Senior Mental Health Practitioner

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities.

• Offer a same day triage of referrals.
• Co-ordinate and lead for shifts as required.
• To provide the initial telephone clinical triage as required of referrals to the Talking Therapies service.
• To gather further information as required from referrer or other providers to help support a clinical outcome decision.
• Identify the appropriate intervention or management required and process to the appropriate CPFT pathway or 3rd sector agency.
• Provide completed outcome reports/letters containing the necessary information of a high standard.
• Have excellent telephone communication skills.
• Be conversant and proactive with Government legislation pertaining to the Mental Health Act, National Service Framework, NHS Plan and Clinical Governance.
• Encourage, promote, and maintain effective communication with the Primary Care providers, Community Teams, Acute Care Services, and 3rd Sector providers.
• The post will include flexible working patterns over a range of working hours.
• Represent NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Talking Therapies SPA at local and Trust wide meetings.
• To contribute to the professional development within the NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Talking Therapies SPA.
• To always promote and display the highest professional standards.
• Professional body's code of conduct must be always complied with.

• Relevant professional qualification e.g. Dip OT, Dip SW, RMN, Clinical Psychology Grade A, or equivalent further qualification in mental health work.
• Minimum of 2-3 years' experience of working in a mental health care setting and of liaising and working with GPs.

• Experience of working across organisational boundaries and working effectively with a range of external partners.
• Experience of supervising qualified and unqualified members of staff.
• Excellent communication skills when dealing with service users, relatives, carers, and other outside agencies either by telephone/letter or face to face.
• Be proficient in the use of computerised systems especially databases and Microsoft Word and Excel at a level to enable the production of a high standard of finished work.

• An understanding of the national Talking Therapies service and how it links to governmental objectives.
• A knowledge of the theory and practice of psychological therapies.

• Able to demonstrate commitment to high quality care and service provision.
• Confident and competent IT skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills - written and verbal.

• Experience and awareness of mental health and wellbeing.
• Confidence in clinical decision making in a electronic based service.

• High proportion of computer-based activity, long periods of sitting.

• Evidence of continuing professional development.
• Able to contain and work with high levels of distress from clients.
• Ability to work within a team fostering good working relationships.

Here at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) we are dedicated to providing high quality care with compassion. We deliver many of the NHS services that are provided outside of hospital and in the community such as physical, mental health and specialist services.

We are a health and social care organisation, offering a wide range of services, including:

• Integrated physical and mental health services for adults and older people;
• Specialist mental health and learning disability services;
• Children and young people's mental health services;
• Children's community services in Peterborough;
• Social care;
• Ground-breaking research

We strongly encourage applications from all sections of the community, particularly from under‑represented groups including disabled people and members of our ethnic minorities and LGBTQ+ communities. For further information about our positive equality, diversity and Inclusion work, please visit

CPFT is looking to…