Dear Employer...

I am a recently qualified mental health nurse eager to pursue a career as a psychological therapist. My clinical training has provided me with the communication, assessment, teamwork and therapeutic skills vital to effective mental health interventions. Empathic, motivated and adaptable I want to enhance my strengths by gaining expertise in non-pharmacological, psychological therapies. As such, I am confident that this new, challenging career opportunity will allow me to build on my proven aptitude for establishing therapeutic relationships with clients experiencing depression, anxiety and other mental health problems.

I have experienced a variety of mental health treatment settings, including community psychiatric nursing (adult and elderly), older people’s assessment, substance misuse, neuropsychiatry, acute admissions/assessment, psychiatric triage and a mental health resource centre. Throughout my training, I worked with representatives from a range of other disciplines, professions and agencies, including social workers, occupational therapists, psychologists, general practitioners, police officers, and others.

In all of these environments I have sought to ensure that my understanding of the role of comprehensive mental health and risk assessments, research methods, evidence-based practice and the administration of psychotropic drugs have been applied in a critically reflective and self-reflective manner. A combination of clinical supervision and academic study has also given me a solid grounding on which to properly integrate theory and practice.

My training has provided me with a very good understanding of depression and anxiety, and I have also gained insights from wide-ranging work and personal experience, including: teaching in adult and higher education, working with adults with physical and learning disabilities, support work in the voluntary mental health sector, and providing long-term support to a close friend with mental health needs.

I have a good understanding of the Mental Health Act (1983), the National Service Framework for Mental Health, and the Care Programme Approach, and have paid close attention to modifications and amendments to the standards and legislation they represent. I assisted, for example, the North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust’s Assertive Outreach Team in its first use of a community treatment order.

During my training, as well as acquiring first-hand knowledge of psychotropic medication, I became increasingly aware of the importance of advocacy, the recovery model and psychological therapies, and am committed to incorporating these techniques and approaches into my work as a mental health practitioner.

I have acquired a working knowledge of the applications of cognitive behavioural therapy, and have taken into consideration the impact of work on mental health (in relation to low job control; understanding of employee role; organisational culture; and workplace relationships) and the need for evidence-based practice (in relation to overcoming the research-practice gap; supporting the justification for current working practices; meeting the demand for accountability; and cost-effectiveness). I look forward to further demonstrating my commitment to ongoing training and development in this field.

For my final placement I elected to be placed with the Single Point of Access nurse and social worker-led psychiatric triage team in Stoke-on-Trent. Because it provides the central point of access to mental wellbeing/psychological services in the area SPA afforded me the opportunity to gain invaluable experience in assessing people’s mental health needs, in anticipation of a career as a psychological therapist.

One example of a guided self-help CBT-type intervention I employed involved a socially isolated, self-harming young woman, with whom I developed a strong therapeutic rapport through initial and generic assessments and follow-up phone calls. The client agreed to keep a Dysfunctional Thoughts Diary, in which to record her feelings about, and reactions to, self-harming thoughts and anxiety-inducing situations. She acknowledged that my support helped her to attain the confidence to apply for voluntary work and to take part in a ‘Changes Young People 16-25 Years’ mutual help group.

Working in multidisciplinary environments has also helped me to obtain a greater practical understanding of the different pressures faced by primary and secondary healthcare services, and the need to maintain and develop links between the two. At the Single Point of Access service, for example, I was ideally placed to gain an appreciation of how depression and anxiety can present in Primary Care. Regular contact with general practitioners confirmed, in particular, that patients with depression or anxiety frequently present with physical or somatic symptoms, which can obscure a psychiatric diagnosis.

During this placement I took the opportunity to manage my own caseload, which was a responsibility I carried out with both enthusiasm and effective use of my time management skills. I also demonstrated my ability to work on my own initiative by identifying appropriate referrals, levels of assessment and suitable points of contact within other agencies.

I also enjoy and appreciate the importance of team-working, which I have found to be mutually beneficial in ensuring that essential tasks are completed effectively. I am comfortable ‘taking the lead’ when working with distressed and difficult clients, but am very much aware that effective communication between colleagues will help to ensure appropriate interventions.

I am strongly aware of the importance of client confidentiality and informed consent, and have sought to uphold NMC guidelines in this and other areas relating to standards of conduct, performance and ethics.

My clear and confident interaction with nursing and medical staff, patients, families, students and tutors, together with my record keeping and academic achievements, testify to my exemplary oral and written communication skills. These skills also ensured that I was entrusted with submitting a report regarding a professional dispute between a colleague and a member of another clinical team. Senior staff and the management team praised the report for its clear and balanced tone and used it as evidence in their attempt to settle the dispute.

I am proficient in the use of Word, PowerPoint, E-mail and the Internet. Furthermore, as well as being the Student Representative for my Diploma cohort I was selected by Keele University to attend the Florence Nightingale Foundation’s Students’ Day at St Thomas’ Hospital, in May, due to my ‘outstanding academic scores’. My postgraduate studies, which focused on debates about cultural differences and equal opportunities, together with my support for third world development charities and anti-racist campaigns, also reflect my sensitivity towards the needs and values of individuals and groups from diverse backgrounds. This is a quality that I believe could be of great benefit to your service.

Being trained in partnership with North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust, whose reorganisation in 2002 was driven largely by service improvement and clinical governance targets, has made me very much aware of the need to achieve tangible results in alleviating the enormous personal, social and economic costs of mental illness. And I feel strongly that my special interest in working with people suffering from depression and/or anxiety would be best served through assisting in the delivery of IAPT services.

I believe I am well-suited and well prepared to support your organisation deliver on its commitment to extending the availability of psychological therapies. I hope that therefore you will be able to look favourably upon my application.

I very much look forward to hearing from you.