CAMHS Mental Health Practitioner - Eating Disorder Pathway

Sits within the CAMHS Eating Disorder Pathway at Livewell Southwest as a Band 6 mental health practitioner in a multidisciplinary team. The work centres on assessing and treating children and young people with eating disorders, managing a personal caseload and supporting their families, including physical risk assessment. Open to occupational therapists, social workers, mental health, learning disability and paediatric nurses, the 22.5-hour part-time post contributes to the Monday-to-Friday eating disorder duty rota. Visa sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route may not be available.

What the job involves

• Provide specialist assessment and evidence-based interventions for children and young people with eating disorders, working with families and carers
• Take a key role in eating disorder assessments, care planning and coordination, including assessing and managing physical health risks
• Manage a defined caseload, planning, delivering and reviewing care with children, young people, families and the multidisciplinary team
• Liaise with psychiatry, paediatrics, general practice, dietetics and other professionals involved in care
• Provide specialist mental health assessment, formulation and interventions informed by child development, CAMHS and eating disorder knowledge
• Work to current guidance for medical emergencies in eating disorders, including MEED
• Support parents, carers and the wider family, which may include mealtime support in the home
• Assess risk and communicate concerns accurately and promptly, including multi-agency risk management plans
• Contribute to the Monday to Friday eating disorder duty rota
• Provide consultation to CAMHS staff and other agencies, and deliver education and training to other professionals
• Maintain clinical records to Livewell Southwest standards and use routine outcome monitoring
• Use clinical and safeguarding supervision, offer supervision as appropriate to grade, and take part in audit and team meetings

Qualifications

• Core qualification in a mental health modality, such as nursing, social work, occupational therapy or psychology
• Postgraduate training in working with children with mental health problems, e.g. counselling, systemic practice or post-graduate diploma in CAMHS

Registration & licences

• Appropriate professional registration relevant to the qualification held

Experience

• Multi-agency or multidisciplinary working, including with children and professionals in the care system
• Post-registration work with children and young people who have mental health difficulties
• Assessment, risk, care planning, intervention and evaluation
• Working with families of different cultural backgrounds and within multi-agency safeguarding systems, such as child protection conferences

Skills & knowledge

• Knowledge of child legislation and documents, including Children Act 2004, child protection and the Mental Capacity Act, plus learning disability specific documents
• Knowledge of child mental health problems affecting children in care, child development theory, and resilience and vulnerability
• Risk assessment, care planning, evaluation and intervention skills
• Case management, organisation and prioritisation, with self-motivation and ability to work on own initiative
• Strong written and oral communication, anti-oppressive practice and partnership working

Other

• Flexible working in hours and duties, and able to meet the demands of the post with reasonable adjustments where needed
• Able to travel frequently and independently between sites and community locations, including areas without public transport
• Completed, or willing to complete, breakaway training
• Able and willing to work across a seven-day service

Nice to have

• Experience of delivering training
• Experience of service evaluation
• Knowledge of therapy models such as Applied Behaviour Analysis, plus at least one other modality such as CBT, psychodynamic or solution-focused
• Competent assessment and intervention skills
• Specific therapeutic skills for working with children and families
• Consultation skills
• Training skills

What’s offered

• Protected CPD time
• Training pathways and leadership programmes
• Funding for qualifications, including the Care Certificate and Nurse Training Scholarships
• Induction and preceptorship programmes

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