Job summary
- Main area
- Arts Psychotherapies
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 7
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 21.75 hours per week
- Job ref
- 294-COMM-7326630-JB
- Employer
- South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Springfield University Hospital
- Town
- London
- Salary
- £56,276 - £63,176 pro rata per annum inclusive of Inner London HCAS
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 20/07/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Art Psychotherapist
NHS AfC: Band 7
South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We provide a full range of local mental health services to the Kingston, Merton, Richmond, Sutton and Wandsworth London boroughs, as well as specialist forensic mental health services, including specialised services such as national deaf adults and CAMHS inpatients and OCD.
We are committed to providing high quality integrated health and social care for local people with mental health problems in South West London and more specialist mental health services for people throughout the UK. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’ however we aim to be ‘outstanding’.
Our Values
We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values; being consistent, compassionate, collaborative, respectful and open is at the heart of everything we do. Our mission is "making life better together".
When you join us, you’ll be part of something special – an innovative and rapidly growing organisation that is helping to redefine the Mental Health, education and social care landscape in the UK.
As a Trust, we are happy to talk flexible working.
Job overview
We are recruiting an Art Psychotherapist for the North East Wandsworth Integrated Recovery Hub (NEW IRH). This is one of four multidisciplinary Integrated Recovery Hubs in Wandsworth and provides specialist assessment, treatment and recovery work for adults with a wide variety of severe and enduring mental health difficulties.
The Wandsworth Arts Psychotherapies Service is a specialist psychotherapies service that provides nonverbal psychotherapies (Art, Music and Dance and movement) to service users under the care of the four IRHs and the Early Intervention Service (EIS) in Wandsworth.
The post is for a qualified art psychotherapist registered with the Health & Care Professions Council and who has at least three years post qualification experience. We will accept applications from applicants who may not have the required length of experience but may have significant relevant experience for a band 7 role.
Main duties of the job
Although the post is hosted by the NEW IRH, you will be responsible for the provision of a systematic art psychotherapy service for service users under the IRHs and EIS in Wandsworth focussing on:
• Specialist psychological assessments
• Evidence based art psychotherapy interventions
• Group work
• Teaching, training and consultation to MDT
• Service evaluation, audit and development
• Provide a training placement to a trainee art psychotherapist.
The Trust has a strong commitment to the development of psychological work, and you will be part of a team of arts psychotherapists and the multidisciplinary team. You will receive regular supervision from a senior art psychotherapist and the borough psychology and psychotherapies professional lead. There are good CPD opportunities within the Trust.
Working for our organisation
We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust.
We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’ - we aspire to be ‘outstanding’.
This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services as we invest a further £120m to upgrade and modernise our estate by 2027.
We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.
We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.
Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.
About our locations:
Springfield University Hospital, Tooting
Our largest, 19-ward site is in Springfield Village, created following our £150m investment into two new world class mental health facilities.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
1. To take responsibility for managing own personal caseload (and that of art psychotherapy trainees), with a high level of experience and clinical expertise. Processing referrals, conducting assessments and providing time-limited group/individual art psychotherapy treatment. To recommend alternative therapies where deemed necessary.
2. To exercise full responsibility and autonomy for clinical decisions regarding appropriate assessment, diagnosis, treatment, discharge and follow-up of patients with a range of complex mental illness, communicating effectively and sensitively with the referral agent and others involved in the case on a regular basis.
3. To provide contemporary evidence-based treatment with advanced theoretical and practical knowledge.
4. To understand and implement different models of art psychotherapy practice to suit a range of patient need including those with histories of trauma (adult and childhood), personality disorders, psychosis and complex mental illness
5. Ability to understand complex range of feelings and motivations that service users may present and to judge the most therapeutic level of intervention e.g. judging from verbal and non-verbal cues where probing or challenging may lead to positive development and where they would lead client to withdraw from the therapeutic work.
6. Judging from verbal and non-verbal cues what degree of support or direction it would be therapeutic to offer the service user with regard to their artwork
7. Ability to judge the best form of intervention for a specific service user e.g. group or individual, interactive/analytic or studio model, taking into account the service user’s attachment, relationship and interpersonal issues.
8. Risk assessment, including on the spot assessment of risk in inpatients who may be previously unknown, taking into account patient, therapist, family, child and public safety and formulate plans to minimise risk, distinguishing between the expression of distress and genuine risk of self-injury, suicide or harm to others.
9. To exercise sensitivity in the application of Art Psychotherapy in different cultural and ethnic contexts (e.g. with refugees and asylum seekers).
10. To actively participate in clinical meetings and case conferences in line with multi-disciplinary team approach
11. Input will focus on patients’ needs and may involve working with relatives and carers and other professionals.
12. To maintain accurate clinical records, paper and electronic, in line with multi-disciplinary teams, Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) and BAAT professional standards
13. To take responsibility for risk assessment and management (e.g. patients with suicidal and self-harming behaviours, including those with aggressive behaviours; and in relation to child protection and vulnerable adults’ issues) as specified by Safeguarding policy and guidelines. Know when to consult and take action alongside other professionals if there is an immediate risk.
14. To communicate with other members of the multi-disciplinary teams and other statutory and non-statutory agencies as appropriate, playing an active role in encouraging good relations and joint working.
15. To periodically review the evidence base for art psychotherapy practice, to provide the most effective treatment.
Person specification
Experience
Essential criteria
- Minimum of three years supervised post-qualification practice with a range of adult mental health.
- Experience of working with multi-disciplinary teams across adult mental health community and acute care service lines
- Experience of working with people with highly complex behaviour
- Experience of individual and group work with a variety of client groups (including psychosis).
- Experience of providing clinical supervision to trainees and qualified art psychotherapies.
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working in N.H.S. / large institution
- Experience of contributing towards/leadership in service development
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- MA/Postgraduate or equivalent training in Art Psychotherapy
- HCPC Registered
Desirable criteria
- Further professional development within the Art Psychotherapy field e.g. mentalizing skills, trauma-informed practice
- Training in working with patients with psychosis and personality disorder
- Clinical supervision training
Knowledge & Skills
Essential criteria
- Skills in applying psychodynamic formulations and theory to work with individuals, groups and organisations and to adapt Art Psychotherapy practice according to the needs of the client group.
- Knowledge of and skills in assessing a variety of clients for Art Psychotherapy and/or other treatment interventions.
- Knowledge, understanding and skills in risk assessment and safeguarding.
- Sound communication skills; both verbal and written.
- Ability to explain art psychotherapy practice to a wide range of professionals, service users and other partner organisations
- Knowledge of Evidenced Based Practice, NICE guidance, Clinical Governance, Quality Improvement and related knowledge for research and audit.
- Knowledge of and skills in considering differences and equalities both in therapy and professional relationships, including age, disability, neurodiversity, culture and race, sexual orientation, gender, religion/belief system.
Desirable criteria
- Ability to contribute to or plan arts psychotherapies education / case presentations.
- Knowledge of legislation and its implications for both clinical practice and professional management in relation to Art Psychotherapy and the full range of client groups
- Knowledge of other clinical models of practice (i.e. talking therapies, medical, systemic, Recovery Model etc) sufficient to engage appropriately with colleagues and their work with clients
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Dr Jyothi Shenoy
- Job title
- Consultant Clinical Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 0203 513 5000
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