Band 7 Arts Psychotherapist - Bristol

Job overview

Do you understand the clinical needs of people with a Learning Disability and Autistic People? Do you bring passion and commitment to delivering high quality care?

We are looking for an exceptional Art, Drama or Music Psychotherapist to join our new specialist acute inpatient service for people with learning disabilities and autistic people.

This role will provide a rare and exciting career opportunity to be instrumental in contributing to the implementation and ongoing evaluation of Arts Psychotherapy within a highly specialist inpatient setting. You will be expected to have excellent team working and groupwork skills, and an ability to deliver individual and group interventions within an inpatient environment.

In addition to shaping and delivering direct assessment, formulation and intervention, you will contribute to wider service development and pathways, including training, consultation, reflective practice and staff wellbeing.

You will be expected to contribute to service improvement, audit and research as appropriate, working with colleagues and linking with relevant partner organisations such as academic institutions, to help us realise our vision of being a centre of excellence.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will deliver high-quality, evidence-based assessment, formulation and intervention within the inpatient service. This will include the delivery of specialist individual, group and systemic intervention, as well as providing consultation, interventions and training for carers and staff.

They will be expected to provide supervision to other members of the team, including trainee Arts Psychotherapists, as appropriate.

They will also contribute to service design, audit and research. The service has close working relationships with local Universities.

Individualised support will be provided to develop your knowledge and skills, as part of the expanding expertise in learning disabilities and neurodiversity within AWP.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical 1. To provide a specialist arts psychotherapy service including assessment and treatment, using advanced levels of skill, for individual and group shorter and longer-term art psychotherapy and to advise teams in relation to service users complex needs and the range of interventions available. 2. To carry out assessments and consultation to inform and enable comprehensive information gathering to establish diagnosis, re service users who present with unclear symptoms and complex mental health difficulties. 3. Regularly review and evaluate the therapy including levels of risk as part of the CPA process. 4. Communicate with empathy and sensitivity with service users and carers with an awareness and understanding of their problems and often complex issues. 5. To be responsible for own specialist caseload working within Trust policies, protocols and guidelines. 6. To record service user’s progress in RIO patient records, write reports and input statistical date. 7. To engage in reflective practice and clinical supervision and to offer clinical supervision to arts psychotherapy staff and other colleagues, as required. To arrange and attend professional, team and specialist clinical supervision as appropriate to caseload. Professional 8. Communicate effectively with members of clinical teams, managers and other professional colleagues both representing and providing an arts psychotherapy perspective and bringing psychological thinking to different forums. 9. Work with Managers and Locality leads to ensure that all new, current or adapted arts psychotherapy space/rooms conform to professional associations standards and Standards for Better Health, and provide an adequate, appropriate and safe therapeutic environment in which to practice. 10. To be responsible for ensuring that all arts works, and digital images and recordings are appropriately stored in line with HCPC, professional associations guidelines and Trust policy. 11. To work within professional codes of practice and to Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) standards. To work using the best and evidence based practice. 12. To work effectively as a team member

Training and Staff Development 13. To maintain high standards of practice, demonstrate ongoing personal development through active participation in internal and external development and training opportunities, recording learning outcomes in a CPD portfolio to fulfil HCPC standards. 14. To engage in the appraisal process and own CPD and appraisal and CPD of junior/unqualified staff where appropriate. To ensure continuous engagement in one’s own art process in line with HCPC standards. 15. To be responsible for the planning and organisation of placements for students including visits to other departments and evaluation of their progress. To supervise, support and mentor students on placement where appropriate. To be responsible for providing both verbal and written reports for universities and training establishments regarding students suitability to qualify. 16. To educate other professionals and their students about arts psychotherapy and provide specialist advice. This may include presentations. 17. To engage in ongoing statutory and mandatory training. Service and Policy Development 18. To keep Manager/Lead arts psychotherapist informed about local service developments, requirements, shortfalls and gaps in the service and input into team service development plans. Trust wide strategy and audit. To be responsible for contributing to relevant policy and procedures. 19. To input and make proposals for the development of protocols and guidelines and input into the development of arts psychotherapy strategy. To input into the Trust policy and procedures within the work area with particular reference to therapeutic issues. Health and Safety. 20. To be responsible for ensuring safe use of materials and equipment and work within health and safety policies and guidelines. Identify training needs for self and junior/unqualified staff where applicable. 21. To undertake specific training, keep records and be responsible for monitoring and maintaining health and safety and security of self and others in own work area. Ensure regular health and safety training and updating for self and any junior/unqualified staff for which responsible. 22. To be responsible for and manage delegated arts psychotherapy equipment and materials budget, as appropriate. To order and maintain equipment in line with COSHH requirements. Research and Development 23. To carry out or participate in research audits surveys and clinical outcomes assessment to ensure best and evidenced based practice; to evaluate relevant current research, integrate into practice and disseminate to others. 24. To collaborate with other specialist staff in designated area to extend the range of specialist psychological and group interventions available across the Area. Other Duties The post holder may be required to perform duties other than those given in the job description for the post. The particular duties and responsibilities attached to posts may vary from time to time without changing the general character of the duties or the level of responsibilities entailed. Such variations are a common occurrence and would not of themselves justify the re-evaluation of a post. In cases, however, where a permanent and substantial change in the duties and responsibilities of a post occurs, consistent with a higher level of responsibility, then the post would be eligible for re-evaluation.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.