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Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Key Result Areas

Clinical

1. To provide a specialist Drama 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

1. Communicate effectively with members of clinical teams, managers and other professional colleagues both representing and providing an arts psychotherapy perspective.
2. Work with Managers and Locality leads to ensure that all new, current or adapted arts psychotherapy space/rooms conform to professional association standards and Standards for Better Health, and provide an adequate, appropriate and safe therapeutic environment in which to practice.
3. 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.
4. 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.

Training and Staff Development

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. To educate other professionals and their students about drama psychotherapy and provide specialist advice. This may include presentations.
5. To engage in ongoing statutory and mandatory training.

 Service and Policy Development

1. To keep 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.
2. 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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. To be responsible for and manage delegated dramatherapy equipment and materials budget, as appropriate. To order and maintain equipment in line with COSHH requirements.

Research and Development

1. To carry out or participate in research and clinical outcomes assessment to ensure best and evidenced based practice; to evaluate relevant current research, integrate into practice and disseminate to others.
2. To carry out or participate in audits and surveys to inform planning and ensure safe practice in line with clinical governance.
3. 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.

Communications and Working Relationships

Lead Arts Psychotherapist

Arts Psychotherapy colleagues

Clinical Teams

Other Statutory Organisations

Student Training Establishments

Community Forensic Mental Health Teams

 Most challenging part of this role

The post holder will work as an autonomous practitioner, relating to and working with colleagues across clinical teams. There will be a need to be flexible and adaptable with an ability to respond creatively to ongoing challenges and changes.

The post is emotionally challenging as service users that meet the criteria for accessing services within the Trust will have diverse and complex mental health problems and/or severe and enduring mental illness and/or trauma. 

For further details / informal visits contact: Rowan Armes Lead for Arts Psychotherapies, Secure Services [email protected] 0117 354 6946/6947