Specialist Community Practitioner - Personality Disorder Service

Job overview

This is an exciting opportunity to join Lewisham Personality Disorders service. This role provides training and development, suitable for someone with an interest in this patient group who likes working as part of a team. The job is split between facilitating and supporting the SUN crisis and support groups, and working as an MBT therapist.

In terms of career progression, it will enhance your intervention skills working therapeutically with personality disorder or other mental health difficulties in collaboration with other team members. You will achieve SUN lead facilitator competencies, and receive accredited training in MBT.

The post is suitable for a mental health worker (eg CPN, OT, practitioner psychologist, social worker, clinical or counselling psychologist. We will provide training in SUN and MBT.

If you are Band 6, you would be employed at Band 6 an on completion of MBT-therapist training (which we would provide) an accreditation, you would move to Band 7.

If you are already accredited as an MBT therapist or psychological therapist, you could start at Band 7.

Main duties of the job

The SUN project involves patients attending a weekly group which focuses on developing coping-skills and builds capacity to manage crises including crisis planning. These are structured 2.5-hour groups. People refer themselves and do not need to be in contact with SLaM. Members can attend as many or as few groups as they wish. There are SUN groups on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. One or two groups are on-line. We are considering an evening or weekend SUN group. Your role would include working closely with our SUN lead to organise and support SUN, as well as learning to lead facilitate SUN groups.

The other key part of your job would be delivering individual and group mentalisation based therapy as part of our MBT team.  We would support you in learning MBT.

You would also be involved in other activities which could include evaluation eg focus groups, assisting with gathering outcome data, record keeping, and the possibility of some individual support work with clients in the service.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Work alongside other staff to assist in delivering SUN groups online and in the community to:

• reduce the number of crises that require urgent and unplanned responses from services;

• Improve coping skills of SUN members

• Facilitate access to other services and sources of support.

• To encourage people to take an active role in their recovery

• To promote independence

• Assist in the promotion of SUN by helping coordinate SUN, liaison work such as attending meetings, doing presentations to people who access services, staff and other organisations.

• To deliver Mentalization Based Therapy (MBT) in individual and group therapy with accredited MBT training and weekly supervision provided..

• Ensure that potential risk is being assessed within a culture of positive risk taking and report concerns in line with Risk Management Policy.

• Contribute to evaluating the SUN project

• Keep up-to-date documentation and administration.

• Comply with policies, procedures and guidelines.

• Undertake other relevant duties as requested.