Our Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Employment Service offers encouragement and practical support to help you find suitable paid work, apply for a job and stay employed.
We do this by working with you right from the start of the whole process and supporting you all the way, including helping you to:
- Decide on the job that’s right for you
- Find a suitable job
- Fill in forms and apply for jobs
- Use computers to assist you
- Prepare for and do well at interviews
- Settle into your job
- Get the right benefits
Once you’ve got a job, we can support both you and your employer to tackle any problems, if that is what you want.
Who we can help
We are here to help anyone receiving secondary mental health services, who would like to get a job and be in paid work.
Just ask your care coordinator to refer you to us.
What the ‘right’ work gives you
- It can help you develop new social networks and contacts
- Helps you to build an identity for yourself
- Boosts your self-esteem
- Gives you a structure to your day and purpose
- Helps you to develop new skills
- Helps you to earn money for yourself
- Can help you improve both your physical and mental activity
"Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment."
Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Client stories & testimonials
Meet the team
Julie Salt – Mental Health Employment Specialist, Louth
Julie has been an Employment Specialist since 2020. She has lived experience as a carer through her daughter’s recovery journey in mental health services. Her approach is to always try to understand what it is like to be in someone else’s shoes and bring this perspective to her work roles.
Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her ‘grand pups’ – two adorable Golden Doodles who bring a lot of pleasure and mischievousness.
Amy Pesterfield – Mental Health Employment Specialist, Stamford
Amy has worked for Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s recruitment team since 2016, before joining the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Team as an Employment Specialist in 2021. She is covering Lincoln North and Gainsborough for a colleague whilst she is on leave and will soon be permanently covering Stamford. She loves to chat and support people and gets a buzz when people achieve their goals with her being a part of that journey. Amy loves her role as she truly believes the ‘perfect’ job is out there for everyone as well getting the opportunity to engage with everyone.
Zoe Robertson – Mental Health Employment Specialist, Spalding
Zoe began her Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust career as a bank Support Worker in 2016, then went on to qualify as a Mental Health Nurse. Her mental health background includes rehabilitation, substance misuse, and a variety of inpatient wards. She began working for the Individual Placement and Support Service in August 2020 and is passionate about supporting service users to find meaningful employment.
Vicki Masson – Mental Health Employment Specialist, Grantham and Sleaford
Vicki started working for Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s in 2005 as a Ward Clerk and over time with additional training has managed to learn new skills. She has spent the last 10 years in a Community Mental Health Team and recently had the opportunity to join the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Team. She finds her role very rewarding and feels honoured to be part of a service user’s journey back into paid employment.
Sheila Imbriano - Senior Employment Specialist
Sheila started working for LPFT in 2000 as a Nursing Assistant, providing therapeutic groups within day services on the Beaconfield Site in Grantham. Career progression throughout the years as a Community Support Worker and a Housing Support Worker led to her becoming involved in the pilot for Individual Placement and Support (IPS) employment support in 2015. Having a varied career path, an appreciation of supporting others to become independent and her own lived experience, she understands the importance of a good work life balance and she promotes this within her work at every opportunity.
Sheila has a busy family life as a mother of four and a 'Nana' to eight grandchildren. Sheila enjoys music, baking novelty cakes, football and Formula One.
Karen Hallett – Mental Health Employment Specialist, Boston
Karen initially trained in ladies hairdressing but found that it wasn’t for her and started work for the civil service. She started working in Jobcentres in 1989. Karen has a passion for helping people find the right job for themselves and seeing how it helps their self-esteem and general outlook on life. Outside work, Karen loves watching cookery programmes and travelling.
Sara Brewin - Service Manager for Allied Health Professionals, Recovery and Inclusion
Sara started her Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust career in 2003 as a Community Support Worker in one of the adult Community Mental Health Teams and then in 2011 qualified as an Occupational Therapist. Sara is very passionate about mental health, recovery and inclusion, and very much values the role that collaborative working plays in a person’s recovery. Before becoming the Service Manager for the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Employment Team, she was the IPS Team manager for three years and is still very passionate about supporting and enabling the service to continue to grow. Outside of work, Sara enjoys being a mum, spending time with family and friends, and going on local walks to keep her mind happy and healthy.
Dee-Anne Greensmith – Mental Health Employment Specialist, Lincoln South
Dee-Anne has been an Employment Specialist for the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Employment Team since 2018 and prior to this, in a variety of other NHS organisations including, Community Mental Health Teams, Integrated Adult Health & Wellbeing Services and Continuing Healthcare. She is passionate about supporting people to make their own choices, find a good job match for them and helping them to gain and retain meaningful, paid employment which makes a significant difference to their lives. She feels honoured knowing that she is helping with their recovery journey.
Kelly Thornton - Mental Health Employment Specialist, Grantham
Prior to joining the IPS Team, Kelly was an Assistant Practitioner in the Early Intervention in Psychosis team for three years. Previous to this, Kelly worked in CAMHS in an acute inpatient setting supporting children from the age of 13-18. Kelly is a qualified Midwife having trained 15 years ago and has always had a passion for working in mental health, having worked in a mother and baby unit which specialise in treating severe mental health problems. Kelly is passionate about supporting people to find suitable employment which plays a key role in recovery and has a positive impact on overall wellbeing. Kelly is a mum to four children, and she is a carer for her youngest daughter who is neurodivergent. Kelly is committed to encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion. In her free time, Kelly enjoys walking her two whippets and gardening.
Clare Fuller - Mental Health Employment Retention Specialist, Lincolnshire North
Before joining the IPS team Clare worked for the Probation Service for 14 years actively supporting the rehabilitation of Service Users in the community and upon leaving prison. She has had the privilege of watching people on her caseload grow and understands the importance of being in the right job for your own wellbeing. Mental Health has been at the forefront of all work Clare has done and this is something she has a keen interest in and feels very passionate about.
Sarah Vines – Mental Health Employment Specialist, Skegness
Sarah is new to the IPS Team and is an Employment Specialist, predominantly covering the Skegness area. Her background combines experience in Human Resources Management and Community Development projects and engagement. Sarah is also experienced in supporting Unpaid Carers needs and rights. Sarah is passionate about providing the support to enable everyone to meet their full potential.
Fay Smith - Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Employment Service - Admin Support
“Fay has worked in the NHS since 1981 in various roles in both physical and mental health services and joined the IPS Service in November 2022 as an Administrator. Fay enjoys her role of supporting the Employment Specialists and the service users and appreciates the benefits that paid employment or volunteering can bring to your life and mental wellbeing.”
Jasmine Fawcett - IPS Team Manager
Prior to becoming the Team Manager, Jasmine was a Senior Employment Specialist for Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust and before that an Employment Specialist. This has put her in a great position to support the staff members now in those roles as she understands the challenges they might face. Supporting others to live well with mental health conditions has always been important to her, which led her to study Psychology at University. A varied working career has followed, allowing her to appreciate from her own lived experience what a difference the right role and employer can have on someone’s mental health. She finds it really rewarding to support service users to gain employment that is right for them and seeing what a positive impact this can have on their lives.
Sarah Jones, Mental Health Employment Specialist, Lincoln North and Gainsborough
Sarah is new to the team and is a Mental Health Employment Specialist covering Lincoln North and Gainsborough for a colleague whilst on leave. Sarah has lived experience as a carer for her father with Parkinson’s disease and his journey with the associated mental health struggles. Sarah is immensely passionate about mental health and believes getting back to work in a job you enjoy is hugely beneficial. Sarah enjoys supporting people through their own journey and finds it immensely rewarding watching people grow and become confident in their own abilities.
Natalie Wells - Mental Health Employment Retention Specialist, South Lincolnshire
Previous to joining the IPS team Natalie worked in a Community Mental Health Team as an Assistant Practitioner for three years, teaching Emotional First Aid, running a peer support group and supporting a caseload of service users. Before this she was a prison officer for 12 years, working her way up to management. Her special interests are all rehabilitation based (employment, training and education, dual diagnosis recovery, peer support and collaborative working). She tries to inspire people on their recovery journeys by sharing her own lived experience of ill mental health and is very passionate about the power of peer support. Her favourite thing to do is to read/watch true crime or snuggle up with her beloved cat and nap!
Danny Sheehan - Mental Health Employment Specialist, Lincoln North
Meet Danny, a dedicated professional with a passion for making a difference in people's lives. His previous expereince includes working as a veteran support worker and lobbyist, where he provided critical assistance and advocacy for the rights of veterans. He has also worked as a specialist work coach at Job Centres where he's been a youth coach for those in complex situations, and a long-term health condition specialist. His role helped countless young individuals find their career paths, and as a health journey specialist, he's supported people to get the right benefits and improve their wellbeing. Adding to this experience, Danny holds undergraduate qualifications in psychology and humanitarian aid. Danny thrives on making connections, understanding unique stories, and finding ways to support and empower those he works with. His work is driven by compassion, and his commitment to improving the lives of others.
