Job summary
Join Somerset NHS Foundation Trust as a Mental Health Practitioner (Band 5) and become a vital part of our CAMHS Single Point of Access (SPA) and Early Intervention (EI) Service. This is a dynamic, front-facing role where you'll make a genuine difference from the very first contact a young person or family has with mental health services.
You'll work at the heart of an innovative, accessible service designed to provide expert advice, early support, and targeted intervention for children and young people across Somerset. From triaging referrals to delivering meaningful interventions, you'll play a crucial role in ensuring every young person gets the right help, at the right time, in the right way.
This is an exciting opportunity for a compassionate and motivated practitioner who is passionate about early intervention, collaborative working, and improving outcomes for young people and their families.
Main duties of the job
- Support the clinical triage of referrals, working alongside senior practitioners to assess needs and risks.
- Provide advice, feedback, signposting and consultation to young people, families, and referrers.
- Deliver evidence-based interventions including 1:1 sessions and group work for young people and parents/carers (including some evening work).
- Engage young people who may find it difficult to attend CAMHS settings, helping them access ongoing assessment and therapeutic support.
- Work collaboratively with multi-disciplinary teams and partner agencies including education, social care, and voluntary organisations.
- Participate in multi-agency meetings and safeguarding processes, ensuring the best outcomes for young people.
- Contribute to the development and delivery of group programmes and wider service improvements.
- Maintain accurate clinical records and contribute to service evaluation, audits, and data collection.
About us
At Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, we're committed to supporting our employees with a range of benefits designed to enhance your professional and personal life. We offer:
- Flexible working options to help you balance work and life
- NHS pension scheme for long-term financial security
- Generous annual leave allowance to recharge and relax
- A strong focus on career development to help you grow and achieve your potential
Additionally, you'll gain access to our Blue Light Card, unlocking exclusive discounts on shopping, dining, and leisure activities, as well as NHS-specific perks to support you both inside and outside of work.
We are proud to foster a diverse, skilled, and inclusive workforce, and we encourage applications from all backgrounds.
Why Somerset? Somerset offers the perfect blend of idyllic countryside, outstanding areas of natural beauty, and breathtaking coastlines, with vibrant cities like Bristol, Bath, and Exeter just a short drive away - and only two hours to London.
The region is home to excellent educational facilities, and with affordable housing compared to other parts of the country, it's a great place to build both your career and your future.
Somerset truly has it all - the peaceful countryside and cosmopolitan city life, with something for everyone to enjoy.
Job description
Job responsibilities
As a Mental Health Practitioner within the CAMHS SPA/EI service, you will deliver high-quality, person-centred care to children and young people experiencing a range of mental health challenges. You will work autonomously while being part of a supportive, multidisciplinary team committed to early intervention and recovery-focused practice.
Delivering High-Quality Clinical Care
You will undertake assessments and contribute to triage decisions, identifying risk and ensuring appropriate pathways of care. Using your knowledge of child and adolescent mental health, you'll provide low-intensity, evidence-based interventions, psychoeducation, and practical strategies to support recovery. Your work will include both direct clinical interventions and group facilitation, ensuring support is accessible and responsive.
Supporting Access and Engagement
A key part of your role will be to break down barriers to accessing services. You'll work creatively with young people who may be reluctant or unable to attend CAMHS bases, offering flexible support and helping them build confidence to engage in ongoing care.
Working in Partnership
You'll collaborate closely with colleagues across CAMHS, including specialist teams such as urgent care, eating disorders and Tier 3 services, as well as external partners including schools, social care, GPs and voluntary organisations. Your ability to build strong relationships and communicate effectively will be essential in coordinating care and achieving the best outcomes.
Contributing to Service Development
You will actively contribute to improving the service through audit, evaluation, and innovation, supporting the ongoing development of SPA/EI pathways and group interventions. You'll also help identify gaps in provision and contribute to developing new resources and approaches.
Professional Responsibility
You will maintain professional registration and engage in continuous professional development, supervision, and reflective practice. You'll ensure all work is delivered in line with safeguarding requirements, clinical governance standards, and Trust policies, maintaining accurate and timely records at all times.
What You'll Bring
You'll be a qualified and registered mental health professional (e.g. nurse, social worker, or occupational therapist) with experience working with children and young people. You'll bring:
- Strong assessment and risk management skills
- A compassionate, empathetic and child-centred approach
- Experience of multi-agency working
- Confidence delivering interventions both individually and in groups
- The ability to work flexibly, manage your own workload, and adapt to changing demands
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Recognised professional qualification in nursing, social work or occupational therapy
Desirable
- Evidence of continuous post qualifying professional developmentPost qualifying training in therapeutic interventions
Experience
Essential
- Knowledge and understanding of mental health disorders in children and young people, and their impact on both the client group and their families/carers.Knowledge of a wide range of evidence-based treatment/therapeutic interventions.Experience of working with children and young peopleExperience of multi-agency working.
Additional Criteria
Essential
- Must be a car driver with a valid driving licence or have access to transport with appropriate business insurance in order to travel throughout the county to meet the needs of the service.Full range of mental health assessment skills, including assessment and management of risk.
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).
Employer details
Employer name
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
Address
The Horizon Centre
Bathpool
Taunton
Somerset
TA2 8BY
United Kingdom
Employer's website
This listing was aggregated from publicly-available sources. The employer holds an A-rated sponsor licence at the time of this listing, but sponsorship of this specific role is not guaranteed — the employer's offer and UK Visas and Immigration are the final authority. Details may have changed since our last update — verify with the employer via the Apply link.