Band 6 Senior Mental Health Practitioner

Employer information

Please note that this post may close earlier than the indicated closing date if a sufficient number of applications are received.

Job overview

This is a really exciting time, we have been granted some additional monies to increase our staffing and develop our crisis model. Initially the posts out for a fixed term period with the potential to extend.

If you're a clinician who thrives on meaningful work, rapid decision‑making, and the chance to potentially change the trajectory of a young person's life, this is the role that will ignite your passion. Birmingham's CAMHS Crisis & Home Treatment Team is looking for exceptional professionals who want to be part of a service that is transforming how urgent mental health care is delivered to children, young people, and their families.

This is not a traditional CAMHS post. This is frontline, relationship‑driven, high‑impact work where your clinical expertise becomes a lifeline for young people in their most vulnerable moments. You'll be joining a dynamic, multidisciplinary team that blends clinical excellence with creativity, compassion, and a commitment to delivering care where it matters most in the home and community.

You'll be at the heart of crisis care providing rapid assessments, safety planning, and intensive home‑based interventions that prevent unnecessary hospital admissions and keep young people safely supported in their own environments.

Main duties of the job

This role provides rapid, specialist mental health support to children and young people experiencing acute mental health crisis. As a senior clinician within the CAMHS Crisis and Home Treatment Team, you will deliver urgent assessments, formulate risk and safety plans, and provide intensive home-based treatment designed to stabilise young people in their own environment and prevent unnecessary hospital admission. You will work closely with families, schools, social care, paediatrics, and inpatient services to ensure safe, coordinated care and timely discharge back into the community. You will act as a key point of contact during periods of crisis, offering skilled de-escalation, brief therapeutic interventions, and confident clinical decision-making. As part of a robust multidisciplinary team, you will contribute to case formulation, crisis planning, medication monitoring, and high-quality documentation. This role requires resilience, autonomy, and a commitment to delivering compassionate, trauma-informed care to young people and their families during their most vulnerable moments

Working for our organisation

Welcome to Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. Our 4000 clinical and support staff help us to improve mental health wellbeing and meet the needs of the 70,000 people we serve each year. We provide a range of mental healthcare services across Birmingham and Solihull, as well as specialised services nationally. We also offer medical, nursing and psychology training and are proud of our international reputation for both research and innovation.

Our population is culturally diverse, characterised in places by high levels of deprivation which create an increasing demand for our services and a necessity for us to make sure everyone can access the help they need. We are a team of compassionate, inclusive and committed people working together to provide excellent care to support our community. If you are looking for a place to belong, where you can make a real difference to people's lives, join our team where our warm welcome is waiting for you.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• NMC, Social Work England or HCPC registered professional

Desirable criteria

• Relevant Post qualifying qualification e.g. or be able to demonstrate an equivalent level of training
• Specific qualification in a relevant therapeutic speciality e.g. counselling, Family Therapy, CBT, substance misuse

Knowledge and skills

Essential criteria

• Knowledge of common CAMHS crisis presentations, including self‑harm, suicidal ideation, behavioural dysregulation, and eating disorders.
• Understanding of equality, diversity, cultural competence, and trauma‑informed practice.
• Understanding of equality, diversity, cultural competence, and trauma‑informed practice.
• Skilled in de‑escalation, crisis management, and delivering brief, evidence‑based interventions in high‑pressure situations.
• Ability to complete rapid, holistic mental health and risk assessments for children and young people in acute crisis.

Desirable criteria

• Strong understanding of child and adolescent development, attachment, trauma, neurodiversity, and family dynamics.

Experience

Essential criteria

• Delivering and /or facilitating evidence based interventions to a wide range of service users and carers;
• Experience delivering community‑based or home‑treatment interventions.
• Experience working collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team.
• Experience supporting safe discharge planning and coordinating care across services
• Experience working within CAMHS or a mental health crisis service, ideally with children and young people.
• Therapeutic interventions

Desirable criteria

• Strong understanding of child and adolescent development, attachment, trauma, neurodiversity, and family dynamics.

Values

Essential criteria

• Put patient care at the heart of the work you do to improve health care outcomes and service delivery
• Deliver the highest standards and quality outcomes possible Be the best you can be, always look for ways to improve and develop to reach your potential
• Encourage others to develop themselves and the service through improvement, innovation and continuous development
• Joint working with others, e.g. patients, colleagues in the delivery of high quality healthcare
• Build positive working relationships, respecting and valuing others, being helpful and inclusive

Additional employer information

Our Trust is committed to treating individuals fairly and ensuring they have the same opportunities to fulfil their potential, even if this means doing things differently for different people sometimes. We are working hard to ensure our workforce reflects the diversity within Birmingham and Solihull and that our services meet the needs of all diverse service users and carers.

The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. As part of our safe recruitment practice pre-employment checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. As part of the selection process you may be required to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, however all cases of criminal record history are dealt with on a case by case basis.

Please note, if applicable for your role you will be required to cover the cost of your DBS certificate. This will be deducted from your salary over 3 months.

All successful applicants will be required to complete the Trust's induction programme. The Fundamental (Statutory and Mandatory) training will be in an e-learning format. You will be required to complete training modules online (approx. 9-14 hours depending on post) by the end of your second week with us.

If you are successful at the shortlisting stage of the recruitment process we may contact you via email to advise you of the interview details. Please ensure you access your email account from which you applied regularly once the position has closed. Our selection process may involve more than one interview or assessment.

Applications from job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the United Kingdom (UK) are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. However, please ensure that you check if this role meets the eligibility criteria for sponsorship. Non UK /Republic of Ireland candidates wishing to apply can self-assess the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship here Browse: Work in the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The minimum salary threshold for a Health and Social Care is £25,000 and for the Skilled Worker route is £38,700. If the starting salary for this role is below this, we will not be able to provide sponsorship.

Overseas applicants applying for entry clearance into the UK must present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided in continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Relocation expenses may be reimbursed subject to eligibility. The policy provides for reimbursement up to £8,000.

Please note - if you are applying for a role within Police custody, due to Police Vetting requirements you must have been a UK resident for the last years.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

• Job Description (PDF, 336.6KB)
• Person Specification (PDF, 184.4KB)
• Everyday Behaviours Guide (PDF, 159.9KB)
• Recruitment Fraud and Fees Notice (PDF, 280.6KB)
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) Statement (PDF, 272.6KB)
• Recruitment Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement (PDF, 288.6KB)