Mental Health Practitioner

Mental health practitioners support adults whose needs cannot be met by local talking therapies, but who may not need ongoing care from secondary mental health services. The practitioner can be taken on by a wide range of clinical and non-clinical roles with mental health expertise (ranging from Band 4-8a), such as a community psychiatric nurse, clinical psychologist, mental health occupational therapist or a peer support worker.

Mental health practitioners for children and young people can be developed to meet a wide range of needs, from early identification and intervention in primary care, to more targeted or intensive support and interventions as part of a joined-up approach with children and young people’s community mental health services. The exact scope of the role and job description should be agreed between the PCN and the NHS trust but could include children wellbeing practitioners, community mental health nurse, and cognitive behavioural and family therapists.

As this is part of the wider transformation and expansion of community mental health services, the practitioner will be employed by the secondary mental health provider and will operate as a fully embedded member of the PCN multidisciplinary team. They will act as bridge between primary care and secondary mental health services and can facilitate onward referral to a range of services to meet patients’ needs.