Health Care Support Worker Job Summary
This is an exciting opportunity to join Lambeth Adult Mental Health Services, as a Senior Carer Support Worker, across the borough’s Living Well Centres and particularly the longer term community Focused Support teams. The post is to provide condition specific carer support assessments and interventions for caregivers of service users with serious mental health problems. The post would suit those looking for assistant psychologist, or qualified Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner posts.
Health Care Support Worker Main Duties
A core part of the role is liaison with services to identify caregivers, develop caregiver support plans, and deliver support individually and in groups. The postholder will feedback to teams verbally and in writing, and may also attend MDT meetings, ward rounds, etc and needs to be confident following and, at times contributing to, multi-disciplinary clinical discussion. Caregivers can be difficult to access and engage, and skills in this will be required, alongside knowledge of the conditions and of the difficulties of caregiving.
Person Specification
Qualification
Essential
- A First-class or Upper-second-class Bachelors degree with Honours in Psychology (or related behavioural science) that is accredited by the British Psychological Society and confers the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership of the British Psychological Society. OR
- An approved Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner (MHWP) Qualification, as recognised with the NHSE new psychological professions framework
Desirable
- Relevant specialist training in relation to working with Serious Mental Health Problems (SMHP) and caregivers
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working within an NHS setting as an assistant psychologist or MHWP.
- Post-qualification experience of multidisciplinary working and psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs who present with SMHP.
- To be able to work clinically without direct supervision.
- Experience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities. This may have been gained through work, research, volunteering and/or lived experience.
Desirable
- Experience of working with caregivers.
- Working with risk and crisis in community and acute settings
Knowledge
Essential
- Good theoretical knowledge of the problems experienced by and needs of service users with SMHP.
- Methods of psychological assessment and treatment for those with SMHP.
- Awareness of racial and diversity issues through attendance of relevant training.
Desirable
- Knowledge of interventions such as CBT, distress tolerance and emotional regulation.
- Knowledge of work with risk of harm to self or others.
- Understanding of principles of treatment in relation to SMHP.
Skills
Essential
- Skills in relevant psychological assessment and interventions that enable working independently as a pre-qualified practitioner with clinical supervision.
- Well-developed verbal and written communication skills including communicating complex, sensitive or contentious information to clients, families and colleagues.
- Skills in completing literature reviews and summarising research findings to inform clinical practice or for the purpose of publication.
- Skills in supporting the development of training and therapy materials.
- Well-developed IT skills including using excel and clinical record systems.
Desirable
- Experience of database management
Abilities
Essential
- Ability to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles.
- Highly organised, able to manage workload, work to deadlines with competing tasks.
- Ability to manage emotionally stressful situations such as working with people who are acutely psychotic, manic, depressed, victims of abuse or trauma, or with people who engage in severe self-harming or aggressive behaviour.
- Ability to manage verbal aggression and hostility directed at self.
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.
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).
Closing Date: 26 August 2025
