Mental Health Nurse/Occupational Therapist/Mental Health Social Worker

Job overview

The Croydon Personality Disorder Service is looking to recruit a Registered MH Nurse, MH Social Worker, OT or equivalent to the post of Mental health nurse/Occupational Therapist/MH Social Worker - specialist in personality disorder. You will previously have worked in a multi-disciplinary mental health team.

We are looking for staff with a commitment to working with people with personality disorder along with the confidence and skill to work effectively in therapeutic groups.

This is an exciting job with great opportunities to learn a range of clinical skills working in therapeutic groups and with personality disordered patients. You will be trained in using Mentalization Based Treatment (MBT) skills level A, the Structured Clinical Management (SCM) model, and in the competencies required to facilitate SUN groups, and become an accredited SUN group facilitator. You’ll also learn skills working individually with personality disordered patients, from an experienced and well-established team.

Our team is known as a very supportive team, and with an emphasis on regular supervision and weekly Reflective Practice, and on development of staff skills and knowledge.

You will be based in the psychotherapy day hospital, The Touchstone Centre, on the Bethlem Royal Hospital site and will go out into the Croydon community to facilitate our Sun Project and visit patients at home. At the Touchstone Centre you will lead on the facilitation of our SCM-based Problem Solving Skills groups.

Main duties of the job

We provide specialist, evidence-based MBT, psychotherapeutic day hospital treatment for working-age people with moderate to severe personality disorder. We also run The Sun Project, a coping skills development and crisis support group three times a week in central Croydon for people with or without a diagnosis of personality disorder. You will work within our team of psychotherapists, doctors, specialist community practitioners, nurses, occupational therapists and social workers and care co-ordinators.

We offer a strong, supportive and cohesive team and this exciting post means that you get the opportunity to develop your clinical skills to attain accreditation from us in facilitation of appraisal based coping skills development groups (the SUN project), develop MBT skills in working with personality disordered patients, and SCM skills and will participate in learning identified in your appraisal and personal development plan.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Key Responsibilities: 1. To act as shift co-ordinator on a rota basis, maintaining a safe clinical environment and facilitating clear, effective communication across the team. 2. To be named care co-ordinator or keyworker for individual patients, to assess needs, plan, implement and monitor care of patients in collaboration with the service user, carers, and other members of the multidisciplinary team and implement care that meets the mental, physical, spiritual, psychological and social needs of the service user, and that is sensitive to age, culture, race, gender, ethnicity, social class, sexuality and disability. This care will be delivered at Touchstone Centre and will involve home visits. 3. To work in a consistent, predictable and boundaried way delivering evidenced based therapeutic interventions on an individual and group basis to people with emotionally unstable personality disorder. 4. To work with the team making use of the team support and supervision and risk management structures to ensure safe and effective care for this patient group. 5. To help maintain the therapeutic milieu at Touchstone Centre including facilitating structured, safe, social activities amongst the patients within the existing therapy programme. 6. To help patients to engage in services aimed at improving their health and well-being e.g. GP, sexual health clinics, dentistry, community opportunity services, recreational/leisure groups. 7. To reach level 3 competence in the delivery of the appraisal based coping skills groups (as part of the Sun project within the service) within 6 months of being in post and mentalizing skills development (as part of the MBT programme at Touchstone), and SCM skills . To be able to evidence sufficient skill acquisition and maintenance of same. 8. To work always in such a manner to safeguard the patients in the service and the children in their care. 9. To assertively outreach to teams and other care co-ordinators to promote the Sun Project and to help patients to transition in and out of the MBT programme safely. This includes attending community treatment team zoning meetings, professionals meeting and CPA reviews.

Qualifications

Essential

Registered mental health nurse, occupational therapist or mental health social worker or equivalent. We are also open to applications from Band 5 staff with relevant qualifications and experience ie MHWP with registration, or Clinical Associate in Psychology with registration.

Desirable criteria

Certified attendance at Personality Disorder Knowledge and Understanding Framework (KUF) training

Certificate of group skills training

Experience

Essential

At least 1 year post qualifying mental health service work with people with a range of mental health problems.

Experience of facilitating groups in a mental health setting.

Experience of co-ordinating shifts where there is a need to assess, identify, communicate and manage patient risk issues to a range of professionals.

Experience of supervision and or mentoring students or junior colleagues

Desirable criteria

Mentorship or supervision training

Knowledge

Essential

Demonstrable commitment to deliver accessible and acceptable care to people across cultural and other differences.

A working knowledge of the physical health vulnerabilities and needs of people with mental health problems.

Evidence of relevant continuing professional development required by professional registering body.

Ability

Essential

Ability to demonstrate commitment to working with people with personality disorder.

Ability to work on a Saturday morning on a rota basis (not needed currently but may be required in future).

Desirable criteria

Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of the resilience needed to work safely with this patient group.