Mental Health Practitioner

Interview Date: Friday 09 February 2024 The Team The Student Wellbeing, Disability and Inclusion Service provides support to students via several routes. Comprising of two teams: Disability and Inclusion and Wellbeing, the teams are responsible for delivery of excellent support services to students. The Wellbeing team have two key areas of responsibility; delivering clinical Mental Health support to students and ensuring the effective coordination of the University’s response to complex and serious welfare incidents (such as domestic violence, serious assault, etc.).  The Role We are looking for a clinical Mental Health Practitioner to join our multi-disciplinary service of counsellors, Mental Health Practitioners, welfare practitioners and disability practitioners who provide a range of supportive interventions for students.  As an experienced and accredited clinical Mental Health Practitioner, in the field of Mental Health nursing, Mental Health social work or similar,you will be a key member of York St John University’s multi-disciplinary Wellbeing Team.   Your role will involve managing and coordinating a caseload of students who have a need for Mental Health interventions, and being on the rota for a drop-in service where you will be responsible for carrying out Mental Health assessments, risk assessments, and providing brief interventions and advice. Students present to the Mental Health drop-in on an as needed basis and your role will be to respond adaptively and effectively to a range of presentations, including students presenting high levels of clinical risk or in crisis. The drop-in service provides Mental Health support to students who may be experiencing anxiety, stress, thoughts of suicide, difficulties related to studies, relationship difficulties, and other concerns. You will have experience of the clinical assessment of risk, and be able to utilise these skills in a fast-paced environment where high levels of situational awareness are essential to ensure agility of response. The candidate will have strong skills and experience of delivering effective brief interventions, within a single session/visit model. A key part of this role will be collaborating with other key University services and academic department/School teams, making and receiving effective referrals to ensure that the support students receive from the wider University is properly coordinated. You will also follow up with internal and external stakeholders following serious student incidents, such as a student being hospitalised or an incidence of serious self-harm, to ensure such cases are properly coordinated across the University. Other teams will look to you for clear and effective guidance on how to respond effectively to complex cases. You will also contribute to the delivery of training across the University to advise non-clinical staff on how to respond to students in distress, receive and respond to disclosures and de-escalate risk. Key requirements Candidates will come from a specialist Mental Health Practitioner background (for example, Mental Health nurse, Mental Health social worker, occupational therapist), or another clinical Mental Health profession that requires an equivalent level of training and accreditation. Further information For further information and informal enquiries, please contact Sonia Rooney, Head of Student Wellbeing, Disability and Inclusion, s.rooney@yorksj.ac.uk.