junior staff
• Knowledge of relevant legislation and guidance e.g. NHS plan, Mental Health Legislation, Childrens act, Education Act, Working Together, Childrens NSF, Every Child Matters, etc.
• Clinical/therapeutic knowledge and skills in mental health.
• Experience in assessment and risk management and ability to implement evidence based practice
• Proven ability to work with other agencies and disciplines and in partnership with other organisations.
• Experience of safeguarding children and young people.

Desirable:

• Experience of community settings
• Experience of working in different cultural contexts
• Knowledge and experience of working with Equality and Diversity.

Qualifications

Essential:

• Relevant professional qualification, e.g. nursing, or other professional allied to medicine
• Dip SW or relevant mental health profession
• Membership of professional body

Desirable:

• Post Registration qualification e.g. degree
• Post graduate qualification in mental health (e.g. CBT, Family Therapy, Counselling)
• A teaching and assessing qualification.

Special Knowledge/Skills

Essential:

• Good verbal and communication skills
• Ability to manage own caseload
• Good negotiation skills, and problem solving skills

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