Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Senior Peer Support Worker
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Job Overview
Do you have lived experience of mental distress which has been understood as Complex Emotional Needs or diagnosed as personality disorder and have previously worked in a range of settings as a peer support worker, lived experience worker or equivalent role?
If so, an opportunity has arisen for a Senior Peer Support Worker to work as part of the Complex Emotional Needs (CEN) pathway, which is part of the Brent Integrated Psychology & Psychotherapy Service (BIPPS) within the Brent Community Mental Health hubs. This is a unique opportunity for someone with their own lived experience to support the continued effort to embed the authentic values of coproduction within the CEN Pathway.
With support from the Trust-wide CEN Advanced Lived Experience Practitioner, the successful post-holder will work alongside members of BIPPS and the wider Multi-Disciplinary Team within the Brent Community Mental Health Hub to support the development and delivery of the Brent CEN Pathway.
The role is aimed at candidates whose distress can been understood as Complex Emotional Needs or diagnosed as personality disorder and have experiences of having used secondary care mental health services AND previously worked in a range of settings as a peer support worker, lived experience worker or equivalent role. Please make the above information clear in your application.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will take a lead role in embedding recovery values within the service settings in which they work alongside other Trust recovery champions. The post holder will act as an ambassador of recovery for the Trust alongside others through positively sharing and drawing upon aspects of own lived experience to inspire others, challenge stigma and discrimination, as well as promote recovery.
The successful post-holder will achieve these aims by working directly with service users, either one-to-one or in a group setting, as well as continually representing the people they’re working with in other meetings and settings, challenging the particular stigma that can be associated with complex emotional needs or a diagnosis of personality disorder. CNWL has one of the largest lived experience workforces in the country and there will be an expectation that the postholder will contribute to this wider team.
We are looking for a highly motivated individual, with excellent communication and interpersonal skills who can work flexibility under supervision, to meeting the demands of this exciting and very varied position. Regular clinical and lived experience specific supervision will be provided.
Working for our organisation
BIPPS is comprised of colleagues who deliver individual, group and family therapies from a wide range of different theoretical models addressing the needs of service users with severe and complex psychological difficulties. We offer intensive, long-term care and whose needs cannot be adequately met within a brief treatment framework. We are proud of the breadth of our psychological interventions, in particular, within the CEN Pathway we offer full programmes of both DBT and MBT, as well as short-term and long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy, CAT-informed interventions, CBT and EMDR; we also work closely with our Art Psychotherapy colleagues who offer an Arts MBT programme. Our CEN psycho-education group and MBT programme co-delivered with our existing CEN Advanced Lived Experience Practitioner
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We are passionate about delivering first-class patient-centred, safe and effective care, whether it is in a hospital setting, in a community clinic or in the patient’s own home. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Providing top quality care depends on our ability to employ the best people. We're always looking to recruit outstanding people who will go the extra mile to support our patients, colleagues, teams and the Trust. At CNWL we support our colleagues to access the many opportunities for professional development that exist.
Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities
Please note: This vacancy does not meet the criteria for Skilled Worker sponsorship, unless you meet the criteria by temporary exemption from current changes to immigration rules put in force on 22/07/2025. “Separate provisions are applied to workers who have been sponsored and continuously held a Skilled Worker visa since prior to 04/04/2024."
As such, if you don’t meet the Transitional Provision (above) we are unable to consider your application unless you can provide documentary evidence of your right to work in the United Kingdom. If you believe you are eligible for sponsorship or already hold a valid right to work in the UK, please ensure you provide full details of your immigration status in the Pre-Screening Immigration section of your application form.
Please note role eligibility also depends on whether the role meets the salary threshold for the relevant occupational code (SOC CODE).
For further info please visit: Skilled Worker visa: Overview - GOV.UK
- To work alongside the CEN clinicians, CEN Advanced Lived Experience Practitioner and the CEN Pathway Lead in Brent to deliver support to individuals accessing the Complex Emotional Needs Pathway.
- To provide advice, support and training opportunities to third sector organisations within the borough working with service users who may also be accessing the Hubs and could be understood as having complex emotional needs.
- To promote the use of a ‘coaching’ role to support service users in developing personal recovery plans.
- To meet, welcome, introduce and orientate the service user, their carer and families to the CEN Pathway upon arrival within the Community Mental Health Hubs.
- To establish supportive and respectful relationships with people using the CEN Pathway.
- To model/mentor a recovery process and demonstrate self-management skills and techniques, using own experience of recovery.
- To act as a role model to service users to inspire hope, share life experiences and lessons learned as a person in recovery.
- To skilfully use personal experience of recovery to help motivate patients.
- To work with carers and supporters where appropriate.
- To work with the MDT in supporting those service users who are struggling to engage with the CEN Pathway.
- To support the team in promoting a recovery orientated environment by identifying recovery-focused activities and imparting information and education as required.
- To assist service users to identify their strengths, personal interests and goals; providing opportunities for service users to direct their own recovery process.
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Person specification
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE (Paid/unpaid Relevant To Job)
Essential criteria
- Own personal lived experience of recovery from distress which has been understood or diagnosed as Complex Emotional Needs or Personality Disorder
- Experience of having personally used secondary mental health services
- Experience of positively sharing own life experiences, and personal recovery journey, with service users, carers and others
- Experience of working in a range of health and/or social care settings as a peer support worker
Desirable criteria
- Delivery of Recovery College courses
- Experience of a CEN treatment: MBT; DBT; SPS or Schema therapy
Education And Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Completed peer support worker training (preferably accredited)
- Evidence of further training in relation to personal recovery principles
Desirable criteria
- Accredited certificate in Life Coaching
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
Essential criteria
- Ability to demonstrate first person experiential knowledge of recovery
- Ability to demonstrate knowledge of the concept of personal recovery as it may apply to others
- Emotional intelligence and reflectivity with ability to work effectively with others to bring about change in a complex and dynamic organisation
- Ability to challenge issues in relation to stigma, low expectations and discriminatory practice in an effective manner
- Ability to communicate on all levels and to a broad scope of individuals, both internally and externally to the Trust
- Ability to act calmly and to respond in a professional manner to distress, disturbance and unpredictability
- Ability to see solutions rather than problems
- Ability to problem solve and create innovative solutions to help empower others
- Ability to work independently, flexibly, reliably and consistently with guidance
- An awareness of behaviour and interactions as meaningful communications
Desirable criteria
- Working knowledge of the principles of coproduction
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