Job summary
This is an exciting opportunity to work across Southwark CAMHS and the Southwark Team for Early Psychosis (STEP) to support young people experiencing first-episode psychosis and those at risk of developing psychosis. The post holder will play a central role in strengthening collaboration between CAMHS, STEP, adult mental health services, and a range of statutory and voluntary sector partners to ensure young people receive coordinated, high-quality care. A key focus of the role is to lead on the development and delivery of the early intervention for psychosis pathway within CAMHS, while also supporting seamless transitions into adult services where appropriate.

This is a demanding but rewarding role, requiring the ability to manage complex and high-risk presentations, prioritise effectively, and respond to urgent situations with flexibility and resilience. The post holder will regularly work with young people and families experiencing high levels of distress, and will need to communicate difficult or sensitive information in a compassionate and professional manner.

Main duties of the job
The post holder will have a highly specialist role in the assessment and provision of a range of appropriate care and treatment to young people with psychosis and their families. S/he will work together with other members of the MDT teams and with colleagues from other services to provide holistic care to young people aged 14 years and over, following the first onset of psychosis, and to help manage the transition to adult services post-18 if required. This post holder will be the only clinician in STEP with the specific remit to work with under 18's and be the lead clinician supporting those with first-episode psychosis under CAMHS.

The post holder will have a caseload in both CAMHS and STEP. A central element to this role is the effectively management of the transition for young people into appropriate adult services where this is deemed necessary and to work flexibly to promote seamless transitions. The role will include specialist assessment of possible FEP in those 14y+ and the implementation & review of treatment. The role will include strategic planning, pathway delivery, networking with non-statutory agencies, therefore interfaces with other services and agencies is crucial. These duties and others will be carried out in a manner that is respectful of each client's beliefs, culture and experience, and that recognises and mobilises the contributions of families, communities, colleagues in the team and service agencies towards the wellbeing of young people.

About us
We launched our five-year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives in 2021 together with Our Care Improvement System as our quality management system methodology to make a positive impact on patient care, outcomes and staff experience. By joining SLaM, all staff will get the opportunity to be part of this exciting improvement journey supported with learning and development to harness everyone's potential as change makers.

By coming to work at our Trust, you will gain experience of being part of an organisation with a rich history and international reputation in mental health care. You will have access to professional development and learning opportunities and have the chance to work alongside people who are world leaders in their field. The Trust delivered more than 14,000 training experiences in 2014; providing an extensive range of learning opportunities for staff at all levels. In addition, our working relationship with King's Health Partners allows those working at the Trust to get involved in academic research.

Job responsibilities
1) Communication and relationship skills

• Maintain good relationships and clear lines of communication with other professional agencies and departments, providing specialist advice and support where appropriate. The role will involve consultation and liaison to practitioners within Southwark CAMHS and other local agencies, such as education, statutory & voluntary agencies to ensure appropriate service provision & ensure that care plans for individuals are co-ordinated efficiently across agencies.
• Ability to communicate complex and sensitive information effectively with patients, relatives and carers, where there may be barriers to understanding. Ability to deal effectively with patient or carer concerns, complaints and anxieties as they arise.
• Communicates sensitive/ highly sensitive, confidential information concerning patients or clients requiring empathy, persuasion and reassurance. Some may have special needs; patients or clients may be hostile, antagonistic or aggressive due to mental state.
• To communicate skilfully and sensitively complex and sensitive information with clients, carers and colleagues overcoming barriers to communication including sensory, and emotional difficulties, cultural differences and hostility to or rejection of information.

2) Knowledge, training and experience

• The post holder will lead and develop the early intervention for psychosis pathway across all Southwark CAMHS teams and is the lead clinician supporting those under 18y with first-episode psychosis.
• Provide highly specialist assessment, care co-ordination, care planning & treatment within the CPA framework & NICE guidelines for young people with psychosis, within the context of the multi-disciplinary Southwark CAMHS teams and STEP.
• The post holder will have a caseload from both CAMHS and STEP.
• Take a lead in specialist complex assessments for possible first-episode psychosis and unusual experiences with other disciplines and other agencies.

3) Analytical and judgmental skills

• The post holder will have excellent diagnostic assessment, risk assessment and care planning skills, specialising in those with first-episode psychosis and at-risk-mental-state for psychosis and other co-morbid diagnoses.
• The role will involve administering a range of assessment tools and frameworks to evaluate outcomes and progress.

4) Planning & organisational skills

• Ensuring there is collaboration between CAMHS and STEP by liaising between the services and facilitating joint meetings where required in order to provide a seamless transfer of care between the services. Highlighting and addressing issues where there are ineffective transitions.
• Ensure that legal and Trust requirements affecting service users and staff are adhered to and ensure a safe working environment for users and staff. Cooperate with statutory agencies with the responsibility to protect children and ensure that issues of risk and safety of young people are assessed, and any necessary safeguarding action is implemented.
• Development of specialist health, social, educational care plans, working closely with appropriate agencies.

5) Physical skills

• A high level of good verbal communication, written and report writing skills.
• Experience of conducting high quality risk assessments and implementing risk management plans.
• If qualified RMN, then the post-holder will take a leading role in administering intermuscular medication to clients.
• The post-holder will have the ability to adapt interventions and work creatively with younger clients.

6) Patient / client care

• Providing specialist assessment, formulation and intervention for those with psychosis, involving individualised approaches for complex clients & families.
• Gives highly specialist advice to young people and families based on the NICE guidelines for Early Intervention for Psychosis.
• Constantly assessing and evaluating care, making appropriate changes to suit the needs of the client & family.

7) Policy / service development

• Ensure the continuing quality and development of a clinical service through appropriate training, skill and knowledge development opportunities, and participation in supervision and appraisal.
• Leading on the development of the CAMHS psychosis service and interventions offered to young people and their families. Liaising and consulting with the team regarding policy or service changes within the pathways. Developing the transition pathway and service across CAMHS and STEP ensuring transition guidelines are met. Responsible for updating and adapting the pathways in line with service changes.

8) Financial and physical resources

• Personal duty to make small payments to support patient engagement and psychosocial recovery which can be claimed back via expenses.

9) Human resources

• Facilitate upskilling of staff in CAMHS by providing training on psychosis and how it presents in children and young people. Taking a lead on psychosis presentations in children and young people by providing support and oversight to other practitioners who may be working with clients with this presentation.
• Facilitate upskilling of staff in STEP on referrals from CAMHS and how this treatment pathway works. Providing consultation to STEP colleagues about transitions, working with children & adolescents and liaison with services e.g., education & social care.
• Offering supervision and line management for junior staff within STEP and/or CAMHS.
• Contribute to the training and supervision of students, trainees and professionals on placement in the service.
• Providing consultations regarding psychosis/ARMS cases for all members of the CAMHS teams within Southwark, often to senior members of the team and CAMHS clinical specialists. Also providing consultation to CAMHS and STEP care co-ordinators regarding transition cases.
• Provide training internally to healthcare teams and to 3rd party organisations about the role of STEP and first-episode psychosis.

10) Information resources

• Prompt, accurate & clear written documentation relating to clients confidential information on to electronic notes system.
• Maintain accurate and succinct record and statistics as required by the service and any other administrative tasks related to the work.

11) Research & development

• Leading on the monitoring, evaluation and audit of the CAMHS psychosis service e.g. SLaM gap analysis (CYP), NIHCE QS 102 gap analysis, NCAP EIP spotlight audit.

12) Freedom to Act

• The post holder will be the only clinician in STEP with the specific remit to work with under 18s and be the lead clinician supporting those with first-episode psychosis under CAMHS.
• The post holder will have a caseload in both Southwark CAMHS and STEP.
• The post holder will report directly into the Team Leaders for Southwark CAMHS and STEP.
• Managing the data of the young people on the CAMHS psychosis pathway and liaising with other multi-disciplinary team members across all Southwark CAMHS teams to monitor and review all young people under the early intervention for psychosis pathway.
• Facilitate the transition of young people with psychosis between all Southwark CAMHS teams and STEP or other adult community mental health teams, in relation to service user needs and wishes. This will include strategic planning, pathway delivery, networking with non-statutory agencies, researching and updating resources of services for young adults.
• Work co-operatively with other members of the multi-disciplinary CAMHS teams as well as staff and practitioners from other key agencies to provide assessment and a range of appropriate interventions to young people with psychosis and their families.
• Responsible for decision making around care planning and risk management with the support of wider MDT.

13) Physical effort

• Work with and on behalf of young people & families in a way that promotes and develops their strengths, resources and quality of life, and deliver services in a manner that is appropriate, relevant and respectful to all community members, recognising the diversity of ethnicity, culture, belief, privilege and capacity.
• Works assertively to engage young people and families, utilising community centres, public open spaces and home visits etc. Often working autonomously at different locations across the borough and responsible for personal safety.

14) Mental effort

• The role often involves many challenging situations, managing priorities and interruptions as well as imparting unwelcome news and dealing with the challenging behaviour.
• Working with high level of complexity and risk including aggression and conflict.
• Able to maintain flexibility and responsiveness and balancing priorities when dealing with urgent or emergency situations.
• Frequently managing young people and families presenting with a high level of distress and risk and appropriately supporting needs in the community with the support of crisis services and careful safety planning.

15) Emotional effort

• To communicate complex and sensitive information with clients, carers and colleagues overcoming barriers to communication including sensory, and emotional difficulties, cultural differences and hostility to or rejection of information.
• Skilfully communicates distressing or unwelcome information relating to difficult topics e.g., safeguarding, diagnoses, risk management or treatment.

16) Working conditions

• Ability to manage emotionally stressful situations such as working with victims of abuse or trauma, or with people who engage in severe self-harming or violent & aggressive behaviour.
• Ability to manage verbal aggression and hostility directed at self or others.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• All applicants will require a professional training and relevant CAMHS experience in combination with professional registration with one of the following statutory bodies: NMC, Social Work England or HCPC
• Evidence of post-graduate qualification or continuing professional development as required by relevant Professional body e.g. Masters level -HCPC/UKCP, RCN, BABCP
• 2 years minimum CAMHs or EIS experience

Desirable

• Familiarity with therapeutic approaches commonly used in CAMHS & EIS eg CBTp, Family Intervention
• Additional training on working with adolescents
• Training in Clinical supervision/mentorship

Experience
Essential

• Experience of working with children and adolescents with severe mental health disorders (including psychosis)
• Experience of working with a wide variety of service users and presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity evident in populations with psychosis in community settings
• Experience of conducting high quality risk assessments and implementing risk management plans, often in crisis interventions
• Experience of supervision, training and leadership roles

Desirable

• Experience of working with adolescents and with young adults.
• Experience of applying Cognitive Behaviour Therapy approaches to psychosis
• Specialist experience of working in an Early Intervention for Psychosis Team.

Knowledge
Essential

• A high level of knowledge and expertise about CAMHS and Early Intervention for Psychosis services and related legislation/policy
• Evidence of using NICE guidelines to inform practice and understanding transition models and processes.
• Knowledge of social care legislation including the Children's Act and the Care Act
• Evidence of using child protection or adult safeguarding in practice effectively

Desirable

• Experience administering a range of assessment tools and frameworks to evaluate outcomes and progress.
• Experience of carrying out relapse prevention work with individuals experiencing psychosis.

Skills
Essential

• Excellent diagnostic assessment, risk assessment and care planning skills
• Ability to work in partnership with service users and carers in the planning and delivery of care
• Ability to maintain effective professional relationships with all team members, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles
• Ability to manage emotionally stressful situations such as working with victims of abuse or trauma, or with people who engage in severe self-harming or aggressive behaviour

Desirable

• Ability to work with learning disability and neurodivergent clients
• Ability to work with dual diagnosis clients

Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).