An opportunity has arisen to recruit a CAMHS Clinical Specialist to the Southwark CAMHS Early Help Team (Tier 2 generic) for a fixed term contract covering a maternity leave.

The post holder will carry out initial assessments and offer treatment according to their clinical and professional back ground and training. It is important that the successful candidate has substantial experience of working with children and young people with complex mental health difficulties in a CAMHS setting. Experience working therapeutically with children and young people with Neurodevelopmental conditions is essential.

Participate as a multi-disciplinary team member in the setting and reviewing of therapeutic aims, objectives, standards and strategies to provide a high standard of care to clients and their families.

Assume responsibility for own case list and case management of children, adolescents and families who are determined to be at mild to moderate risk.

Undertake all duties in line with the professional Codes of Professional Conduct, and maintain professional registration requirements for the post according to discipline/profession.

You will manage your own caseload and work within a team but will have freedom to act within the service framework and Trust operational policies.

Southwark had a population of 306,745 in 2015; with 22% under 19 years. It has a striking cultural and ethnic diversity with 48% of people describing themselves as belonging to black and minority ethnic groups. There are well-established black and Irish communities with newer populations of Portuguese and South American residents, as well as a high and changing refugee population. A wide range of health indicators highlight Southwark as one of the most deprived areas in England and 12th most deprived borough in London in 2015. For example, compared to national averages, the area has lower socio- economic status and higher unemployment; higher death rates from suicide and higher use of acute inpatient mental health services.

Local CAMHS
Southwark CAMHS employs a large number of child and adolescent mental-health staff. These come from a variety of disciplines including: child psychology, psychiatry, psychotherapy, family therapy, nursing and occupational therapy, art and drama psychotherapy. The service is organised as follows:

CAMHS Early Help integrated with Children’s Social Care
Specialist services for children, adolescents & their families (2 teams)
Specialist services for young people with Neuro-developmental disorders
Carelink - CAMHS Looked after Children team.

The post holder will have responsibility for assuring the quality of clinical practice with specific reference to evidence based treatments within the team. You will hold responsibility for ensuring that all team members participate in audit, evaluation and research in evidence based treatments.

The post-holder will have a therapeutic caseload, offering therapy to children presenting with mild to moderate mental health and behavioural difficulties. You will also be working the parents/carers offering them support and guidance. You will have the ability to deliver a range of interventions for children and young people.

You will manage your own caseload and provide specialist support to families with complex presentations and to the services Band 6 CAMHS practitioners

You will be responsible for ensuring that staff, within the team achieve, positive clinical outcomes for children, young people and their families and that these are evidenced by performance indicators such as activity data, targets and quality measures.

You will work in partnership with Children's Social Care, Education, Child Health, and Adult Services and other key partners to support integrated practice and service delivery.