Job summary
- Main area
- Psychology
- Grade
- Band 4
- Contract
- Fixed term: 12 months (Training contract - 12 months)
- Hours
- 37.5 hours per week (Full time - 37.5 hours per week)
- Job ref
- 350-CC8070997
- Employer
- Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Talking Therapies St Helens
- Town
- St Helens
- Salary
- £28,392 - £31,157 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 09/07/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Trainee Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner
Band 4
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Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust celebrates diversity and promotes equal opportunities; we are committed to challenging and eliminating racism and other forms of discrimination and advancing and promoting equality of opportunity in the provision of services and creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.
We take positive action to support disadvantaged groups and also particularly encourage applications from ethnically diverse, disabled and LGBTQIA+ people that are under-represented in our workforce. Furthermore we welcome applications from reservists and ex-armed forces personnel as we recognise the benefits of the values, skills, training and experience that they bring to their work with us. We encourage all applicants to share their equality information with us.
Using AI to support your application
Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be a helpful tool when preparing your application, supporting you to organise and structure your application and present your experiences clearly. However, we want to hear about your experiences and achievements. Please ensure everything you submit is truthful, accurate, and reflects your own work and experience. Your authentic story is the best way to help us understand who you are and what you can bring to the role. If content appears to be copied or misrepresented, it may impact the outcome of your application. We encourage you to use AI responsibly as a support tool, not a substitute for your own voice.
For tips and guidance, please refer to our applicant guidance.
Your experiences matter, let them shine.
Applications that appear mostly or fully generated by AI, without clear personal examples linked to the person specification, may be rejected.
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Job overview
Job locations - various across Merseyside (St Helens, Knowsley, Halton)
Using talking therapies Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs) in IAPT services support people with mild to moderate mental health problems such as anxiety and depression and can include people with long term physical health conditions such as diabetes and respiratory problems. This training post will equip you to provide guided low intensity interventions and progress to working with a high degree of autonomy. You will be supported in the completion of both your academic study and clinical delivery by skilled and experienced supervisors.
Successful applicants will be expected to enrol with the allocated university at which they will spend the ‘taught’ part of the week during the initial training. There will be some self-directed study outside of the working hours.
Successful completion of the training programme will result in a post-graduate certificate (level 7) or a graduate certificate (level 6) PWP IAPT Practitioner and the offer of a permanent PWP position.
Main duties of the job
We are looking for people with a commitment to scientific practice, a willingness to learn new skills and a desire to improve the health and wellbeing of people with a range of common mental disorders such as anxiety and depression
In this training role, you will provide Step 2 Guided Self-Help Low Intensity Interventions whilst undertaking studies at the allocated education provider (please refer to the information in the supporting documents section).
Both trainee and qualified PWPs play a critical role in helping shape the future direction of the IAPT service by delivering high quality evidence-based interventions. The role involves undertaking initial assessments and holding a clinical caseload. You will be supported in the completion of both your academic study and clinical delivery by skilled and experienced supervisors.
Working for our organisation
Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.
We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.
At the heart of all we do is our commitment to ‘perfect care’ – care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We’re currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.
Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
You must have experience of working in or volunteering in a health or social care setting and be able to demonstrate that you can meet the academic requirements of this training role. You should have a real interest in helping people with anxiety and depression and demonstrate the ability to develop good therapeutic relationships with clients to achieve a level of recovery to improve their overall wellbeing and day to day life.
Please take time to read the full job advert and the job description/person specification in the Supporting Documents. In your application please include how you meet the person specification criteria you will be shortlisted against at the application stage.
Within the application form you will be asked for your service preferences (first, second and third choices). The supporting information includes a description about each IAPT service and their contact details.
Good luck with your application.
Interviews for this post will be held remotely via Microsoft Teams.
For help with your application please contact the individual service – you will find their contact details in the Service Descriptions (see Supporting Documents section)
Person specification
Skills
Essential criteria
- High level of enthusiasm and motivation
- Advanced communication skills
- Ability to work within a team and foster good working relationships
- Ability to use supervision and personal development positively and effectively
- Ability to work under pressure
- Regard for others and respect for individual rights of autonomy and confidentiality
- Ability to be self reflective, whilst working with service users, in own personal and professional development and in supervision
Desirable criteria
- Ability and willingness to travel to locations throughout the Liverpool area
- Fluent in community languages other than English
Experience
Essential criteria
- Proven relevant experience of working with people with common mental health problems
- Demonstrates an ability to manage own workload and time
- Demonstrates an ability of high communication skills – written, verbal, and telephone
- Demonstrates an ability to evaluate and put in place the effect of training
- Computer literate
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working as an IAPT Support Worker / Assistant PWP
- Proven relevant experience of working in Primary Care Services
- Proven relevant experience of working in a service where agreed targets in place demonstrating clinical outcomes
- Proven relevant experience of working in the local community
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Evidence of ability to successfully complete an undergraduate degree or academic equivalent (minimum 2:2)
- Evidence of ability to manage academic requirements for the course; i.e. being able to complete a level 6 study programme
Desirable criteria
- Training in nursing, social work, occupational therapy, arts therapy or within a psychological therapy
- Health or Social Care related degree
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Demonstrates an understanding of anxiety and depression and how it may present in Primary Care
Desirable criteria
- Demonstrates a knowledge of the issues surrounding work and the impact it can have on mental health
- Knowledge of self-help materials for managing common mental health problems
- Knowledge of medication used in anxiety and depression and other common mental health problems
- Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence based psychological therapies and how it relates to this post
Values
Essential criteria
- Continuous improvement – committed to making improvements to our services for the benefit of all
- Accountability – taking ownership to anticipate, develop and deliver high quality care
- Respect – how we treat others in an inclusive and supportive way
- Enthusiasm – demonstrate our passion and pride for what we do and how we do it
- Support – actively supporting others with compassion and courage
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Sehrish Ismail
- Job title
- Clinical Team Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
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