Band 8a Head of Art Psychotherapy - Blackberry Hill Hospital

Job content

Managerial To plan, develop and co-ordinate a Locality Arts Psychotherapies (AsPs) Service and work with managers re future service development. Represent the Arts Psychotherapies and provide an arts psychotherapies perspective. To work in partnership with service users, carers and managers and other statutory and non-statutory organisations To provide operational line management and professional leadership across the service area, both inpatient and community. Manage and coordinate Arts Psychotherapies Dept.

To implement the Arts Psychotherapy Strategy as approved by the Quality Healthcare Committee. To be responsible for ensuring that all new, current or adapted arts psychotherapy spaces/rooms conform to Professional Associations standards and provide an adequate, appropriate and safe therapeutic environment in which to practice. This to be achieved by attending planning meetings and advising, negotiating, liaising and consulting with relevant personnel such as architects, builders, commissioned artists and service users To work in partnership with service users, carers and managers and liaise with other statutory and non-statutory organisations To be responsible for and manage arts psychotherapies budgets for service area. To be responsible for the ordering and maintenance of materials and equipment.

To be responsible for collecting information re HR and payroll, i.e. annual leave, travel expenses, sickness etc. Provide managerial supervision for arts psychotherapies staff and students on placement Clinical To work as an autonomous practitioner with own specialist caseload receiving referrals from professional colleagues and providing assessments to establish appropriate treatment for individual and group arts psychotherapy. When appropriate advise clinical teams re possible alternative interventions.

Carry out assessment and consultancy when diagnosis is uncertain for service users who present with unclear symptoms and complex mental health difficulties, as part of a consultation process To provide highly specialist arts psychotherapy individual and/or group sessions for people with complex needs and severe and enduring mental health problems, using highly advanced levels of skill and expertise as part of service user treatment programmes Regularly evaluate the therapy and assess levels of risk as part of assessment procedure and as part of the ongoing CPA process Be responsible for ensuring all AsPs receive regular, appropriate clinical supervision and caseload management and ensure that people work within their own competency. Provide clinical supervision and consultancy to other professionals where appropriate. Engage in reflective practice and own regular clinical supervision with an appropriate clinical supervisor. Communicate with empathy and sensitivity with patients and carers with an awareness and understanding of their problems and often complicated and difficult issues.

Communicate effectively with members of clinical teams, managers and other colleagues. To attend case conferences and CPA and other meetings that are relevant to the clinical work. To record service user progress in patient records, write reports and input statistical data Professional To work within professional codes of practice and Health Professions Council Standards of Care. To work using best and evidence based practice Demonstrate ongoing personal development through participation in internal and external development and training opportunities, recording learning outcomes in a CPD portfolio in line with HPC standards To be responsible for ensuring that all arts works and digital images and recordings are appropriately stored in line with HPC, professional associations guidelines and Trust policy.

Ensure that all arts psychotherapists have a way of expressing concerns about standards of patient care and that these are brought to the attention of the relevant manager Training and Staff Development To be responsible for the organisation of placements for students and for reporting back to universities and training establishments re student progress and their suitability to qualify To be responsible for ensuring and/or providing clinical supervision for students on placement. To support and mentor students on placement To engage in the appraisal process and be responsible for ensuring that all arts psychotherapies staff have yearly appraisals and a CPD/training development plan Ensure that Arts Psychotherapies staff engage in ongoing statutory and mandatory training To engage in own ongoing statutory and mandatory training To educate others about arts psychotherapies and be involved in the induction of new staff Service and Policy Development To keep managers informed re local service developments, requirements, shortfalls and gaps in the service and input into service development plans, Trust wide strategy and audit. To be responsible for contributing to relevant policy and procedures To work with managers and professional Heads in formulating policies and Guidelines Develop policies, protocols and guidelines for own area and input into the development of the Trust Arts Psychotherapy Strategy and relevant policy and procedures within the work area with particular reference to therapeutic issues. To work with the Manager to identify numbers of arts psychotherapists needed for present and planned future service.

Health and Safety To be responsible for Health and Safety as laid out by statute and Trust policies. Undertake specific training, e.g. COSHH, keep records and be responsible for monitoring and maintaining health and safety and security of self and others in own work area. Ensure health and safety training and regular updating for self and all AsPs staff.

To be responsible for ensuring safe use of materials and equipment and be responsible for ensuring regular maintenance and work within health and safety policies and guidelines Research and Development To carry out audits, surveys and service evaluation to inform planning and ensure safe practice in line with clinical governance. Carry out or participate in research and clinical outcomes assessment to ensure best and evidenced based practice To keep up to date with current research and development and encourage arts psychotherapists to engage in research and provide research supervision for professional colleagues