Senior Mental Health Practitioner


Location
Prescot, England
Salary
£39,959 - £48,117 pro rata/per annum
Profession
Mental health practitioner
Grade
Band 6
Deadline
21 Oct 2026
Contract Type
Permanent: Full time
Posted Date
20 Oct 2026
Medical Protection — the side of locally employed doctors from £83

Job requirements

Essential

27 listed

Requirements the employer expects applicants to meet.

  • Skills

    Skilled in the ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing, clinical sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS

  • Skills

    Must demonstrate ability to be self-reflective and to organise own supervision appropriately

  • Skills

    Ability to work within a culturally diverse community in a wide variety of contexts including highly specialist skills for working in settings outside the clinic

  • Skills

    Ability to take full clinical responsibility for patient care and treatment, both as a care co-ordinator and within the context of a multi-disciplinary team

  • Skills

    Interpersonal skills of a high level to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, in order to convey clinically sensitive information to family members of all ages and to a wide range of lay and professional persons, within and outside of the NHS

  • Skills

    Demonstrate the ability to co-ordinate and lead a multi-agency care plan / risk management plan

  • Skills

    Ability to identify and employ as appropriate clinical governance mechanisms for the support and maintenance of clinical practice

  • Skills

    Demonstrate a commitment to respecting and displaying the Trust Values at all times • A commitment to the continuous improvement of services using feedback from individual clients, families, user surveys and clinical research

  • Skills

    Emotional stamina, and resilience to respond constructively in highly stressful situations • Ability to organise and co-ordinate areas of work that are complex and demanding

  • Skills

    Ability to identify and provide appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to distressing situations and severely challenging behaviours

  • Skills

    A commitment to the continuous improvement of services using feedback from individual clients, families, user surveys and clinical research

  • Skills

    Ability to organise and co-ordinate areas of work that are complex and demanding

  • Knowledge

    Knowledge and skills in the complete range of approaches within the field as required to meet the needs of different patients and settings

  • Knowledge

    Level of knowledge of the mental health needs of children and adolescents

  • Knowledge

    Have experience in providing risk assessments

  • Knowledge

    Knowledge of legislation and strategic frameworks and their implications for both clinical practice and professional management in relation to the full range of client groups

  • Experience

    Experience of managing a case-load of children and young people with a range of moderate mental • health needs.

  • Experience

    Working within a children • community mental health setting

  • Experience

    Experience of delivering evidence-based psychological therapy e.g. CBT

  • Experience

    Experience of working with a wide variety of patient groups that reflect the full range of clinical severity including a high degree of professionalism in the face of emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse

  • Experience

    Experienced in and the ability to undertake case management and the supervision of students as required

  • Experience

    Experience of providing supervision

  • Qualifications

    Must have one of the following: Education Mental Health Practitioner Graduate (EMHP) or Post Graduate Qualification

  • Qualifications

    Children and Young Persons Wellbeing Practitioner (CYWP) Graduate or Post Graduate Qualification

  • Qualifications

    Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP) Graduate or Post Graduate Qualification

  • Qualifications

    Cognitive Behavioural Therapies Post Graduate Certificate/Diploma and where applicable hold a professional registration with the relevant accrediting body or be able to evidence ability to undertake this within 12 months of commencing in post. Registration must be maintained throughout employment OR

  • Qualifications

    Core Professional Qualification in one of the following areas: - Nursing - Social Work - Occupational Therapy

Desirable

14 listed

Additional qualities the employer would prefer.

  • Skills

    Information technology and management skills using word processing, spreadsheets, database and presentation software

  • Skills

    Ability to demonstrate leadership and management skills to multi-disciplinary work

  • Knowledge

    Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialist therapies in specific difficult to treat groups

  • Knowledge

    A level knowledge of theory and practice of specialist therapy / interventions

  • Knowledge

    Knowledge and skills in providing consultation to other professionals and non-professional groups

  • Knowledge

    Knowledge of research design and methodology consistent with practice to at least Degree level or equivalent

  • Knowledge

    Level of knowledge and/or training and other psychological therapies

  • Experience

    Experience of delivering teaching, training

  • Experience

    Experience of mental health assessments and therapeutic interventions with children and young people with mental health problems and their families

  • Experience

    Experience of providing clinical supervision

  • Experience

    Experience in consultation to other professional and non-professional groups

  • Qualifications

    Senior CYWP Qualification

  • Qualifications

    Senior EMHP Qualification

  • Qualifications

    PWP Supervision Qualification

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our Children and Young People's Mental Health Service in Knowsley.

We are a multi disciplinary team consisting of psychiatrists, nurses, psychologists, therapists and support workers who assess, treat and signpost referrals received for children and young people displaying mental health difficulties.

The successful candidate will be a key part of the multidisciplinary team, with caseload management responsibilities. They should have excellent communication skills to communicate with both internal and external professionals along with the young people and families that we work with.

Knowsley CYPMHS is part of the THRIVE offer within Knowsley and the successful candidate will hold a key role in ensuring the effective use of this.

We look forward to welcoming the successful candidate to our team which has recently won Team of the Month within Mersey Care and a Good Plus QRV result.

Main duties of the job

To hold a caseload of both specialist and generic work dependant on clinical competence and experience.

Undertake assessments, treatment and consultation work based upon a conceptual framework and employing research-based evidence.

Provide direct therapeutic interventions dependent on clinical competence and experience in line with the grading of the post, including assessments, formulation and therapeutic input into children, young people and families referred into the service.

Undertake risk assessments and care plans accordingly, in line with the THRIVE framework.

To be responsible for the screening of referrals to children and Young People’s service.

To exercise responsibility and autonomy, within supervisory, managerial and accountability structures, for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients.

To deliver care co-ordination, ensuring effective assessment, care planning and risk management processes are maintained. Involve the views of children, their families, referring agents and other professionals involved in the network of care including organising multi-agency meetings.

To work jointly and collaboratively with other team members in order to enhance and develop the provision of services to young people and their families.

Identify and respond appropriately to child protection issues, as described with the guidelines of Local Safeguarding Children’s Board and Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust safeguarding policies.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To engage with using routine outcome measures as clinically appropriate including their use in clinical practice and inputting data into clinical record

To work collaboratively with children, young people and their families and contribute to the trust’s service user participation agenda.

Work in partnership to deliver a range of mental health interventions. This may involve group work or direct work with children/young people as well as offering specialist mental health-based consultation, and advice around men tal health.

Be responsible and ensure the effective co-ordination of clinical care provided including consideration to safeguarding and clinical risk issues where indicated

Work with clinical staff to identify children and young people with emerging mental health needs.

If working within MHST, Providing supervision and caseload management to the new EMHP (dependent on clinical competence and experience)

Participate in MDT discussion within relevant locality including waiting list management contribution.

Work in partnership with young people and their families to inform assessment, need and rationale for treatment intervention.

To work collaboratively with team members and supervisors to ensure safe working practice and positive outcomes for children and young people.

To follow safeguarding processes as appropriate or required.

When working within MHSTs the post holder will be expected to lead on engagement and participation events/activities hosted by the team and support delivery of the whole school approach offer by the team.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

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.

WhatsApp job alerts

Get instant WhatsApp alerts for Band 6 Mental health practitioner roles in Prescot

Create your Job Clerk account first. We'll collect your alert preferences during onboarding and help you turn on WhatsApp notifications for matching healthcare roles.

Sign up for WhatsApp alerts

Applying for this NHS job

This advert is for Senior Mental Health Practitioner with Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust in Prescot, England. It is listed as a Band 6 Mental health practitioner role. The advertised salary is £39,959 - £48,117 pro rata/per annum. The contract type is Permanent: Full time. The application deadline is 21 Oct 2026.

Before you apply, compare the job description with the person specification and mirror the employer's essential criteria in your supporting information. Use the vacancy title, employer, location, salary, contract type, closing date and posted date (20 Oct 2026) to decide whether this role fits your current NHSjob search. If the employer can close applications early, prepare the application before the stated deadline rather than waiting for the final day.

For more context, review related Job Clerk pages for the same profession, band or location where they exist, then use the application-support guides to tailor your statement and prepare for interview.