Psychological Therapist (from a variety of disciplines)

Job content

Responsible to: Head of Therapy Service
Terms of Employment: Permanent
Hours/week: Negotiable
Salary: Band 6/7
JOB PURPOSE
To provide psychological assessment, formulation and intervention to support young people at Meadows Care. To take on “Lead Therapist” role in one or more of our therapeutic residential children’s homes. This role involves coordinating the therapeutic care for all young people in that home, completing psychological assessments and developing a therapeutic care plan and recommendations for their therapeutic needs. This role involves completing direct therapy when it is clinically indicated. You will be required to develop close working relationships with the registered manager of the home and the residential support team, working systemically, alongside liaison with education services. You will be contributing to the delivery of a comprehensive ‘therapeutic service’ within Meadows Care.
To assist in the development of the Meadows Care ‘Therapy Service’ in accordance with the needs of company. To contribute to Meadows Therapy Service as a centre of excellence in the field of developmental trauma and attachment.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• To provide psychological assessment and therapeutic interventions to Young People in Meadows Care.

• To act as lead therapist in one or more homes coordinating the therapeutic needs of young people in that home

• To attend such meetings/proceedings including statutory reviews, as is appropriate, to present assessments and provide a review of therapy to inform care.

• To provide regular written reports regarding psychological assessments and interventions and general progress, for each Young Person being worked with.

• To work as lead therapist into one or more residential children’s homes, providing psychological support, reflective practice, training, formulation and guidance around the needs of all young people in the home, to the team

• To regularly liaise with relevant professionals regarding therapeutic interventions and care being provided to the Young Person, subject to professional boundaries of confidentiality.

• To provide input into routine assessment and care planning for each Young Person.

• To complete any relevant documentation and add to professional meetings as required e.g., Statement of Educational Reviews, LAC Reviews, Professional Meetings, Disruption Meetings

• To work with the other members of the ‘Therapy Service’ to develop a service that will appropriately meet the therapeutic and psychological needs of all the Young People at Meadows Care.

• To provide a mental health and psychological opinion and therapy proposals for potential referrals to Meadows Care.

• To provide relevant training to Meadows Care staff-whether to the service as a whole or to specific teams.

• To be involved in recruitment and induction of new staff, as appropriate.

• To undertake any Continued Professional Development activities as are required to maintain and enhance clinical skills necessarily for the delivery of high-quality psychological care.

• To attend and contribute to peer supervision within the Therapy Service.

• To receive Clinical Supervision from an appropriate professional in accordance accreditation requirements.

• To be knowledgeable of and to work within the parameters of the Meadows Care policies and procedures. To gain an understanding of Ofsted requirements and Quality Standards for Children’s Homes.

• To be aware of the nature of working within the independent sector, working for a non-statutory organisation and the different challenges and dilemma’s that this can entail.

PERSON SPECIFICATION
Essential Criteria

• Accreditation (or working towards accreditation) in a therapeutic model

• Experience of working with young people with complex presentations (e.g. CLA, LAC, CAMHS, YOT)

• Further training in therapeutic models relevant for young people (ie. DDP, CFT, Mentalisation, DBT)

• Ability to apply knowledge of psychological theories to health and social care

• Ability to disseminate assessment findings and formulation to a range of audiences

• Able to demonstrate good organisational skills and work autonomously

• To have a range of skills in assessment, formulation and intervention in addition to evaluating their own practice and measuring outcome.

• To integrate within care teams and work closely with managers and support staff.

• To be able to contribute to CLA/LAC reviews and a range of other professional meetings, including at times providing evidence that may be used within family law proceedings.

• To lead collaborative care planning, formal and informal training and providing reflective practice sessions.

This is not an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities, and the post holder may be required to undertake other duties following appropriate discussion with the appropriate manager or Directors. This job description may be reviewed and revised in line with the needs and development of Meadows Care.
Closing date:Friday 9th July 2021. Interviews to be held on 27th and 28th July 2021.

Job Type: Permanent