Under 5’s CAMHS Specialist

Job summary
This is an exciting opportunity to join the Horizon Team at Lewisham CAMHS. We are seeking to recruit a Band 7 under 5's CAMHS Practitioner. We are the generic service, part of Lewisham CAMHS and provide specialist assessments and intervention for children and young people who are referred to our team.

The Post holder will contribute within the Lewisham Parent and Infant Relationship Service which is part of the Lewisham CAMHS Community Service. You will complete assessments and treatment in accordance with the clinical and evidence-based models that are delivered within the service. You will manage your own caseload and provide specialist parent & child group interventions to children and families with moderate to complex presentation.

Main duties of the job
Your main duties include working in partnership with Social Services, Parental mental Health/Perinatal, Adult Mental Health, Family Hubs, Child Health and key partner to support integrated practice and service delivery. Ensuring records are up to date clinical records and be required to complete and provide reports to networks.

You will also be required to contribute to audit or progress reports on specific aspects of the service developments. You will have some specific responsibilities to contribute to operational systems for referrals to the service, delivering appropriate treatments. To share day to day responsibility for the quality of delivery of clinical care in the service. To support the clinical lead in recommending the allocation of clinical work and operating an agreed system of caseload management.

Manage day to day clinical risks and clinically advise team members on courses of action. Ensure that team members follow systems of safe practice and that operational policies are adhered to. Ensure that all recording and reporting of client contact is accurate, up to date and of good quality and within CAMHS, SLAM & professional requirement standards of record keeping. Ensure that data and information on clinical activity is collected and entered onto ePJS.

About us
Lewisham Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) provides a diagnostic, assessment, treatment, advisory and consultative service for children and adolescents with emotional and behavioural disorders, including those at high risk or those with more severe and persistent problems. The service's Specialist Multidisciplinary Teams include: Horizon (generic); Neuro Developmental Team; Symbol (Looked After and Adopted CYP); LYPS (severe and enduring mental health problems); ARTS (at risk forensic); Paediatric Liaison Service; MHST (Mental Health in Schools); CWP (Child Wellbeing Practitioners); Intake; and Crisis. Lewisham CAMHS focuses on providing high quality mental health support to young people locally. We continually identify and address any potentially barriers or inequalities in regards to access to, and input from, our service, as well as continually improving areas of staff wellbeing and equality within the staff group.

This post is clinically based within the generic team (Horizon) and the leadership component extends to the rest of Lewisham CAMHS. Horizon is a dynamic multi-disciplinary team based in the Kaleidoscope Centre in Catford, an award-winning purpose-built building that brings together specialist community services for health, disability, mental health, education and social care.

Job responsibilities

• Experience and ability to function as an infant/child practitioner and adolescent mental health
• Experience of working as a care coordinator in infant/child/ child and adolescents mental health
• Evidence of good practice in infant/child/child and adolescent mental health assessments, assessments of behaviour and performance, family functioning
• Experience in carrying out specialist infant/child mental health assessments and treatments for under 5s population
• Evidence of providing CAMHS interventions in group, individual and family work, multidisciplinary work.
• Evidence of experience of clinical governance and audit and the process of clinical supervision
• A good working knowledge of mental health disorders in infant, children and adolescents.
• A good working knowledge of Difficulties common to Looked After Children and children families facing adversity e.g., attachment difficulties
• Knowledge of current legislation and clinical governance (Children Act 1989, 2004 and The Mental Health Act 1983, Human Rights Act 1998 and Mental Capacity Act 2005, Child protection procedures).
• Knowledge of assessment of risk and management of risk factors
• Good working knowledge of difficulties in the Perinatal period and maternal mental health difficulties.
• Ability to work therapeutically with the client group, using a range of therapeutic interventions
• Ability to work under pressure.
• Ability work effectively with the MDT to take on new concepts.
• Good written and verbal presentation skills and basic IT.
• Ability to work within a changing environment Ability to be reflective in therapeutic practice and adapt practice from this reflection

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• All applicants will require a professional training and relevant CAMHS experience in combination with professional registration with one of the following statutory bodies: the Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC) , Health & Care Professional's Council (HPC), Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP), or The UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). Relevant professional training will include: First level nursing qualification/registration RMN or RSCN or HV with related CAMHS experience or any as follows:First level qualification in Occupational therapy, Clinical or Counselling Psychology, Social work, or equivalent with related CAMHS experience.
• Qualification as a Systemic Psychotherapist (Family Therapist) with relevant CAMHS experience.

Desirable

• Infant Observation Training oTraining in Clinical supervision

Experience
Essential

• Experience of receiving clinical supervision across a range of client needs
• Experience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities. This may have been gained through work, research, volunteering and lived experience.
• Significant post-qualification/graduation experience including experience of individual and group therapy with people with complex mental health needs
• Experience in carrying out specialist child and adolescent mental health assessments and treatments for under 5s population.

Desirable

• Experience of running/observing therapeutic parenting groups

Knowledge and Skills
Essential

• Ability to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles.
• Ability to maintain concentration and to remain in restricted positions for long periods during observations, assessments and psychological interventions, and to deal with unexpected interruptions or changes during these
• Ability to manage emotionally stressful situations such as working with victims of abuse or trauma, or with people who engage in severe self-harming or aggressive behaviour

Desirable

• Training in VIPP, Circle of Security, Watch, Wait and Wonder

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).

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).