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Job summary

Main area
Adult Mental Health
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 6
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week (possible working out of hours in the future)
Job ref
285-5812-MH
Employer
Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
To be confirmed, one of the eight CMHTs across the Black Country
Town
One of the 8 CMHTs
Salary
£37,338 - £44,962 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
03/07/2025 23:59

Employer heading

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust logo

CEN Practitioner

NHS AfC: Band 6

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides specialist mental health, learning disability, and community healthcare services for the population of the Black Country.

Across the whole of the region we provide:

  • Adult and older adult mental health services
  • Specialist learning disability services
  • Mental health services for children and young people
  • Community healthcare services for children, young people and families in Dudley

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust was formed on 1 April 2020, with the merger of Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. Combining resources, strategies and talented workforce enables us to deliver a wider variety of outstanding services that are based on best practice and are continually improving.

We currently employ over 4,000 people and just like the population we serve, we are made up of diverse cultures and backgrounds. Whatever your role, working in a NHS Foundation Trust, like ours, is a demanding and extremely rewarding experience. Knowing that every day you can help to make a positive difference to someone’s life is a very powerful feeling. We know that our Trust runs on this desire to help and support people, and our Trust vision expresses this. Our vision is to improve health and wellbeing for everyone, especially our colleagues to achieve the best possible work/life balance.

We proudly offer supportive, inclusive and family friendly employment and flexible working policies. We have a wide range of professional services and employee networks to help our colleagues be at their best - and find support if they need it. To find more about our staff benefits, please visit our website: blackcountryhealthcare.nhs.uk. 

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and ethnic minority candidates are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Black Country Healthcare we recognise and value all forms of knowledge and expertise, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification or criteria in the job description/person specification, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

For further supporting information to help you apply for this role please see documents attached under ‘Additional documents’.

Job overview

As part of Community Transformation, a Complex Emotional Needs Pathway (CEN) is being developed and aims to improve experiences and outcomes for service users who primarily attract a diagnosis of personality disorder. They present with histories of severe trauma, and secondary diagnoses which add to their complexity and risk.  This is a new and exciting Psychology lead Pathway, and the virtual CEN Team will be fully integrated into the CMHTs, offering ‘WRAP’ around care, boosting the provision to targeted service users. We are looking to recruit 2 new Band 6 CEN Practitioners, to cover the four localities in the Black Country. This is a fantastic opportunity for a registered mental health professional (CPN, OT or Social Worker) who wants to develop their skills and focus their work. The intensity and frequency of contacts will be high and therefore caseloads will be low.  Therefore, you will have the opportunity to really focus on individuals on your caseload and work creatively. In the future you may be asked to contribute to out of hours working to meet the needs of clients, but this would be realistic and done with agreement, but currently working hours are Mon – Friday 9am to 5pm. Ideally we are looking for individuals who have knowledge and experience of working with CENs and whom understand that developing strong trusting relationships with boundaries is very important as well as maintaining and projecting positive and non-stigmatising approaches and attitudes.

 

Main duties of the job

You will be responsible for developing high quality, detailed and formulation driven risk management and care plans that have a strong psychological element. Your work will be a combination of engaging with service users themselves and leading and supporting the CEN Recovery Workers. You will liaise tightly with CMHT and medical colleagues to ensure that positive risk management strategies and care plans are carried out. You will be expected to engage in regular supervision and reflective practice of your own and be able to tolerate and work with feedback. You will be supported daily by CEN specific psychologists and CEN Clinical Leads. There will likely be training opportunities in relevant approaches such as Structured Clinical Management, CBT or DBT that are relevant to working with CENs and you would be expected to partake in if required.

 

Working for our organisation

Black Country Healthcare covers three towns and one city, and is home to a highly diverse population, with areas of socio-economic deprivation.  We offer both community and in-patient services to children and adults with mental health difficulties, learning disabilities and autism and work in partnership with the third sector and Local Authorities. 

We aim to recruit a workforce that is representative of our population and inclusive practice is at the heart of our Trust values, with the aim that everyone has a voice that needs to be heard. We aim to develop and co-produce our services and have a strong cohort of Lived Experience Practitioners. We believe in a culture of compassion and strongly promote staff Wellbeing initiatives.

 

 

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical Work - you will hold a smaller caseload so that you can work more intensively and see your clients more frequently. You will be involved in assessing and clinically supporting your caseload, being as responsive as possible to daily needs that arise. You will develop CEN bespoke and formulation driven care and risk plans under the supervision of your local CEN Clinical Lead. You will ensure plans are carried out through tight liaison and agreement with the wider CMHT.

Team Work - you will be part of a 'virtual' CEN Team, alongside psychologists, CEN Clinical Leads and Recovery Workers whilst also being integrated in two of the CMHTs in your designated locality. You will be required to attend MDTs, in-reach into the hospitals, professionals meetings and case conferences as required. 

Training, Reflective Practice and Supervision - you will be required to receive regular supervision and be part of reflective practice within the CEN Pathway. You will also be expected to undertake any training necessary to increase your skills and knowledge base to work more effectively with these clients. You will also have the opportunity to become involved in offering supervision and reflective practice to CMHT colleagues and CEN Recovery Workers. 

Professional - You will promote  and work in accordance to the appropriate professional code of conduct and maintain high standards of care for self and other. You will ensure record keeping is in line with required standards for record keeping, in line with professional code of conduct and work in accordance to Trust values. 

Please see Job Description for further information

Person specification

Education, Qualifications and Registration

Essential criteria
  • Relevant qualifications for role, Nursing, social work or AHP diploma or degree and appropriate professional registration with HCPC and Nursing Midwifery Council etc
Desirable criteria
  • Extra training in CEN specific or mental health nursing or psychological therapies such as CBT or DBT, SCM

Experience and Knowledge

Essential criteria
  • Years of experience, Experience of working in the community with CENs, experience of assessing and managing serious risks in the community, developing complex care planningg
Desirable criteria
  • CEN specific training, CBT, DBT or SCM. Awareness of psychological formulation, extra qualification on coaching etc

Personal Qualities and Attributes

Essential criteria
  • Strong understanding of the stigma associated with CENs diagnoses, able to act as an advocate for service users, interacts well in a Team environment, personable, confident and approachable, able to take on board feedback and learning
Desirable criteria
  • Lived experience of mental health difficulties, family members with mental health difficulties, working specifically with carers.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Apprenticeships logoNo smoking policyAge positiveDisability confident leaderCare quality commission - GoodArmed Forces Covenant Bronze Award

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

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Dr Marie Payne
Job title
Consultant Clinical Psychologist, CEN Pathway Lead
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
07500 122425
Additional information

Or 

Clare Barnes, Operational lead 

[email protected]

07920751329

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