Developing a new practitioner role for psychological therapies - MHWP

1. Psychological therapies for people with severe mental health problems (PT-SMHP) are a key part of the new integrated offer for adults, as set out in the NHS Long-Term Plan. The support teams require in order to deliver these therapies is important as part of a team approach to delivering services.
1. HEE is currently working closely with NHSE to ensure the capacity and capability in the adult and older adult community mental health workforce to deliver a range of evidence based psychological therapies to improve quality and increase client choice across the system. The aim is to ensure all mental health services across England have access to high quality training in evidence based psychological therapies supported by effective and evidence-based interventions.
1. The intention of introducing this new role is to release team capacity so that mental health nurses, occupational therapists and others can have their job plans revised to allow them to train in and deliver psychological therapies (e.g., Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy or Family Interventions).
1. Mental Health Wellbeing Practitioners themselves will be trained in generic care planning competences and some specific wellbeing-focused psychologically-informed interventions.
1. The primary intention of the MHWP role is to increase supply - as part of the need for 10,000 additional staff in adult community services, whilst also increasing capacity in the delivery of psychologically-informed interventions to support service users' wellbeing.
1. The NHSE/I and HEE Adult Mental Health Teams have been working with the PT-SMHP Working Group and associated Expert Reference Group to develop the curriculum and subsequently commission training, in association with representatives of the appointing service provider organisations, for Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioners through 2021 - 2024.
1. A national curriculum has now been agreed (Annex I) for the training course based on expert consensus (including expertise by experience) and the best available evidence.
1. Health Education England, in collaboration with NHSE, intends to commission a training provision (Q4, 2020/21), to start in early 2022 to address service demand for this course.

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