Play Therapist - Specialist Intervention Service (Full Time)

London borough of Barking and Dagenham; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government organization in London seeks a qualified Play Therapist to join their transformative team. In this role, you will work with children and families, applying play therapy methods to explore trauma and identity. The position requires a passion for engaging creatively with children and a commitment to developing therapeutic relationships. Competitive pay and flexible working arrangements are offered.

Benefits

Competitive pay package

Generous pension

Up to 30 days annual leave

Investment in learning and development

Wellbeing commitment

Qualifications

• Experience working with children and adolescents.
• Ability to apply play therapy methods and theories.
• Insightful team player with creativity.

Responsibilities

• Explore trauma and identity through play therapy.
• Work collaboratively with families to build attachments.
• Provide clinical supervision and peer interaction.

Skills

Energy

Passion

Perseverance

Analytical report writing

Education

Relevant play therapy qualifications

Job description

About this job

This is a unique position, opportunity and moment for you to bring yourself as a Play Therapist to a place where in the work, miracles happen, and seeds of hope come to life. This post is part of the development of a play therapy team, where we are working with children known the children’s social care, to help them make sense of their lived experiences and narratives. This is a place where our work actually brings about deep change in both the children’s lives and that of their families, often preventing disruptions in children’s living arrangements and starting new patterns of being able to be together. This role also offers the play therapist and the adolescent ways of explaining and thinking about complexity through sensory medias, so it no longer feels like play but really makes sense of, and highlights, their feelings and experiences. As Play Therapists, we get to be situated right at the point of most need, which means we have the privilege of seeing great change and impact.

Re-applying for posts

Applicants who have not been shortlisted or who are unsuccessful at interview cannot reapply for the same job if it’s within 6 months of the first advert – for further information please refer to our Jobs and Career Page - ‘Working for us and Information for Applicants’ on our website.

Special requirements for this post

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and a comprehensive screening process will be undertaken on successful applicants including a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check at enhanced level for both children’s and adults.

About you

As a play / adolescent therapist, you will be exploring issues around trauma and identity, through the use of all the play therapist tool kit. You will need to be able to apply theories in order to offer analytical understanding of your sessional material. However, clinical supervision comes as an integral part of this work.

This position will suit a therapist who works with children and holds relevant play therapy qualifications. Whilst the post will focus on working with children and teenagers, it will also offer the opportunity to work collaboratively with family members to build bonds and attachments and develop therapeutic life story work. We have also developed exciting group work methods with children, which will offer you as the therapist the ability to work with and understand siblings like never before. Once again, training and supervision will be offered to this post.

The applicant must be able to assist any child by displaying a working knowledge of play therapy methods and theories, whilst being able to work between the play therapy quadrants using various modalities and all media as is necessary.

Critical criteria

Personal : Energy, passion, perseverance, and an eagerness to creatively engage with child / young person and their connected people and professionals. An insightful team player.

Professional : Relevant professional therapy qualifications and accreditations with therapy bodies. We offer creative clinical supervision and work as a small coherent therapeutic team with clear management and peer interaction. It is essential that the incoming team member understands working within corporate care processes in order to work in a close multidisciplinary way. Analytical report writing is critical to this position.

About us

This is an exciting time to join the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham. We have been on a journey over the last few years, that has seen us transform the council and the way we deliver our services. At the heart of this transformation is our community. We need committed individuals to support us in the delivery of these aims and to become part of our team to make a difference to our children and families. In return we offer a competitive pay package, generous pension, annual leave up to 30 days, investment in your learning and development as well as a commitment to your wellbeing. We work in a dispersed way, offering flexible working arrangements.

One borough; one community; London’s growth opportunity