An exciting opportunity has arisen for an Arts Psychotherapist with experience of working in mental health, to develop an Arts Psychotherapy service at Prospect Park Hospital (PPH), the mental health inpatient hospital for Berkshire. The post holder would be part of the Psychological Therapies Team at Prospect Park Hospital. Currently there are thirteen Psychological therapists working across the hospital, allowing for peer support.

The post holder will be responsible for creating a new Arts Psychotherapy service in the hospital Therapy Centre. They will also have the opportunity to develop the service over time, developing input into the adult, older adult and PICU wards. The successful applicant will receive clinical supervision from a senior therapist in their discipline and line management from the Psychological Therapies Team at PPH. There will be the opportunity for making connections with other Arts Psychotherapists from across the Trust.

Job satisfaction will come from a number of different areas in this diverse role. Working with the friendly and committed Psychological Therapies Team, under supervision you will hold a clinical caseload of groups and offer individual work to adults and older adults with complex mental health presentations. You will also have the opportunity to contribute to service development and to supervise other staff including trainees and Assistant Psychologists.

Main duties of the job

Develop an Arts Psychotherapy service at Prospect Park Hospital - developing groups and individual sessions and processes around these.

Engage in consultation to other hospital staff.

Supervise trainee staff and Assistant Psychologists.

Contribute to service development.

Offer staff support.

About us

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust isa specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated 'outstanding' by the CQC, we're committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire.

We value diversity and are proud to be a Stonewall Top 100 Employer.We work hard to create an inclusive environment where you'll be supported by friendly and professional colleagues to flourish.

Our values at Berkshire Healthcare:

• Caring for and about you is our top priority
• Committed to providing good quality, safe services
• Working Together with you to develop innovative solution

We welcome people who share these values to come and work for us.

Benefits of working for us include:

• Flexible working options to support work-life balance.
• 27 days' annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
• Generous NHS pension scheme
• Excellent learning and career development opportunities
• 'Cycle to Work' and car leasing scheme
• Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
• Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
• Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities and armed forces community to support equality
• Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave.

Job description

Job responsibilities

We are looking for applicants who have the following:

Masters or post graduate diploma in Art Therapy, Arts Psychotherapy, Music Therapy or Dramatherapy and registration with the HCPC

Experience of working within a mental health setting and with service users who have experienced a variety of mental health problems

Excellent therapeutic and management skills.

A calm, confident and assertive manner in emotionally demanding situations able to set and maintain professional boundaries and efficient at dealing with distressing or hostile situations and behaviour.

Self-motivation and confidence. You will show initiative and a determination to support patients and through creative engagement

If youre someone who shares our passion for excellence and care, join us and lets be outstanding together.

We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please dont hesitate to contact Catherine Evans-Jones on: catherine.evansjones@berkshire.nhs.uk wholl be delighted to help.

We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics. Reasonable adjustments will be made for disabled applicants where required.

Person Specification

Education/Qualifications/Training

Essential

• Masters or post graduate diploma in Art Therapy, Arts Psychotherapy, Music Therapy or Dramatherapy
• Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• Post graduate clinical supervision training/qualification or willingness to attend identified training

Desirable

• Additional relevant clinical post graduate qualification

Continuous Professional Development

Essential

• Evidenced post qualification training and expert knowledge in areas of specialism and the ability to use knowledge when interacting on health and social care subjects

Desirable

• Commitment to continuing professional development and own clinical research

Previous Experience

Essential

• Significant experience of running Arts Psychotherapy groups and offering individual and group arts psychotherapy sessions.
• Experience and interest of working in multidisciplinary teams / multi-agency environment as well as experience of teaching / training of health care professionals
• Experience of working within mental health setting and with service users who have experienced a variety of mental health problems
• Experience of working within services that operate the Care Programme Approach successfully and of working with complex caseloads
• Experience of working effectively with a wide variety of patient groups and with service users with cases of a high degree of complexity

Desirable

• Experience with routine outcome monitoring, audit and clinically related research.
• Experience of teaching and liaising with other professional groups

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

Essential

• Ability to manage own time and the ability to work under pressure often in challenging situations and prioritise workload/ competing demands accordingly
• Ability to use clinical supervision and personal development positively and effectively
• Ability to manage difficult situations with service users that have complex mental health conditions and challenging behaviours and to manage a demanding and complex caseload.
• Exceptional IT skills and the ability to navigate around various systems and software packages.

Additional Requirements

Essential

• Able to work flexibly as required and the ability to travel independently between locations to fulfil the requirements of the position

Employer details

Employer name

Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust

Address

Psychology MH Inpatients

Prospect Park Hospital, Honey End Lane

Reading

RG30 4EJ

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

371-MHS064