Family Safeguarding Mental Health Practitioner

at  Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Interview will be held on 13th Feb 2025
An exciting opportunity has arisen to work in an innovative service within Berkshire Healthcare- the Family Safeguarding Service . This service forms the mental health component of the multidisciplinary ‘Family Safeguarding Model ’. It is a collaboration between health services and local authority Children’s Social Care services (Bracknell Forest Council and West Berks Council). The Family Safeguarding Model is a multiagency initiative, where mental health, domestic abuse practitioners and alcohol and substance misuse recovery workers are co-located within Children’s Social Care, to provide a ‘ whole family ’ approach to safeguarding children.
The service supports adults, who are experiencing difficulties with their emotional wellbeing and mental health, to meet the needs of their children and to better safeguard them . Improving parental mental health , i mproves family functioning and the outcomes for children.
Flexible working is available, with a combination of home visits, on-site appointments and remote working. The role is a n opportunity for part-time working between 0.6 and 0.8wte .
The Family Safeguarding Mental Health practitioner will work as an integral member of a co-located multi-disciplinary team, which includes children’s social workers, domestic abuse and substance misuse specialists, as well as mental health workers and clinical psychologists, to safeguard and reduce risks to children.
The postholder will contribute to the holistic approach , recognising the impact on children where parents have poor mental health and limited coping strategies, as well as problems arising from domestic abuse, and parental alcohol and substance misuse.
To engage and empower parents to make the changes required for better outcomes for their children, more specifically to address parental mental health and to develop improved emotional wellbeing and resilience .
The postholder will be required to provide evidence-based opinion on the role of parental mental health and share this with the MDT through review meetings such as Child in Need reviews and Child Protection Case Conferences.
Our interventions are underpinned by Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy and Systemic Family Therapy models . Brief emotional ‘first aid’ approaches are key to supporting our clients through periods of crisis, whilst motivational interviewing supports in maintaining their engagement.
Opportunities for being involved in group work interventions and individual interventions are available.
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated ‘outstanding’ by the CQC, we’re committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we’re committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.

A team player with experience of multidisciplinary working and working flexibly
A holistic understanding of mental health needs and the intergenerational impact of mental health and trauma upon family functioning
A desire to support families to improve outcomes for parents and their children
For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.
We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point - by - point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted .
We’re c ommitted to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditation s: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed .
We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please don’t hesitate to c ontact : Jo Hadfield or Catherine Farr Jo.Hadfield@berkshire.nhs.uk or Catherine.Farr@berkshire.nhs.uk who’ll be delighted to help or to arrange a phonecall to discuss further .
Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible