Job summary
This role is open to CAMHS clinicians with broad experience and clinical qualification - Clinical Psychologist / Family and Systemic Psychotherapist / Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist / Counselling Psychologist/ Occupational Therapist/ Clinical Social Worker/ Mental Health Nurse/ CAMHS clinician

1.0 WTE permanent post
This is an exciting opportunity for a CAMHS clinician to work within Islington's Central Point of Access, Social Emotional Mental Health (SEMH) team . The successful candidates will offer duty, triage and assessment work.

Islington's Central Point of Access (CPA) and SEMH service provision was launched in Sept 2019. It is a partnership between CAMHS, Barnardo's Counselling, Targeted Youth Services, the Brandon Centre and Isledon Well-Being Workers. The CPA operates from Islington Children's Social Care (CSCT), 222 Upper Street and the SEMH team works closely with Social Care and Early Help providers. We are very proud to have been 'Highly Commended' by the HSJ (Health Service Journal) Awards 2020.

You will join an innovative, enthusiastic and supportive team which is highly respected in the Borough with strong working relationships with partner agencies.

Main duties of the job

• Duty/ risk screening of CAMHS and SEMH referrals.
• Responsibility for a caseload (triage and assessment) over the telephone and face-to-face assessments when required.
• Providing a responsive service offering advice and consultation to families, professionals and referrers about SEMH difficulties and services

About us
Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.

Job responsibilities
Please see JD and Person Specification. The role is principally to process referrals received to Islington's Central Point of Access and Social Emotional Mental Health team, working in conjunction with Children's Social Care and Partner Agencies.

Person Specification
Education / Qualifications
Essential

• Post-graduate/doctoral level qualification in clinical psychology, counselling psychology, family and systemic psychotherapy or child and adolescent psychotherapy as recognised by HCPC/DOH/UKCP/ACP, or other relevant professional qualification recognised by appropriate registering bodies
• HPC or other relevant professional registration
• 1 year post qualifying experience of working in working with children and families

Skills & Abilities
Essential

• Able to confidently and competently undertake generic and crisis CAMHS assessment, including risk assessment
• Skills in the assessment of mental health factors for children with complex emotional and behavioural difficulties and challenging behaviour, their families and carers.
• Skills in assessing and understanding the mental health needs of adults.
• Experience and skills in providing consultation and advice to colleagues, referral agencies and services responsible for the care, support and wellbeing of service users and their families/carers.
• Being able to collaboratively work with other agencies. Appreciation and interest to develop understanding of how partner agencies work, following the defined pathways.
• Actively uses supervision and opportunities for development of skills
• Knowledge and skills in effective communication, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.

Knowledge & Experience
Essential

• Understands developmental and neurodevelopmental issues for children and able to adapt assessment and interventions accordingly
• Understands individual and service safeguarding responsibilities, policy and procedure
• Understands the elements of effective engagement and can apply these to a high level to working practice with colleagues and clients
• Experience of providing a culturally sensitive therapeutic service to young people and families.
• High level knowledge of the theory and practice of psychological interventions.
• Experience of working with children and young people presenting with a range of mental health difficulties and challenging behaviour.

Desirable

• Knowledge of or training in trauma-informed approaches with children and young people.
• Experience of working clinically in community settings e.g. with children's centres and schools to meet the mental health needs of CYP

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.
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.