Job summary
Chelmsford and Harlow , Base Stapleford House or Aylmer House The SET CAMHS crisis and therapeutic home treatment team offer assessment and interventions to those young people presenting with mental deterioration or crisis presentations. We now work within the Thrive model and implement collaborative care plans with our community services and community SET CAMHS team to promote positive outcomes for vulnerable young people and their families-there are opportunities here for joint working and co-ordinating alongside the community based teams. Our approach to working is being developed with a focus on meeting the needs of the young person to ensure effective clinical practice and brief therapeutic interventions, and to reduce risk to have a stabilising impact within a containing approach. Within the service there are opportunities for development and training in various therapeutic approaches, and all new starters will be provided with a full induction and opportunities to shadow the team and to learn about the various departments/teams within the SET CAMHS model. We also welcome candidates from internal teams who may be interested in career progression and are wishing to enhance their practice and skillset in relation to this client group. Regular clinical supervision and reflective space is offered to members of the team, and the team operates on a shared risk model to ensure that decisions are made collectively with effective formulations of need.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will benefit from being part of a friendly, supportive, dynamic and developing service based within Essex. The successful candidate will work alongside highly motivated colleagues and have access to effective supervision, both individually and group formats, and be supported with CPD requirements through relevant training. We are looking for candidates who have enthusiasm and passion for meeting the needs of young people in crisis and supporting the families who support them, as well as being adaptable, enjoying variety, working independently, as well as understanding the relevance of team working. At NELFT we set very high standards to ensure we provide quality services. We require prospective employees to carry out an online literacy and numeracy test, equivalent to NVQ Level 2. For more information regarding our assessments, please visit our website. If you are shortlisted, invited for interview and successfully offered the post, you will be required to undertake an assessment for these skills during the pre-employment checks.
About us
NELFT NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health and community services for over 4.9 million people living in the London Boroughs of Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Barking and Dagenham, Havering, and across Essex. We work to ensure our patients, their friends and family, feel confident that their health needs are well met. With an excellent reputation for research and development, our skilled health professionals are at the cutting edge of evidence-based innovation, opening up the possibilities for better ways of working and delivery of care.
Details
- Date posted: 17 August 2026
- Pay scheme: Agenda for change
- Band: Band 6
- Salary: £39,959 to £48,117 a year
- Contract: Permanent
- Working pattern: Full-time
- Reference number: SHX-3EL-001806
- Job locations: Stapleford House, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 0QX, United Kingdom
Job responsibilities
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
We are particularly looking for clinicians who can meet the following criteria:
- Skilled in assessment, formulation, management and delivery of therapy to people experiencing acute mental health crisis in both community and hospital settings
- Experienced in assessing and managing clinical risk, drawing on dynamic case formulation skills and working collaboratively with service users to agree their treatment and safety plans
- Possess a current Nursing, Social Work, Occupational Therapist, Counselling, Psychotherapy or equivalent professional qualification (BABCP , HCPC) and be skilled and experienced in the delivery of evidence-based approaches to therapy (including DBT/CBT/Systemic & Creative therapies).
- Having knowledge, understanding and experience of working with the legal frameworks which relate to the care and treatment of children and young people, with particular reference to Children Act 1989, Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Mental Health Act 1983 (as amended in 2007)
- Flexibility to work within a service which operates 7 days a week 365 days per year which includes unsociable hours
- The candidate will possess the ability to work independently as well as being a collaborative and supportive member of the Multidisciplinary Team, and have an understanding and appreciation of the networks that surround young people in a modern age, especially in relation to mental health and mental health crisis.
- Are flexible in practice and approach and able to carry out high quality Mental Health and Risk Assessments and deliver talking therapy and aforementioned evidence-based informed interventions in a variety of settings, including young people’s homes, colleges, schools, community settings and A&Es
- Able to formulate specific highly specialist care and treatment plans, providing skilled and specialist interventions and care to young people with complex mental health problems. Completing detailed written assessments in a timely manner.
- Have a passion and enthusiasm for delivering high quality care to young people and their families
- The use and management of clients electronic records.
- Managing busy or complex workloads as part of a team.
This post is open to Registered Mental Health Nurses (RMN's), Occupational Therapists (OT), Social Workers, Counsellors, Psychotherapists and Psychological Therapists, Creative therapists who hold registration with BABCP or HCPC.
Please see the attached job description and person specification for more information about this role and working at North East London NHS Foundation Trust. We encourage you to refer to this when completing your application.
We welcome your application even if you do not meet all the criteria listed in the person specification. Please apply as soon as possible as some posts close early to limit the number of applications.
Certificates of Sponsorship
Although we are a registered sponsor organisation, we are unable to offer sponsorship for all job roles. Please check your eligibility under the UKVI points-based system. When calculating the basic salary for sponsorship, HCAS (High-Cost Area Supplement) is not included to ensure fairness and consistency within our Trust.
Use of AI
Please see attached document regarding acceptable use of AI during the recruitment process.
Working for Us Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London and Essex. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.
The Trust has award-winning equality and diversity initiatives, along with staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest significantly in your development because when you feel valued and supported, we can deliver the highest quality care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been recognised in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for five consecutive years, and hold a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Through our staff networks and training opportunities, we strive to foster a just and compassionate culture at NELFT.
Starting with NELFT NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers and attend a number of drop-in sessions focusing on engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Goodmayes, Essex.
Probationary Period This post will be subject to a probationary period. Internal applicants are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or currently a bank member of staff).
Person specification
Other
Essential
- To be able to travel efficiently throughout the area.
- To be aware and demonstrate the Trust Values.
- To be able to work within the Professional Code of Conduct and Ethics.
- To be able to work autonomously within the overall framework of the Trust’s policies and procedures.
- Able to form good working relationships with others in multi-disciplinary and inter-agency settings.
- Evidence of personal resilience and aptitude for dealing with challenging, potentially distressing and highly emotional clinical work.
Skills
Essential
- Basic awareness of IT and IT skills.
- Ability to communicate clearly and effectively highly complex and sensitive matters to patients, which give rise to psychological distress.
- Highly developed ability to integrate complex clinical information into a coherent formulation.
- Skill in the ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside CAMHS.
- Ability to tolerate anxiety without recourse to premature action whilst appreciating the role of the supervisor.
- Capacity to work alone, involving colleagues and manger as relevant.
- Capacity to write clear records and observe policies, procedures and guidelines.
- Ability to plan and organise own workload and time.
- Ability to use outcome monitoring across all clinical work.
Knowledge
Essential
- An awareness of NHS priorities.
- High level knowledge of the theory and practice of short term and long term clinical interventions in CAMHS.
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to children and adolescents and safeguarding procedures and policies.
- Knowledge of NHS, Social Care and Education structures, national policies and frameworks, evidence based practice including NICE Guidelines.
- Knowledge of risk management and ability to monitor and assess risk and act accordingly to ensure safety.
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working with difficult, disturbed or challenging children/young people requiring skilled and complex interventions.
- Experience of working with children and adolescents with co-morbid difficulties and special needs. (i.e. combination of organic and emotional deficits, such as autistic spectrum disorders and trauma).
- Experience of working therapeutically with parents/carers/families of children and young people with complex mental health problems.
- Experience of using observation (eg. In school contexts) to contribute to assessments of children.
- Experience of carrying out generic assessment with other colleagues in the multi-disciplinary team.
- Experience of assessment carried out autonomously in order to determine the most appropriate treatment plan from a range of options for the child/young person.
- Experience of providing individual interventions with a wide variety of children and young people, from 3 to 19 years old- presenting problems at the most severe end of the spectrum.
- Experience of initiating, organising and planning inter-agency meetings aimed at setting in place a treatment package tailored to the individual needs of a child/young person.
- Experience of providing clinical interventions in different cultural contexts.
Qualifications
Essential
- NVQ level 2 or equivalent standard of literacy and numeracy.
- Successful completion of a graduate training (e.g. nursing, social work, occupational therapy) or equivalent substantial CAMHS clinical experience.
- Further professional knowledge will have been gained through accredited courses workshops, study and in house training programmes (e.g. CYP-IAPT training).
- To be eligible for registration as a full member of the appropriate professional body (e.g. HCPC NMC).
Demonstration of Trust Values
Essential
- Putting people first
- Prioritising quality
- Being progressive, innovative, and continually improve
- Being professional and honest
- Promoting what is possible, independence, opportunity, and choice
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for SET CAMHS Crisis Practitioner (Mid and West) with North East London NHS Foundation Trust in Stapleford House, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 0QX, United Kingdom, United Kingdom. It is listed as a Band 6 Mental health professionals role. The advertised salary is £39959.00 to £48117.00. The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 31 Aug 2026.
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