Mental Health Practitioner

black country healthcare nhs foundation trust

the closing date is 12 march 2026

vacancy for a band 5 mental health camhs practitioner to work in dudley child & adolescent mental health service (camhs)

based at the elms health centre, slade road, halesowen, b63 2ur

we have a vacancy for a band 5 camhs mental health practitioner within the dudley camhs service and are looking for an enthusiastic and committed individual to join our team.

we are seeking a highly motivated and dynamic individual with a keenness and ability to integrate your current skills and apply them in this context. Important qualities are excellent communication skills, working co-operatively and thinking creatively.

please note priority will be given to employees of black country nhs foundation trust who are currently undergoing a management of change process and are "at risk".

the post-holder will be joining a supportive and forward-thinking team who pride themselves on their commitment to the continual development and improvement of patient care. We offer clinical and leadership supervision as well as continued professional development. Additionally, there are opportunities to join peer supervision and other groups. We are able to offer great opportunities for career progression, with many members of the service seeking and successfully securing promotions.

The post will have active links with, and support from, both the wider camhs service and professionals within the trust.

camhs professionals deal with a wide range of emotional and mental health problems. Many children and young people are troubled by emotional, behavioural and psychiatric problems. These can cause worry and distress both to themselves and to those who care for them. A large part of the camhs professionals' work is to identify the problem, understand the causes and advise about what may help.

our camhs service is a multi-disciplinary team of consultant child and adolescent psychiatrists, psychologists, specialist nurses, systemic child psychotherapists, play therapists, drama therapists, occupational therapists, social workers and support workers. Our team is passionate in their aim to work with children, young people and their families to develop creative solutions and improve their mental health difficulties. The bchft camhs service currently operates across 4 geographical areas (sandwell, wolverhampton, dudley and walsall) with contracts in each area.

Each of the teams have a specialist learning disability team dedicated to children and young people with a moderate to severe learning disability and specialist children and young people in care teams

as a camhs mental health practitioner you will be responsible for the care of a caseload of young people with various emotional and mental health needs. You will also undertake regular assessments of young people who are new to the service, and be responsible for making recommendations about their future care.

you will have a can do attitude and work collaboratively with colleagues in the team and partner agencies.

you will be able to work creatively to meet the needs of young people and their families.

you will have a sound understanding of the principles of risk assessment and management.

to work with other members of the multi-disciplinary camhs team and with colleagues from other services, providing expertise in the care of children and young people with severe and complex mental health needs and their families.

to provide expert advice, support and supervision on a regular basis to a wide ranging workforce on all aspects of safeguarding children where matters can be highly complex and in difficult, sensitive and emotive situations.

to provide professional expertise in the assessment, planning, implementation and review of your caseload of children and young people in camhs.

to provide professional advice and support to other agencies and members of the multi-disciplinary team.

• degree in mental health nursing, social work, occupational therapy or equivalent with a current registration with their professional body that meets specialist camhs requirements
• membership of professional body

• knowledge of mental health problems in children and adolescents.

• post graduate experience working in camhs or equivalent transferable skills
• experience of camhs assessments and evidence-based interventions or equivalent transferable skills

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.

black country healthcare nhs foundation trust