Blogs

A day in the life: Primary mental health worker

Two of our primary mental health workers (PMHWs) working in our Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service share what a typical day looks like for them.

Vicki Thomas

We work with young people up to the age of 18, supporting them with any emotional and mental health difficulties they might have as well as helping their families and carers. We often spent time working one-on-one with young people, but we are also a really close team and I enjoy the interaction I have with colleagues too.

On a typical day, I arrive at the children’s centre where I share an office space with colleagues from the same locality area. We say a quick hello while making a cup of coffee and I sit at my desk and boot my laptop up. I spend time checking my emails while I await the arrival of the first young person who has an appointment with me today.

I have a couple of one-to-one sessions with young people where we spend time carrying out our planned sessions delivering therapy that supports their current difficulties delivering evidence-based CBT interventions. CBT or cognitive behavioural therapy is a talking therapy that can help you manage your problems by changing the way you think and behave.

We have previously completed their care plan and goals which we reflect on and ensure we are on track to supporting them meet their goals – this is really important as everything we do aims to help the young people get to where they want to be. These sessions take place in a private consultation room.

Time for lunch and back in the main office space there’s a couple of other members of the team already there, so I join them and we discuss some cases and offer informal support and ideas to one another, which is really helpful, plus it’s always lovely to see other members of the team.

Afterwards I leave the children’s centre and head over to a local high school where I meet with other professionals from the school, early help team, the education psychology time and HINT (high incident needs team, which supports young people with additional needs).

It’s time for our regular Early Help clinic where we spend time discussing potential referrals which have been made for the teams around the table. It’s really helpful to have all the other professionals present so we can all discuss together the most appropriate service to support with each individual case.

I then head back to the office base within the children’s centre and spend the rest of my day catching up with admin tasks and planning a session for a young person the following day, ensuring I have all the resources to hand for them to build a toolbox of support for outside of our planned sessions.

Helen Sparrow

This is what a typical working day looks like for me, but one of the things that I love about my role is how varied it is – so one day can look very different from the next in terms of who you’re working with. It can be hard work, but it’s also very rewarding.

I have a couple of one-to-one appointments with young people where I deliver evidence-based cognitive behavioural interventions and we work together to help them achieve their goals. These often take place in a children’s centre where I share an office space with some of my colleagues. This gives us a chance to catch up and bond.

In the afternoon, I deliver clinical supervision to one of the educational mental health practitioners, having completed a clinical supervision course at Northumbria Uni. We discuss their cases and I support them with any issues related to clinical matters or wellbeing. Career development is a big thing for us and I’ve been well supported to balance my work and university study so I didn’t feel too under pressure.

I then have a meeting to discuss support for a young person, which includes a teacher from their school and an early help family worker. We work quite closely with other agencies in the area which is helpful in ensuring that young people and their families’ needs are met, and I really like that collaborative approach. 

On some days, I also complete initial assessments with young people and their parents/carers, to help determine the nature of the difficulties and determine the best form of support.

If you are interested in joining the primary mental health team, they are currently recruiting for two roles that you can view here.