Highly Specialist Arts Psychotherapist

· Provide specialist arts psychotherapies clinical assessment and treatment in response to the complex mental health and learning disability needs of male adult secure patients including those with autism, symptoms of psychotic illness, anxiety and depressive illnesses, personality or mood disorders, suicidal and/or self-harming behaviour. Many of whom will have a history of profound loss, abuse and may present with a history of aggression or violence towards others alongside their learning and physical/sensory disabilities. · Provide specialist assessment and treatment across AMH &LD medium and low secure services · Work closely with secure service team members and their carers in supporting service users with their offending behaviour,

• Provide clinical assessment and treatment to adult service users who have offended and have mild learning disabilities, serious mental health issues including those with psychoses, anxiety and depression, mood and personality disorders, or ASD or ADHD and other challenging behaviour.
• Provide Clinical assessment and treatment interventions for individuals and groups, within all male secure services working closely with their muti-disciplinary team and families where advised.
• Provide clinical supervision to Arts Psychotherapists and other junior staff where appropriate.
• Lead on service innovation as delegated by the Professional Lead Arts therapist., As a senior specialist clinician, the post holder provides and evaluates individual and group assessment and treatment services in response to the complex mental health and learning disability needs of male adult secure patients across West Hertfordshire medium and low secure units. Many of whom will have high levels of emotional and psychological disturbance and will present with serious difficulties including symptoms of psychotic illness, anxiety and depressive illnesses, personality or mood disorders, ASD suicidal and/or self-harming behaviour.
• To clinically manage an agreed caseload paying high regard for patient safety quality standards and clinical risk.
• To work very closely with members of the wider MDT, external partners and service users' families and carers, within the boundaries of confidentiality.
• As a senior specialist clinician the post holder works jointly with other professionals to deliver assessment and care consultation for the range of psychological therapies, and provides individual and group arts (art drama or music) psychotherapy assessments and treatment; core coordination and care consultancy in complex cases.
• As a senior specialist clinician they are required to evidence their clinical decision making through verbal and written reports and evaluations, outcome measuring and knowledge of evidence based interventions. To analyse and clarify factors of risk e.g. self-harm, level of functioning, capacity to engage in therapeutic work, unmet needs and support systems to determine the patient's complex need and capacities to undertake the treatment mode.
• To provide specialised assessment of service users referred for the range of psychological therapies. Working jointly with Arts Psychotherapies (Art Drama or Music), Psychology or other Psychotherapy to determine which service will meet their therapeutic needs.
• To make clinical decisions and immediate and long-term recommendations regarding the treatment of service users with complex learning disabilities, autism, challenging behaviours and mental health problems or personality disorders through investigative assessment processes and to use interpretive skills to understand complex behaviours and psychological function within a reflective supervised clinical process.
• To plan, monitor and deliver specialised programmes of care for the treatment of an agreed case load of service users experiencing complex learning disabilities and enduring mental illness.
• To provide Arts (Art Drama or Music) psychotherapy interventions, group or individual as appropriate through sensitive and expert application of arts psychotherapeutic techniques to service users assessed as able to engage in therapeutic work, whether brief or longer term. Standardised outcome measures and evidence based practice interpretation is an essential part of this.
  
  Good Honours degree in relevant subject and relevant work experience
• M.A. Arts psychotherapies(art drama or music)
• Substantial post qualifying professional experience and a demonstrable knowledge of and commitment to best practice and evidence based practice.
• Registered with Health and Care Professions council (HCPC)
Desirable criteria
• Member of professional Association, Experience of working as a therapist with service users who have experienced a variety of mental health problems including psychotic symptoms, anxiety and depression, mood and personality disorders
• Experience of working as a therapist with service users who have a history of abuse, trauma, profound loss
• Experience of working as a therapist with services users with mild learning disabilities and complex A/I/T A/I/T 11 mental health problems who may have limited communication skills and challenging behaviours
• Experience of working with the challenges of various multi-disciplinary teams especially in secure /community settings.
• Experience of working extensively with carers and families in secure settings
• Substantial experience of own personal therapy.
• Experience of keyworking and care co-ordination of clients in a secure setting
• Evidence of continued professional development
Desirable criteria
• Experience of supervising arts psychotherapists and of liaison with university training courses, in own speciality and other specialist areas, You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
  
  Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of 'Outstanding' from the Care Quality Commission.
Our family of over 4,000 members of staff provide health and social care for people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. Everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout, Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) is rated by the Care Quality Commission as an Outstanding provider of mental health and learning disability services. In 2021, we won the prestigious Health Service Journal award for Mental Health Trust of the Year, with the judges saying they were "blown away" by our people's achievements and that everything they saw "sings and hums". This year, our staff rated us the 4^th best mental health and learning disability trust to work for out of all 52 trusts in the country. Our staff tell us that they are proud to be part of the HPFT team, proud of the standard of care we provide and proud that service users are our top priority. Our people tell us they feel supported though a great development, wellbeing and work-life balance offer and a highly compassionate, values-driven culture. We are equally proud of our staff, who live our values of being welcoming, kind, positive, respectful and professional