The role of Eating Disorders Peer Support Worker (PSW) has been developed specifically for people who have personal lived experience of being a parent/carer of a young person who has accessed
Eating Disorder Services. Through sharing wisdom from their own experiences, the Eating Disorders
Parent/Carer PSW will inspire hope and belief that recovery is possible, and support parents/carers through their own recovery journey.
As an integral and highly valued member of the multi-disciplinary team, the Eating Disorders
Parent/Carer PSW will provide formalised peer support and practical assistance to parents and carers in order for them to regain control over their lives and their own unique recovery journey as a parent or carer of a young person accessing eating disorder services. They will also work collaboratively with others to assist in improving the wellbeing of parents/carers of individuals accessing eating disorder services.
Through sharing the wisdom of their own lived experience of caring for a young person with recovery from an eating disorder, the Eating Disorders Parent/Carer PSW will inspire hope and belief that recovery is possible. Within a relationship of mutuality, they will facilitate and support information sharing to promote choice, self-determination and opportunities for the fulfilment of socially valued roles and connection to local communities.
As a core member of a busy multi-disciplinary team, the Eating Disorders Parent/Carer PSW will carry out some generic duties. They will work alongside parents/carers of young people accessing eating disorder services on a 1:1 basis and in a group setting. The Eating Disorders Parent/Carer PSW will also have the opportunity to co-work with other colleagues.
The Eating Disorders Parent/Carer PSW will take a lead role in embedding recovery values within the service setting in which they work, alongside other Trust recovery champions, and act as an ambassador of recovery for the Trust with external agencies and partner organisations and also work alongside the Patient and Carer Involvement Team. The Eating Disorders Parent/Carer PSW will also work with the Recovery and Wellbeing College (RWBC) in order to deliver local courses appropriate to parents/carers of young people accessing eating disorder services.
Central and North West London NHS Trust is committed to providing safe, effective services and providing those who use the services; and those who support them, with a positive experience.
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
Clinical Responsibilities
1. To work with the multi-disciplinary teams across both the adult and child and adolescent eating disorder service in the support of parents/carers of young people accessing eating disorder services, ensuring the needs or parents/carers are met through promoting strengths-based practice
2. To assume a ‘coaching’ role supporting parent/carers in thinking about their own personal recovery plans in relation to being a parent/carer; this can be delivered individually or in groups.
3. To be supported to develop, create promotional materials and undertake a ‘carers clinic’ - a one to one, short term intervention for friends and family of the current cohort of service users, supporting them to develop skills and attend to their own mental health while being in the caring role.
4. To work with members of the MDT to create and utilise evaluation tools in order to assess the impact of the role
5. To assist parents/carers to identify their own strengths, personal interests and goals, emphasising the importance of their own wellbeing in order to best support the person accessing services.
6. To support parents/carers in making sense of the experiences of mental and emotional distress of the young person they are parent/carer to and involving the young person in these conversations as much as possible and appropriate. This might include understandings of personal and social recovery, health and wellbeing, personal and social identity whilst recognising that each individual’s recovery is a distinctive and deeply personal process.
7. To support parents/carers in making sense of their own experiences of mental and emotional distress in relation to the challenges the young person is facing, being highly sensitive to their use of language and descriptions of experiences.
6. To share wisdom, mentor around recovery processes and demonstrate coping skills, using own experience of caring for a young person who has experienced recovery from an eating disorder.
7. To act as a role model to inspire hope, share life experiences and lessons learned as a person who has cared for a young person in recovery.
8. To work with some autonomy with complex safety considerations for individuals across community and inpatient contexts
9. Working jointly with highly skilled colleagues from a variety of professional backgrounds to develop and co-facilitate carer interventions and ensure co-production is modelled within the care provided
10. To be attuned to sensitive safeguarding issues as they may present within the relevant cohort of patients, their friends and family and is able to utilise supervision to ensure safety and risk is managed in a recovery focussed, timely manner.
11. To attend team meetings and contribute to the assessment, planning, implementation and review of care with the multi-disciplinary team.
12. To work together with the young person and their parents/carers in the drawing up of care plans, encouraging and motivating young people and their parents/carers to take an active role in the care plan.
13. To incorporate and promote the ‘Triangle of Care’ within MDT working practice and decision making.
14. To positively promote and support parents/carers’ engagement in the community by maintaining extensive knowledge and links with community resources and actively supporting parents/carers to access them, maximising parent’s/carer’s opportunities for socially valued roles and positive identity.
15. To assist in the development and implementation of educational and peer facilitated parent/carer support groups and activities.
16. To assist parents/carers to maintain a connection with their life beyond being a parent/carer of a young person accessing services.
17. To accept and respect parent/carer’s personal beliefs, uniqueness and identity.
