Navigating new territory: Reflections on my journey as a Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner

The role of a Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner (MHWP) is a relatively new addition to the psychological workforce, sitting alongside roles such as PWPs, CWPs, and EMHPs. 

MHWPs focus on providing low-intensity, psychologically informed interventions for individuals living with severe and enduring mental health difficulties within secondary care adult community services.

The introduction of MHWPs represents an important shift in service delivery, responding to workforce challenges across community mental health teams. 

The role has four key aims:

1. Delivering care coordination and risk management
2. Providing wellbeing-focused, psychologically informed interventions and building strong therapeutic relationships with service users, carers, and families.
3. Embedding psychologically informed ways of working into organisational culture
4. Strengthening the future therapy workforce by developing a pipeline of skilled practitioners.

Reflecting now, almost three years in, it feels important to share some personal insights from the journey, the learning curves, the unexpected challenges, and the moments of growth.

Year 1 – Training: Laying the foundations

I entered training full of optimism and, with hindsight, a fair amount of naivety. Fresh from completing my psychology with cognitive neuroscience degree, I was unsure about my next steps and stumbled upon the MHWP role. I vividly remember Googling what the job involved and finding almost nothing. Being part of only the second national cohort meant that few people, including ourselves, really knew what to expect.

Training was both exciting and overwhelming. It wasn't just about learning new clinical skills; it was also about carving out a professional identity in a role still taking shape. Questions from family, friends, and even colleagues about 'what exactly do you do?' were common and often difficult to answer.

The biggest early challenge was establishing the role itself. We weren't just training; we were advocating for our presence within services. This meant educating colleagues about what we could offer and ensuring that our work was clinically safe and meaningful.

Training was more intense than I had anticipated, with balancing academic demands, clinical placements, portfolio work, and the emotional demands of direct client work. Learning to plan my weeks in detail, including deliberately scheduling time to rest and recharge, was essential. Looking back, those foundations laid in the first year have been crucial ever since.

Supervision quickly became a crucial anchor. Weekly sessions provided much more than clinical oversight, as they became safe spaces to reflect, question, and grow. Building a trusting supervisory relationship took time. I learned early on that supervision was most valuable when I came prepared to discussions, was honest about my uncertainties, and open to learning.

Year 2 – Newly qualified: Stepping into practice

Transitioning from a trainee to a qualified practitioner was both exciting and daunting. Each day brought something different: one-to-one sessions, facilitating group work, clinical notes, multidisciplinary team discussions, and continuing professional development. Alongside this, working closely with different disciplines, driving collaborative teamwork. 

What surprised me most was how different practice felt after qualification. There was more autonomy, but also a deeper sense of responsibility. I had thought qualification might bring a sense of being 'ready', but I soon realised that uncertainty doesn't disappear. You just become better at managing it.

This shift brought a fresh wave of imposter syndrome. Rather than trying to suppress it, I learned to acknowledge it and, crucially, to talk about it within the MHWP network. These conversations helped normalise the feeling and reminded me that doubt can coexist with competence.

Without the structure of academic deadlines, maintaining professional development required a more self-directed approach. I built new structures into my working life: regular supervision, using peer support spaces and working on other projects, which sparked my interest. 

Six months to Year 3 – Finally finding my feet: Thriving, not just surviving

As I approach the end of my second year, I can see how much the journey has shaped not just my professional skills but my personal growth. These years have been exciting and transformative.

I have moved from a place of nervousness to a place of quiet confidence, more attuned to reflective practice, and more connected to a community of colleagues who continue to inspire and support me.

My advice to those just starting out in the MHWP role or in any new professional journey is that the early wobbles are part of it. Growth often comes disguised as self-doubt, and every step adds to the story you are building. Keep in mind to spend time finding your own style of supervision and working, to reach out to networks when struggling and to take in every step of the journey along the way, as I found this a crucial part of my development. 

This blog article was written by Annika Sidhu and represents her experience. The British Psychological Society offers a home for those training as MHWPs and those already in practice. You can join the UK's largest community of psychology professionals as an associate member, and take advantage of the society's resources, including career guidance, networking events and discounted learning opportunities.