Arts Therapist

EAST LONDON NHS FOUNDATION TRUST; England; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare trust in the UK is seeking a qualified Arts Therapist to deliver and evaluate Arts Therapies interventions for various service users. The role involves managing staff, conducting assessments, and ensuring quality patient care. Ideal candidates will have experience in their respective Arts Therapies field, excellent evaluation skills, and the ability to work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team. This position offers ongoing support and training opportunities.

Benefits

Flexible working arrangements

Relocation support up to £10,000

Ongoing professional development

Qualifications

• Experience in delivering Arts Therapies including assessment and treatment.
• Ability to evaluate effectiveness using outcome measures.
• Experience in managing and supervising staff.

Responsibilities

• Plan and deliver specialist Arts Therapies interventions.
• Evaluate and improve service user experiences and outcomes.
• Lead projects and supervise junior staff.

Skills

Arts Therapies interventions

Evaluation

Team collaboration

Clinical supervision

Quality Improvement

Education

Relevant Arts Therapies qualification

Job description

Key Responsibilities

1. To plan, provide and develop specialist Arts Therapies interventions including assessment, treatment and evaluation of individual and group work using own Arts Therapies modality (Art, Music, Drama or Dance Movement).
2. Evaluate work on an ongoing basis with an emphasis on using appropriate service user reported experience and outcome measures to measure and demonstrate effectiveness.
3. Manage and supervise allocated staff, including trainees.
4. Participate in MDT governance and service development meetings.
5. Regularly undertake Quality Improvement, Research and Audit.
6. Provide a range of teaching and training to multi-professional staff, service users and carers as required.
7. Take a designated role in local service leadership and development.

Additional Responsibilities

• Develop and provide Arts Therapies to service users with a range of mental/health needs in a range of settings as required.
• Plan and develop specialist Arts Therapies in liaison with the Head Arts Therapist and Multi‑disciplinary colleagues.
• Assess referred service users, plan and deliver Arts Therapies interventions including in‑patient service user/out‑patient service user follow‑up as required, taking into account risk factors, and complexity of presentation, service user’s need, and service priorities.
• Use own clinical skills to contribute to the overall treatment and personal recovery goals for the service user during and beyond Arts Therapies input.
• Where required by the Multi‑disciplinary team, facilitate reflective practice input, joint assessments and joint working.
• Contribute own specialist knowledge from assessment and treatment to the overall care plan for each service user through contribution to clinical meetings e.g. ward rounds, tribunals, via written reports, as well as verbal feedback to teams.
• Refer on other appropriate services after assessment or on discharge.
• Work as an integrated and collaborative team member, respecting others’ ways of working and holding in mind other assessment, treatment and support which may be being provided alongside Arts Therapies input.
• Adapt as required clinical practice to suit particular challenges of the environment including the setting of aims and goals appropriate to service users' needs and setting.
• Assess risk and adopt appropriate measures to maintain a safe and therapeutically sensitive environment for all.
• Maintain a high degree of professionalism at all times and maintain appropriate boundaries.
• Undertake ongoing evaluation of service user’s progress to manage time‑limited therapy effectively including therapy endings and follow‑up.
• Seek out help of senior staff or more experienced Arts therapists in this field to enhance own clinical practice, including sources from within and outside the Trust, and share this knowledge through the Arts Therapies networks within the Trust.
• Facilitate placements for trainee Arts Therapists, along with provision of their placement management and clinical supervision.
• Responsible for clinical input into Trust's Arts Therapies Research and Quality Improvement as identified.
• Work autonomously, referring when necessary to clinical and managerial supervision support.
• Facilitate communication between therapist and service user through the use of any adaptive communication techniques, devices or approaches.

Ethical and Professional Practice

• Ensure own ethical practice by working with your professional body’s Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Clinical Practice and abiding by the Health and Care Professions Council requirements for ongoing Registration and Trust’s Confidentiality policies.
• Make clinical judgements with regard to confidentiality.
• Contribute to the development of promotional information that is accessible to service users and staff informing them of the nature of Arts Therapies and how and when they can access the service.
• Manage a client caseload in response to users’ needs and the remit of the service with senior support.
• Exercise specialised professional and clinical judgement in complex clinical cases and refer to senior staff when necessary.
• Make decisions in terms of day‑to‑day management of own time, in collaboration with the MDT and Head of Arts Therapies/designated Manager.
• Follow correct Trust procedures and seek advice regarding incidents and complaints.
• Have a working knowledge of, and adhere to, current legislation applicable to clinical area, including the Mental Health Act, the care act, Health and safety, governance and data protection and recovery focused practice.
• Balance service demand with own case load, ensuring that Arts Therapies referrals are managed efficiently and that there is sufficient throughput.

Record Keeping and Data

• Maintain accurate service user’s records including clinical note keeping, report writing, in accordance with relevant national and Trust policies.
• Collect statistics relating to service reporting requirements.

Line Management & Project Leadership

• Take a lead on designated projects with senior support.
• Provide regular line management supervision including annual appraisals for those for whom you have line management responsibility.
• Understand and implement policies and requirements of the relevant Service line.
• Provide regular professional and clinical supervision for junior and less experienced staff as required.
• Ensure the safekeeping and confidentiality of all records and to advise honorary and trainee staff on these requirements.
• Ensure that Trust Policy is adhered to for those whom line management responsibility is held, taking appropriate action regarding complaints and untoward incidents.
• Oversee delegated project management and required supervision of Arts Therapies and Arts in Health projects.
• Take an active part in own line management supervision, including own appraisal.
• Make use of established communication systems within the service line and related organisations.
• Maintain knowledge and awareness of operational issues relating to clinical practice.
• Play an active role in shaping the wider team's philosophy of care, service aims, mode of operation and policies, through attendance at team meetings, away days and other development forums.
• Adhere to and act on Clinical Governance being particularly mindful where this pertains to the Arts Therapies and advise trainee, honorary staff on requirements.
• Demonstrate good knowledge in own practice and be able to advise staff on matters related to diversity and equality in clinical and professional relationships as defined by the Equalities Act.

Training & Recruitment

• Educate other professionals through workshops, presentations and training.
• Provide further trainee training opportunities as a trainee co‑worker as required.
• Provide clinical supervision to allocated trainees.
• Allocate service users to Arts Therapies trainees holding responsible for these caseloads and for clinically supervising the input provided by trainees to service users.
• Compile assessments and reports on Arts Therapies trainees’ progress, attend meetings organised by training institutions and contribute to good relations between training institutions and the Trust.
• Be actively involved in recruitment processes, including development of job descriptions, person specs and advertising.
• Sit on interview panels as required for the recruitment and selection of Arts therapists and/ or other team members where appropriate.
• Make full and appropriate use of regular clinical supervision.
• Assess own training and development needs and ensure they are met through negotiation with designated line manager.
• Undertake continuous professional development as required for professional registration.
• Undertake Trust mandatory training as required.
• Review regularly service delivery, proposing and making appropriate changes to develop the service, balancing the views and needs of service users, carers and MDT staff and Trust wide or local policy changes, in consultation with Head of Arts Therapies or designated line manager.
• Promote and apply evidence‑based practice to service delivery.
• Take part in and promote Quality Improvement work in all aspects of your role.
• Keep abreast of new developments and research in Arts Therapies.
• To participate in Trust‑wide Clinical Interest groups undertaking delegated tasks as appropriate.
• Participate in planned Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and maintain a personal CPD portfolio that meets professional registration requirements.
• Ensure own development through regular participation in clinical supervision/consultation process and participation in other training opportunities within the Trust.

Equipment and Physical Set‑Up

• Be responsible for the maintenance, physical storage and setting out of any Arts Therapies equipment including the moving of furniture within health and safety guidelines.
• Ensure confidentiality of service users Arts Therapies work made/audio/video recorded as part of therapy and the safe and confidential storage of such service user material during therapy and post discharge.
• Be responsible for and check the stock of Arts Therapies equipment on a regular basis, advising on orders and replacements.
• Exert physical effort in moving equipment and furniture, e.g. when setting up a room for group work or transporting records of users’ clinical work to and from supervision.
• Exert physical effort in the execution of your arts therapies work.
• Undertake intense concentration for clinical interventions on both a one‑to‑one and group basis.

Making Things Better

Quality Improvement is a key part of our work to improve our services and refine how we do things. We have a global reputation for our quality improvement work and we don't stand still! So we offer a fantastic opportunity for our staff to learn, lead and contribute towards improving our services.

Our Five Year Strategy

We launched our Five Year Strategy in April 2018, which identified four main strategic outcomes to improve: population health outcomes, experience of care, staff experience and improve value. This complements the NHS Long Term Strategy and sets out our direction of travel.

Our Community

We provide a wide range of community health and mental health inpatient services to children, young people, adults of working age, and older adults in The City of London, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Bedfordshire and Luton. We also provide psychological therapy services to the London Borough of Richmond, and provide Forensic services to the whole of North East London. We provide services in urban and rural settings, sometimes in our inpatient units, but mostly in the community close to where people live. Integrated care is key in making the best use of resources and providing effective care.

Aiming High

We were rated 'Outstanding' by the CQC in 2016, were proud to be rated 'Outstanding' again in 2018 and continue to be rated 'Outstanding' in 2021. We were named in the HSJ's Top 10 best places to work in healthcare and were voted Provider Trust of the Year in 2018.

Staff and Service Users United

We strive to ensure that staff feel valued by the Trust and as they are truly pivotal in delivering better outcomes for our patients and service users. Our aspiration is to help to make ELFT the best place to work. This Trust is clinician‑led and provides the highest possible level of clinical expertise throughout its services. We pride ourselves on our service user involvement. A service user will be on your assessment centre and interview panel if you are invited to meet us.

Diversity

ELFT Is committed to being a diverse organisation and our workforce is reflective of the population and communities we serve. We believe that having colleagues with a range of backgrounds and life experiences enriches and adds value to the outcomes we have set out to achieve. Having partnered and endorsed by organisations who are representative and experts in various areas of equality and diversity, we can ensure we are meeting the pre‑set standards all the way from recruitment stage throughout the career journey of our employees by being accessible, having fair inclusive practices and a host of staff networks to support, nurture and celebrate our valued staff in the workplace.

Other reasons to apply

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that's job share, part time or another flexible pattern.

As part of the relocation scheme we presently have, the Trust could support you with offering up to £10,000 for removal and associated expenses. This is subject to change and terms and conditions apply.

Mission and Values

Our mission is to make a positive difference to people’s lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

About ELFT

At East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT) we are committed to supporting the development of arts therapies to increase the choice and access service users have to evidence‑based psychological therapies. Over 50 arts therapists work across the trust in a wide range of services and each year we provide over 30 arts therapies trainees with clinical placements through a centralised programme.

ELFT provides mental health services across Bedfordshire and Luton (B&L). This post offers an excellent opportunity to join a skilled arts therapies team that work across community‑based adult learning disabilities and adult mental health recovery college services. The post‑holder will have opportunities to support trainees and to manage other members of the team.

The team is based at Twinwoods Clinical Resource Centre, Bedford, MK41 6AT. The successful post holder will have excellent on‑going support including regular managerial, clinical, and professional supervision along with CPD to support career development.

Being a car driver is essential.