Art Therapist

+ To assess, plan and implement art psychotherapy + To evaluate clinical outcomes using measures recognised within the service and take part in the further development of evidence-based practice in art psychotherapy + To liaise with staff from other disciplines + To supervise art psychotherapy MS students on placement + To participate in the planning, development and and evaluation of the art therapy service for adults with learning disabilities + To act as a professional advisor for the arts psychotherapy service in relation to therapeutic practice, managerial issues, promotion of the service, supervisory and research issues + To contribute to the maintenance and development of the arts therapies as a whole service within the Therapy Agency and Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust + To contribute to the Learning Disability Service on call rota as required The LD Service operates from 8am to 8pm and staff will be expected to work flexibly to meet the needs of the service and be able to travel independently across two bases: Firshill Rise and Grenoside Grange, Clinical

• To assess adults with Learning Disabilities who have complex
behavioural, mental health, emotional, and relational difficulties for art psychotherapy.
• To be professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all
aspects of their work.
• To work with clients to identify the appropriate model of arts
psychotherapy for their needs.
• To accept clinical responsibility for a caseload of clients, taking a
collaborative role with members of the multi-disciplinary team, or acting as the sole case-holder where appropriate.
• To plan and implement client-focused individual and/or group
interventions.
• To monitor, evaluate, review and modify treatment for clients with
multiple needs in order to measure progress and ensure the effectiveness of the intervention.
• To use CORE and/ or HONOS-LD to evaluate clinical outcomes, and to
work towards the further development of evidence-based practice in arts psychotherapy.
• To apply a high level of understanding of the effects of complex mental
health, behavioural, emotional, and relational difficulties on service users, their families and carers, and to demonstrate a sound grasp of psychodynamic principles to working with them to assist change or adaptation.
• To provide art psychotherapy in working conditions which may be
hazardous or stressful e.g., psychotherapy with adults who may have distressing circumstances, mental health problems experience of trauma, and show challenging, aggressive, self-harming, suicidal or disinhibited behaviour in a community setting.
• To assess capacity and gain valid informed consent to work within a
legal framework with clients who may have difficulty in cognitive understanding and/or verbal expression due to mental health problems.
• To at times, assist clients with physical difficulties to comfortably use the
art room and the arts materials.
• To move and handle art/music equipment, materials, artwork and
portfolios in community mental health settings. Communication
• To ensure that the service user's views are central to the planning of
arts psychotherapy and their overall plan of care within the Specialist Community Learning Disability Service.
• To establish robust communication networks with clients, carers,
multidisciplinary team colleagues, and other health workers and agencies.
• To demonstrate skill in communicating complex, sensitive or contentious
information to clients and their carers as appropriate.
• To discuss psychotherapeutic progress with clients who may find
difficulty in self-awareness, emotional and verbal expression.
• To communicate with carers and MDT colleagues about
psychotherapeutic progress whilst respecting the client's autonomy and confidentiality.
• To promote awareness of the role of art psychotherapist within the
team, locally and nationally.
• To liaise with the Clinical Lead for Arts Therapies (Adult Services) , the
Therapy Manager and the local Team Manager on matters of client care, unmet needs and service delivery.
• To use IT skill for therapeutic use (where appropriate) and to assist
communication within the service area, the whole arts therapies service, The Therapy Agency, and Sheffield Health and Social Care Trust. Documentation
• To ensure that up to date written and electronic records and activity data
are maintained in accordance with professional, Agency and Sheffield Health and Social Care Trust standards.
• To provide specialist arts psychotherapy reports relevant to the service
area. Professional Ethics
• To comply with the Code of Ethics and Professional Practice, national
and local policies and procedures.
• To respect the individuality, values, cultural and religious diversity of
clients and contribute to the provision of a service sensitive to those needs.
• To demonstrate the ability to reflect on ethical issues and provide
guidance to less experienced staff as necessary. Leadership, Supervision and Appraisal
• In line with local guidelines, review and reflect on own practice and
performance through effective use of clinical and operational supervision and appraisal.
• Provide effective leadership, guidance, supervision, and appraisal for
less experienced staff. Training staff and students
• To contribute to the induction, training of students and other staff (from
all disciplines) both within and external to Sheffield Health and Social Care Trust.
• To be responsible for the supervision and written assessment of arts
psychotherapy M.A students on practice placement within the Adult Mental Health Service, in communication with the student's personal tutor.
• To provide specialist advice to arts therapy colleagues in other clinical
areas.
• To provide specialist advice and training to carers, clients, and other
professionals. Service development and delivery
• To participate in the operational planning, and implementation of policy
and service development within the team, leading on delegated projects.
• To lead in the delivery of delegated areas of the arts psychotherapy
development plan Professional Development
• To apply specialist skills and knowledge to establish professional
competence and fitness to practice as an arts psychotherapist.
• To demonstrate a high level of ongoing personal development through
participation in internal and external development opportunities, recording learning outcomes in a portfolio. Clinical governance, quality standards
• To contribute to the Sheffield Health and Social Care Trust, the
Specialist Community Learning Disability Service, The Therapy Agency and the Arts Therapies Service clinical governance arrangements, including the setting and monitoring of practice standards.
• To apply national guidelines/legislation relating to the physical and
mental health care of adults with Learning Disabilities Management
• To exercise good personal time-management, punctuality, and
consistent, reliable attendance.
• To provide advice on the resources necessary to maintain the service.
• To decide priorities for own work area, balancing other patient-related
and professional demands and ensuring that these remain in accordance with those of the service.
• To be actively involved in the collation of appropriate data and statistics
as required by the Therapy Agency. Research and practice development
• To undertake research and/or audit projects relevant to arts
psychotherapy and/or the service area disseminating findings at a local level.
• To broaden research and development skills by participation in local audit and research projects.
Therapy materials and environment
• To order art materials, monitor their safe use and store them according
to C.O.S.H.H guidelines.
• To maintain the safety and good order of the therapeutic space.
We aim to be an organisation that is diverse and inclusive and to meet this aim we welcome applications from people with a wide range of life experience and whose diversity echoes the diversity of Sheffield, that of the people who use our services, and that of the people who may need to use our services but face barriers to access. Please think about your personal values and how these align with our values when you are applying. Find out more about our organisation through our website. We are a Disability Confident employer level 2 and hope to achieve level 3 this year. We offer a guaranteed interview to disabled applicants who meet all of the essential criteria for a role. When you apply you will have the opportunity to let us know if you require adjustments to be made, please contact us if you are not sure or if you require adjustments to the application process itself. Our six staff network groups welcome new members, these are: + The Ethnically Diverse Staff Network Group + The Disability Staff Network Group + The Lived Experience Staff Network Group + The Rainbow Staff Network Group + The Staff Carers Staff Network Group + The Women's Staff Network Group We know how important flexible working can be to applicants and therefore we encourage you to discuss any working arrangements as part of this process. We will always aim to accommodate requests, wherever possible. The Trust is committed to safeguarding adults and children and as part of our safe recruitment practice the successful applicant(s) will be subject to a check with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) if it is deemed appropriate for the role. The cost of the DBS check (currently up to £48.23) must be met by the successful applicant(s). When applying for this post you will redirected to complete your application in our preferred applicant management system, Trac. If you are successfully offered a role, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system. In addition, in submitting an application, you authorise our Trust to confirm any previous NHS service details via the ESR IAT process should you be appointed. Please note, all communication regarding your application will be made via email, please ensure you check your junk/spam folders as emails are sometimes filtered there. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) when writing job applications If you choose to use AI or other tools to assist in writing your application, it's essential to personalise this information, particularly your supporting statement. While AI can help streamline the writing process, these tools cannot fully grasp the context or requirements of the job you're applying for, nor can they accurately reflect your skills, knowledge, and experience. It is crucial that you personalise your supporting statement by articulating these in your unique voice. Relying solely on AI to write your application or supporting statement is not advocated by SHSC and could negatively impact your chances of success in the application process. For example, AI responses…
• usually lack relevance and fail to address the key criteria outlined in the job description and person specification.
• may come across as generic and fail to distinguish you from other applicants.
• may be ambiguous or open to misinterpretation. Without careful review and editing, the supporting statement could convey messages that are unclear or misconstrued by hiring managers.
• may include qualifications, skills, knowledge or experience that you do not possess, potentially leading to misrepresentation.
Supporting Statement The supporting statement is an opportunity for you to showcase how your qualifications, knowledge, skill and experiences align with the requirements and criteria outlined in the job description and person. Recruiting managers score applications based on the criteria listed in the person specification. Managers will be looking for evidence of how you meet these criteria. To increase your chances of securing an interview, provide examples of how you have applied your skills and knowledge in real-life situations. Share work-related successes and challenges you've navigated that align with the criteria. These could be from various aspects of your life, including work, education, and personal experiences. Consider structuring your statement with clear headings or bullet points. This approach will help both you and the recruiting manager navigate through your application more effectively.

We are looking for a motivated and enthusiastic Art Therapist to continue and expand the Art Therapy offer to adults with Learning Disabilities in Sheffield.

At Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust we provide a range of mental health, learning disability, substance misuse, primary care and other specialist services designed around the needs of people in our city. We have a dedicated and skilful team of people caring in Sheffield, which you could become a part of. Our values are at the heart of everything we do. These are: working together for our service users, respect and kindness, everyone counts, commitment to quality, improving lives., What is it that makes our Trust such a special place to work? Well, it's all about the people. Our staff, service users, carers and families all come from such diverse backgrounds and all have expertise and stories to share. It's important that you feel supported in your role, that the people who you work with are as passionate as you are and that your health and wellbeing is taken care of If you're interested in developing your career, you'll have access to a range of training and education opportunities, including apprenticeships, work experience and placements, as well as the chance to get involved in research. We are all very proud of the difference we make to people's lives each and every day and if that's something that you'd like to be part of we'd love to have you with us.