Cheryl Barnes

I am the lead Physical Health Specialist for the West Early Intervention In Psychosis Team. My role is a combined role of a mental health practitioner and wellbeing coach which is a relatively new concept that I led on to help bridge the gap between physical and mental wellbeing.

Psychosis is a debilitating illness, and our client group can be very hard to engage, building trust is key in being able to assess for psychosis and deliver individual care plans. Although I have been in this current role for six years I have been in the team for seventeen years and have had many roles from support worker to delivering behvaioural family therapy.

A key element to my role is to provide physical health assessments and intervention to service users in line with current guidelines and policy.

I am responsible in ensuring that my team are always providing a level 4 status of the National Clinical Audit of Psychosis. In achieving this, one of my duties is ensuring that the whole team feel confident in delivering high quality physical health assessments.

I provide 1-1 and group personal training sessions with service users to help improve their physical health and mental wellbeing.

I also provide well-being support for staff and hold mobility and down regulation sessions to help with stress and promote positive wellbeing.

I sit on local and nationwide physical health steering groups, working with NHS England providing expert knowledge on my role, how this works in practice, and how my role could be rolled out nationwide.

Alongside the physical health interventions I work closely with the whole team to ensure that the individual and their family are offered all interventions under the psychosis pathway to promote the safest and best outcome for a full recovery; CBT for psychosis, BFT for psychosis, medication reviews, carers support, work placement support, physical and social 1-1 and group sessions.

During every intetaction the safety of my client, family and wider public is essential and I continualy assess the individuals mental health capacity, mental health status and assess any safeguarding needs and ensure that I liaise with appropriate partners in a timely manner.

• Supported recovery plans by collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to enhance client outcomes.
• Facilitated workshops and group sessions to promote social skills and emotional wellbeing among clients.
• Assisted clients in daily living activities, ensuring a safe and supportive environment for personal growth.
• Implemented person-centred approaches to care, tailoring support to meet individual needs and preferences.

• Rehabilitate young offenders within the community, following a Court order which acts as direct alternative to a custodial sentence. Depending on the type of Court order I would help to facilitate and deliver workshops and education to explore and tackle factors that contribute to the young persons offending behaviour. This would range from basic maths & English, work place experience to organising and facilitating victim offender mediation. I would also have to work within the Courts on duty to access any offenders that may be suitable for the programme and write a report and presenter this to the Court for consideration.
• Developed comprehensive intervention plans tailored to individual needs of young offenders.
• Collaborated with multidisciplinary teams to ensure holistic support for at-risk youth.
• Conducted regular assessments to monitor progress and adapt strategies effectively.
• Facilitated workshops focused on life skills and rehabilitation for young individuals.

• Provided compassionate support to clients experiencing mental health challenges.
• Assisted in developing and implementing personalised care plans for individuals.
• Facilitated group therapy sessions to promote social interaction and emotional healing.
• Collaborated with multidisciplinary teams to ensure comprehensive care delivery.
• I was a support worker in a day centre for adults experiencing mental health difficulties, main duties were to run activity & craft groups and support attendees with daily living skills such as shopping and cooking.

• Maintained accurate and up-to-date patient records in compliance with regulatory standards.
• Coordinated retrieval and storage of medical documents to ensure efficient workflow.
• Processed incoming medical records requests with attention to confidentiality and privacy policies.
• Assisted healthcare professionals in accessing patient information through electronic health record systems.

• Assisted in preparation and presentation of catering services for various events.
• Collaborated with kitchen staff to ensure timely delivery of high-quality meals.
• Maintained cleanliness and organisation of catering equipment and workspaces.
• Supported management in planning and executing large-scale catering orders efficiently.

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