Here For You- Crisis Support Practitioner (Nights) 18 views

Job Description

Touchstone’s Here For You services provide support to individuals who are struggling to cope and may have thoughts of self-harm or suicide and feel they need same day, urgent support.  The services operate 7 days a week, 365 days a year supporting people aged 16 years or older across Kirklees, Leeds, and Wakefield.  

This role will be Wakefield focussed to support the service in moving towards a 24/7 model. This is the start of the service providing much needed overnight support to individuals in distress, when other services are closed and people typically cannot receive support without emergency services or attending A&E. 

The service works alongside emergency services, primary care, statutory services and other third sector community services to provide the most appropriate support for individuals away from A&E and section 136 suites wherever possible. This is in the form of non-clinical 1-to-1 supports to de-escalate crisis and listen to individual’s immediate concerns. The service provides a calming and inclusive space for individuals to be their authentic self and develop distraction and coping techniques to empower self-management and prevent future crisis. 

We are looking to recruit people with significant experience supporting people with emotional distress, including working with people at risk of suicide and self-harm and supporting people from BME and LGBTQIA+ communities. 

Benefits

As an employee of Touchstone you will benefit from the following:

• Working for a diverse and inclusive organisation e.g. 37% *BME staff, 28% *LGBTQ+ staff, 19% *staff with a disability. Staff and peer support networks (*as above and many more)
• 28 days annual leave (rising to 31 after 2 years) + 8 bank holidays (pro-rata)
• Flexible working opportunities
• Access to HealthHero – Employee Assistance Scheme and Virtual GP service for staff
• Personal wellbeing and training budget.
• Health and wellbeing activities and fun staff team away days
• Inclusive maternity and parental policies and pay
• Additional day of leave as a celebration day or health and wellbeing
• Learning and personal development opportunities

Job Requirements

Skills

• Effectively lead overnight service delivery. 

• Successfully communicate and motivate peers to deliver a high-quality service. 

• Excellent IT skills with the ability to produce and analyse performance data.  

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in order to communicate clearly at a variety of levels, including with vulnerable children and adults. 

• Effectively engage people and form collaborative, warm and empathic relationships with diverse communities and individuals 

• Excellent time-management skills to be able to prioritise own workload and service demand. 

• Well-developed networking and partnership working skills to be able to positively represent the service and champion the importance of third sector support within Crisis Mental Health. 

• To work calmly in a busy environment to provide support and safeguard individuals accessing the service, as well as containment to those around you.

Experience

• Substantial experience of working in high-risk health and social care services with vulnerable adults, including those with complex needs. This may include prisons, young people’s residential care homes, psychiatric inpatient facilities, or supported housing and shelters.  

• Effectively leading on risk management to prevent harm and preserve life for vulnerable individuals in distress. 

•  Successfully planning services for vulnerable groups/people. 

• Successfully working in close partnership with other statutory, emergency, and voluntary agencies. 

• Effectively working with people who self-harm. 

Working with people who experience suicidal thoughts and feelings 

Knowledge

• Excellent knowledge of GDPR and how to maintain individual records and data in line with policy. 

• Excellent understanding of the principles, and practical applications of the Person-Centered Approach. 

• A strong understanding of the concept of coproduction as it relates to health, including mental health. 

• A strong understanding of the barriers faced by vulnerable groups when accessing mental health services, incl. BME communities, LGBTQIA+, disabilities, and neurodiverse individuals. 

• A strong understanding of the principles of safeguarding and ability to escalate appropriately for both Adults and Transitional age groups. 

• Good understanding of self-harm and the functions it has for people.  

• An understanding of emergency services response to mental health calls and relevant legislation (S136, 135, RCRP, etc).

Attitudes and Disposition

• Commitment to Touchstone’s values and aims 

• Enthusiastic, Reliable, motivated and resilient. 

• Commitment to respecting diversity and anti-discriminatory/anti-oppressive practices.

• Commitment to personal development, learning and reflective practice 

• Commitment to team working. 

• Open to change in line with the needs of the service/organisation.

• Willingness to be managed and supervised. 

• An ability to work flexibly according to the needs of the service.

• Ability to work under pressure to set deadlines and to work under own initiative. 

• Commitment to maintain confidence of Touchstone

• A commitment to applying the principles of Trauma Informed Practice.

Equal Opportunities

• Must be able to recognise discrimination in its many forms and be willing to put into practice Touchstone’s Equality Policies. 

• Must demonstrate sensitivity to the needs of disadvantaged groups in the planning and delivery of services.  

• A commitment to provide high quality services to diverse communities. 

How To Apply

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