Mental Health Practitioner - COAST

Sussex CAMHS Acute Mental Health Practitioner (UTHN Central Orchestrated Adolescent Step-up Team - COAST)

About the Role

We are seeking a passionate, knowledgeable and dynamic Mental Health Practitioner to join our well-established and innovative Sussex Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS) Acute Services. This role will contribute to the COAST (Central Orchestrated Adolescent Step-up Team), offering alternatives to hospital admission for young people in crisis.

In this supportive role, you will:

• Provide urgent crisis intervention for young people and families experiencing severe mental health distress.
• Deliver assessments, brief interventions, and care planning with a focus on maximising independence in activities of daily living.
• Collaborate within a multi-disciplinary team (including nurses, occupational therapists, social workers, and support workers).

The Mental Health Practitioner will be pivotal in introducing an intensive pathway to enhance existing services.

Key Responsibilities

You will:

• Conduct crisis assessments for adolescents in partner boroughs across Sussex.
• Plan, deliver, and evaluate interventions in clients’ own homes, schools, and communities.
• Supervise and support young people with complex mental health needs, ensuring integrated care planning with families and external agencies.
• Maintain risk management protocols while fostering a trauma-informed and recovery-oriented approach.
• Contribute to service development, helping to refine the intensive COAST pathway for future rollout.
• Work across multiple sites, with wider Sussex travel essential (including weekends and bank holidays).