Arts Therapist (Art, Music, Drama or Dance Movement)

Job description

Job responsibilities

Patient Care

Develop and provide Arts Therapies to service users with a range of mental/health needs in a range of settings as required, employing the following specialist skills.

Plan and develop specialist Arts Therapies with a particular focus on group work in liaison with the Head Arts Therapist and Multi-disciplinary colleagues

Assess referred service users, plan and deliver Arts Therapies interventions including in-patient service user/out-patient service user follow-up as required, taking into account risk factors, and complexity of presentation, service users need, and service priorities

Offer specialist treatment for those who would benefit from psychological therapy but find primarily verbal therapy difficult to access e.g. due to thought disorder, cognitive difficulties, emotional withdrawal, language barriers, etc.

Refer on other appropriate services after assessment or on discharge

Work as an integrated and collaborative team member, respecting others ways of working and holding in mind other assessment, treatment and support which may be being provided alongside Arts Therapies input

Being on the duty/enquiry desk, completing initial service assessments and responding to other service demands as they arise.

Assess risk and adopt appropriate measures to maintain a safe and therapeutically sensitive environment for all

Maintain a high degree of professionalism at all times and maintain appropriate boundaries

Undertake ongoing evaluation of service users progress to manage time limited therapy effectively including therapy endings and follow up

Facilitate placements for trainee Arts Therapists, along with provision of their placement management and clinical supervision

Facilitate communication between therapist and service user through the use of any adaptive communication techniques, devices or approaches

Oversee and develop arts based interventions including collaboration with Arts in Health partners

Clinical

Use own clinical skills to contribute to the overall treatment and personal recovery goals for the service user during and beyond Arts Therapies input

Where required by the Multi-disciplinary team, facilitate reflective practice input, joint assessments and joint working

Contribute own specialist knowledge from assessment and treatment to the overall care plan for each service user through contribution to clinical meetings e.g. ward rounds, CPAs, tribunals, via written reports, as well as verbal feedback to teams

Adapt as required clinical practice to suit particular challenges of the environment including the setting of aims and goals appropriate to service users needs and setting

Seek out help of senior staff or more experienced Arts therapists in this field to enhance own clinical practice, including sources from within and outside the Trust, and share this knowledge through the Arts Therapies networks within the Trust

Responsible for clinical input into Trusts Arts Therapies Research and Quality Improvement as identified

Work autonomously, referring when necessary to clinical and managerial supervision support

Administration

Follow correct Trust procedures and seek advice regarding incidents and complaints

Maintain accurate service users records including clinical note keeping, report writing, and CPA in accordance with relevant national and Trust policies.

Collect statistics relating to service reporting requirements

Take an active part in own line management supervision, including own appraisal

Make use of established communication systems within the service line and related organisations

Have a working knowledge of, and adhere to, current legislation applicable to clinical area, including Mental Health Act, CPA, Health and safety, governance and data protection and recovery focused practice

Management

Provide regular line management supervision including annual appraisals for those for whom you have line management responsibility

Provide regular professional and clinical supervision for junior and less experienced staff as required

Ensure that Trust Policy is adhered to for those whom line management responsibility is held, taking appropriate action regarding complaints and untoward incidents

Oversee delegated project management and required supervision of Arts Therapies and Arts in Health projects

Ensure own ethical practice by working with your professional bodys of Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Clinical Practice and abiding by the Health and Care Professions Council requirements for ongoing Registration and Trusts Confidentiality policies

Make clinical judgements with regard to confidentiality

Contribute to the development of promotional information that is accessible to service users and staff informing them of the nature of Arts Therapies and how and when they can access the service

Human Resources

Educate other professionals through workshops, presentations and training

Provide further trainee training opportunities as a trainee co-worker as required

Provide clinical supervision to allocated trainees

Allocate service users to Arts Therapies trainees holding responsible for these caseloads and for clinically supervising the input provided by trainees to service users

Compile assessments and reports on Arts Therapies trainees progress, attend meetings organised by training institutions and contribute to good relations between training institutions and the Trust

Be actively involved in recruitment processes, including development of job descriptions, person specs and advertising

Sit on interview panels as required for the recruitment and selection of Arts therapists and/ or other team members where appropriate

Make full and appropriate use of regular clinical supervision

Assess own training and development needs and ensure they are met through negotiation designated line manager

Undertake continuous professional development as required for professional registration

Undertake Trust mandatory training as required

Performance and Quality

Understand and implement policies and requirements of the relevant Service line

Maintain knowledge and awareness of operational issues relating to clinical practice

Review regularly service delivery, proposing and making appropriate changes to develop the service, balancing the views and needs of service users, carers and MDT staff and Trust wide or local policy changes, in consultation with Head of Arts Therapies or designated line manager

Balance service demand with own case load, ensuring that Arts Therapies referrals are managed efficiently and that there is sufficient throughput

Ensure the safekeeping and confidentiality of all records and to advise honorary and trainee staff on these requirements

Play an active role in shaping the wider teams philosophy of care, service aims, mode of operation and policies, through attendance at team meetings, away days and other development forums

Adhere to and act on Clinical Governance being particularly mindful where this pertains to the Arts Therapies and advise trainee, honorary staff on requirements

Demonstrate good knowledge in own practice and be able to advise staff on matters related to diversity and equality in clinical and professional relationships as defined by the Equalities Act

Promote and apply evidenced based practice to service delivery

Take part in and promote Quality Improvement work in all aspects of your role

Keep abreast of new developments and research in Arts Therapies

To participate in Trust-wide Clinical Interest groups undertaking delegated tasks as appropriate

Participate in planned Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and maintain a personal CPD portfolio that meets professional registration requirements

Ensure own development through regular participation in clinical supervision/consultation process and participation in other training opportunities within the Trust

Financial and Physical Resources

Be responsible for the maintenance, physical storage and setting out of any Arts Therapies equipment including the moving of furniture within health and safety guidelines

Ensure confidentiality of service users Arts Therapies work made/audio/video recorded as part of therapy and the safe and confidential storage of such service user material during therapy and post discharge

Be responsible for and check the stock of Arts Therapies equipment on a regular basis, advising on orders and replacements

Person Specification

Education/qualification/training

Essential

• MA (or equivalent) in an Arts Therapies Modality
• Degree in relevant area
• For Art therapist/Art Psychotherapist, Music Therapist & Dramatherapist - Registration with the HCPC
• For Dance Movement Psychotherapist: Evidence of working towards: UKCP Registered Dance Movement Psychotherapist
• For Dance Movement Psychotherapists: Membership of ADMP Professional Register

Desirable

• Further training in an area of psychological practice relevant to the role
• Clinical Supervision Training
• For Dance Movement Psychotherapist: UKCP Registered Dance Movement Psychotherapist Membership of Arts Therapies Professional Body

Education/ Qualification/ Training

Essential

• Clinical supervision training

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working as an Arts therapist with people with Learning Disabilities
• Experience of working as an Arts therapist in a Multi-disciplinary team
• Post qualification experience as an Arts Therapist working with the client group that this post is linked to in both individual and group work
• Experience of working with Service Users with secondary care mental health needs including challenging behavior
• Experience of working with service users with Learning Disabilities.
• Experience of providing Clinical supervision to trainee Arts Therapist
• Experience of assessing service users and making recommendations to a Multi-disciplinary team

Desirable

• Experience of providing teaching and training sessions regarding Arts Therapies to a variety of audiences o
• Experience of working as an Arts therapist in a Multi-disciplinary team
• Experience of providing Arts Therapies as part of research or clinical trial
• Experience of providing Arts Therapies in both acute and community settings
• Experience of project management and evaluation supporting service development
• Experience of supervision and support of Arts in Health projects
• Experience of running reflective practice sessions for other disciplines e.g. Nursing, Occupational Therapy

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• The mental health support needs of Adults with Learning Disabilities in community settings
• The Mental Health Act, The mental Capacity Act, Transfroming Care and the NHS long term plan in relations to People with Learning Disabilities
• Arts Therapies research and literature relevant to post Arts therapies modality
• The needs and rights of service users and / or carers in planning and service development
• The collaborative interface between Arts Therapies and arts in health
• High standard of verbal communication skills including the ability to provide concise, clear and relevant feedback to a ward round or MDT meeting
• Computer literacy and a high standard of written communication skills including the ability to produce clear reports detailing progress of therapy, selecting relevant information from sessions and presenting this without bias
• Developed interpersonal skills enabling therapeutic alliances to be developed and maintained with clients
• Ability to treat Service Users with respect and dignity at all times, adopting a culturally sensitive approach which considers the whole person
• Ability to work both independently and a part of a MDT team
• Ability to work with trauma and contain emotional impact through clinical supervision and team support systems

Desirable

• Line management of more junior staff

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

East London NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Tower Hamlets Community Learning Disability Service (CLDS)

Beaumont House, Mile End Hospital, Bancroft Road,

London

E1 4DG

Employer's website

https://www.elft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)