Specialist Mental Health Practitioner | Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust

The Fen’s service are recruiting a band 7 Mental Health Practitioner. This is an opportunity for either a MH Nurse, Occupational Therapist or Social Worker to join The Fen’s Service. We are a specialist trauma focused treatment unit located within a male high-risk prison.

Our treatment draws on attachment theory and incorporates schema focused therapy, along with a range of short-term interventions such as EMDR, CBT, CAT etc. Through a combination of individual and group therapies, patients are given opportunities to heal from complex trauma, to improve wellbeing and reduce risk.

We will support you in broadening your therapeutic skills, with specialist funded and in house training. There are opportunities to further your research interests through our links with Universities.

The role is a permanent, full-time position with scope to complete some work from home .

“I wanted to change, I was crying out to change. You know, it was a trust element.…letting them see me warts and all….and that was the hard thing. Breaking down crying…getting the stuff out I needed to. I grew from that…if I don’t like myself, how can anyone else like myself. How can I move on if I don’t forgive myself… I’ve got to give myself a chance.” Current service user

To ensure the systematic provision of a high-quality specialist clinical intervention consistent with the approved theoretical treatment model for prisoners referred to The Fens Unit. To work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of both the Trust’s and The Fens Unit’s policies and procedures. To exercise responsibility for the maintenance and development of good clinical and professional practice. To ensure that the delivery of clinical care is reflective of evidence-based practice and research within the framework of healthcare governance. A major requirement of the job is to carry out audit, policy and service development and research activities and/or programmes. To propose and implement relevant policy and service development changes in relation to clinical practice within The Fens Unit.

To develop and deliver specialist clinics that address the holistic needs of this population. To develop the therapeutic approach within the concept of a cognitive interpersonal theory juxtaposed with sensory motor psychotherapy principles. To support the delivery and management of psychopharmacological where appropriate and therapeutic interventions within the infrastructure of the NICE guidelines.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health and social care organisation dedicated to providing high-quality care with compassion to improve the health and wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting and empowering them to lead a fulfilling life.

Our clinical teams deliver many NHS services, not only via inpatient and primary care settings, but also within the community. These services include children's, adult and older people's mental health, forensic and specialist mental health, learning disabilities, primary care and liaison psychiatry, substance misuse, social care, research and development.

To achieve our goal, we look to recruit high-calibre candidates who share our vision and values. As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all sectors of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including people with long term conditions and members of our ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ communities.

Please be advised we reserve the right to close adverts earlier than the closing date should we receive sufficient applications.

Regrettably, we cannot offer sponsorship for all our job roles. If you apply for a role that we cannot offer sponsorship for, unfortunately, your application form will be rejected from the process.

For further information on CPFT, please visit our website at www.cpft.nhs.uk

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities.

To exercise full autonomous professional responsibility for the clinical assessment, treatment and discharge of clients, and manage and maintain a caseload in line with current standards of practitioner/therapist practice and consistent with agreed team approaches which are coherent with the agreed theoretical model used underpinning the clinical work of the Unit including the Outreach service.

To communicate the results of assessment and interventions to other members of the multidisciplinary team including non-clinical staff using the highest level of interpersonal and communication skills.

To communicate, using the highest level of interpersonal and communication skills, the results of this clinical work to the prisoner who may be hostile and antagonistic to receiving this information.

To develop plans for the formal clinical interventions and/or management of a prisoner’s mental health and behavioural problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of these problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings.

To ensure the participation of the clinical model in the development, implementation and evaluation of appropriate interventions, individual and group.

To provide specialist professional advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to the management of prisoners’ symptoms and treatment.

To ensure that all members of the clinical team have access to the understanding of the prisoner from a nursing perspective, through the provision of advice and consultation and the dissemination of specialist knowledge pertaining to your relevant profession (e.g. nursing, OT, or social work, research and theory.

To use highly specialist clinical/professional knowledge and expertise to undertake ongoing risk assessment and risk management for individual prisoners and to provide advice risk management in line with the OPDP Planning and Delivery Guide and with Trust and inter-agency policies and procedures.

To work in partnership with other disciplines to help to establish and maintain trans-disciplinary team working and care programme approach.

To take a leading role within the trans-disciplinary team meetings providing direct input to those meeting and communicating information on assessments, formulations and interventions collected by other staff within The Fens Unit.

This advert closes on Wednesday 20 May 2026