Job Overview

We are looking to recruit to a one day post on Adult Acute Inpatient/ PICU ward (Music or Dramatherapy / Dance Movement Psychotherapy may be considered) at St Charles Hospital.

We are also looking to recruit a Music therapist to a two day Rehabilitation unit (we may also consider 1 day Music 1 day Art or Dramatherapy). This post is located at Bluebell rehab unit- (location under consultation).

The role requires therapists to plan, provide and develop an arts psychotherapy service for acute in-patients/ rehab including systematic assessment, treatment and evaluation of individual and group work using an arts therapy approach (music, art, dance-movement, or drama).

There will be an expectation that the clinician will evaluate work on an ongoing basis with an emphasis on using appropriate outcome measures to measure and demonstrate clinical effectiveness.

To support management and clinical supervision of allocated staff (trainees) where appropriate and regularly undertake arts psychotherapies research/audit as part of the Trust Arts Therapies research strategy.

Main Duties of the Job

This is a dual role, covering both Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit and Inpatient rehabilitation Arts Psychotherapies Service.

• To plan, provide and develop Arts Psychotherapy treatment for patients on a psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU)/ Inpatient rehabilitation unit which includes systematic assessment, treatment and evaluation of individual and group Art Psychotherapy works for patients with a range of diagnoses.
• To undertake delegated management responsibilities when needed.
• Responsibility for managing your caseload.
• Undertake arts psychotherapy research/audit as per the Trust research strategy for the arts therapies/psychotherapies and participate in research and audit.

Working for our Organisation

CNWL is one of the largest NHS employers in the UK of Arts Psychotherapists, working in a vast range of services and has an increasing trainee placement programme continually broadening the reach of the profession.

In joining CNWL you’ll have access to first class national and international Arts psychotherapy CPD training through our International Centre for Arts Psychotherapy (ICAPT); as well as through our strong links with Brunel University, supporting and developing their international PHD and masters course in Art Psychotherapy training.

CNWL Arts Psychotherapies is linked nationally with research programmes and has strong QI support; and keen to expand the knowledge and evidence base of the Arts Psychotherapies.

We are committed to supporting our staff to achieve their potential whilst also ensuring they are also putting their health and wellbeing as a priority and have a vast range of support networks and benefits to offer all staff working for us.

We also have a thriving Arts in health service, Arts for staff initiatives and staff support projects such as our CARE project, as we want to ensure that our passion and knowledge of the benefits of the arts reaches patients and staff across the board.

We are keen to ensure that we’re meeting all the needs of our of diverse range of patients and especially welcome applications from those local to the populations we serve.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

• To provide a specialist Art Psychotherapy inpatient provision of group and individual Arts Psychotherapy sessions for patients over both short and medium term.
• To provide group and/or individual Arts Psychotherapy to patients, planning and reviewing treatment in conjunction with the patient and the community team in the context of their full treatment plan.
• To work in conjunction with the Primary Care Network service, accepting and assessing referrals as necessary and developing an appropriate treatment plan, taking into account risk factors, complexity of presentation, patient need, and service priorities.
• To assess each patient’s suitability for individual or group Arts psychotherapy and to ascertain from the ongoing review process a patient’s emotional stability, use of the therapy and ability to work with others towards the agreed aims of treatment.
• To use analytic judgement and sound interpretative insight for the assessment of clients for their suitability for individual or group Art Psychotherapy where there may be highly complex situations or facts as presented by the client/team.
• To offer specialist treatment for those who would benefit from psychological therapy but find primarily verbal psychotherapy difficult to access (e.g. thought disorder, cognitive difficulties, emotional withdrawal, language problems, etc.)
• To assess risk and adopt appropriate measures to maintain a safe and therapeutically sensitive environment for all when faced with challenging behaviour, for example verbal abuse, deliberate self-harm, violence, aggression or threatening behaviour. To contribute to the overall team risk assessment.
• To ascertain from the ongoing review process a patient’s emotional stability, use of therapy and ability to work with others in a constructive way, taking into account risk factors, complexity of presentation, patient’s need and service priorities.
• As an experienced clinician to be adept at working intensively and flexibly to sustain involvement with those who are at high risk of disengaging from treatment.
• To develop a high level of specialist clinical skill relevant to complex emotional needs in the local community services.
• To maintain a high degree of professionalism at all times and to maintain proper boundaries particularly as the clinical work will frequently involve working alone with individuals for substantial periods in emotionally intense therapy sessions.
• To deliver Arts Psychotherapy for patients using evidence-based approaches.
• To adapt your clinical practice to suit particular challenges of the environment without compromising therapeutic goals.
• To enable the image-making activity to act as a vehicle of expression for patients who may not be able to successfully communicate in any other way.
• To use sound judgement and interpretative skills to work with the client to understand the content and context of their communication and to respond to the arts process and patient interaction as a means of developing self-awareness and greater understanding of self in relation to other.
• To work and think responsibly and constructively with the relevant teams and any carers involved, drawing on clinical experience and theoretical knowledge to highlight and not collude with potentially destructive mechanisms of defence.
• To contribute specialist knowledge from your assessment and treatment to the overall treatment and care plan for each patient through contribution to clinical meetings.
• To work as an integrated team member of the multidisciplinary team, respecting others’ ways of working and having these others in mind when providing Art Psychotherapy.
• To seek out help of seniors or more experienced arts therapists in this field to enhance your clinical practice, possibly from sources within and outside the Trust, and to promulgate this knowledge through the arts psychotherapies network within the Trust.
• To contribute to the development of the Arts Psychotherapies service within the Trust by facilitating placements for Arts Psychotherapy students, offering opportunities for observation, independent work and providing line management and clinical supervision.
• To contribute to the Trust’s research strategy for the Arts Psychotherapies.
• To manage time limited therapy with due consideration to the ending in the context of the overall treatment programme.
• To refer on to other appropriate services after assessment or on discharge.
• To offer supervision to other team members to assist in processing the emotional impact of clinical work with people with serious mental illness through applying skills and knowledge from training and own personal psychotherapy.
• To work constructively and flexibly with people from different cultural, social and religious backgrounds, being particularly alert to special vulnerabilities e.g. refugee status, war-related trauma etc.
• To integrate students into appropriate clinical situations whilst giving a level of support to ensure the safety of and benefit to both students and patients.
• To write reports and contribute to the writing of reports as required by the community Arts Psychotherapy service.
• To do all of the above autonomously, referring when necessary to clinical supervision.