Specialist Dramatherapist

NHS; Radlett; On-site; GBP 52,000 - 59,000; Part time

Job summary

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Specialist Dramatherapist/Music Therapist to cover maternity leave for 11 months, based at Kingfisher Court in Radlett. The post is fixed term, part time (11.25 hours across two days) with pro-rata salary £51,657–£58,785 per annum.

You will join the adult acute mental health unit, providing open groups and 1:1 sessions, working within a multidisciplinary team and contributing to the wider arts therapies service with

Qualifications

• M.A. in dramatherapy or music therapy.
• HCPC registered as Arts Therapist.
• Training in clinical supervision.
• Member of BADth.
• Experience in inpatient settings.
• Ability to work autonomously.

Responsibilities

• Provide clinical assessment and intervention for inpatients with acute mental illness.
• Offer arts therapies interventions (group or individual).
• Provide clinical supervision to staff and other therapists.
• Lead on service development for acute settings in agreement with management.

Skills

Inpatient work

Autonomous practitioner

Assessment & intervention

Education

M.A. in dramatherapy or music therapy

HCPC registration as Arts Therapist

Training in clinical supervision

Member of BADth

Job description

Specialist Dramatherapist/Music Therapist

NHS AfC: Band 7

Main area Drama therapist Grade NHS AfC: Band 7 Contract Fixed term: 11 months (depending on start date - post will end mid November 2027) Hours Part time - 11.25 hours per week (over 2 days) Job ref 367-A&UC-101750

Site Kingfisher Court Town Radlett Salary £51,657 - £58,785 per annum, pro rata (inclusive of 5% HCAS) Salary period Yearly Closing 12/11/2026 23:59

Values Based Screener

At Hertfordshire Partnership Foundation Trust we are looking for people to join us who share our values and those of the NHS. Before your application can be considered please take part on our online values questionnaire, which you can find below. When you have finished you will be sent a 'completion code' by email, which will be valid for 6 months and required to submit your application form.

We are looking to recruit a passionate and skilled Dramatherapist to cover maternity leave for approximately 11 months from December 2026 (exact length, start and finish time is dependent on start date as post will end by mid November 2027).

The post will be based in the adult acute mental health unit at Kingfisher Court, Radlett, covering two wards. You will be part of the multidisciplinary team supporting service users experiencing an acute mental health episode. You will provide open groups and 1.1 sessions for service users.

You will work closely with the Specialist Art Therapist based at the unit and the other AHPs, psychological therapists, nursing and medical staff. You will be part of the wider arts therapies team in adult mental health services and have opportunities to meet as a group, and to access the arts therapies CPD programme. Monthly clinical supervision will be provided internally.

Main duties of the job

Provide clinical assessment and intervention to service users who are experiencing acute mental health issues, in an inpatient unit.

• Provide expert opinion and assessment as part of the multi-disciplinary team
• Provide clinical supervision to arts therapists and other staff where required
• Lead on service innovation for acute in agreement with manager and professional lead.

Working for our organisation

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of ‘Outstanding’ from theCare Quality Commission.

Our family of over 4,500 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. E verything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout:

Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To make decisions and recommendations regarding the treatment of service user with complex mental illnesses through investigative assessment processes and to use interpretive skills to understand complex behaviours and psychological function.
• To plan, monitor and deliver specialised programmes of care for the treatment of service users experiencing acute and severe mental illness.
• To provide arts therapies 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. Standardised outcome measures and evidence based practice interpretation is part of this.
• To use skills to continually tailor and adapt interventions to the needs of the service users at any one time with the safety and wellbeing of the service users in mind.
• To work to agreed activity standards including duration of intervention.
• To contain at time highly emotive and distressing clinical material (i.e. sexual abuse and other trauma). To enable the service user tomanage the material at times when it may not be helpful to explore it at that time. To use specialist skills and experience to judge this.
• To make referrals to/recommendations for arts or psychological therapy in the community or rehabilitation services where the service user would find this helpful, and support a smooth transition.
• To protect and respect the confidentiality of all service users at all times in-line with information governance.
• To attend clinical supervision on a regular basis for reflection of clinical practice and professional development.
• To attend managerial and professional supervision.

To lead delegated tasks concerned with the development and implementation of local protocols and procedures to support delivery of arts therapies including operational issues.

• To carry out an annual audit of referrals to arts therapies and other audit and evaluation as required.
• To use recognised outcome measures appropriate to the setting and feedback forms to evaluate/audit the effectiveness of therapy for service users.
• To be responsible for the development and implementation of local arts therapies policies and procedures within the unit, in liaison with the lead.
• Interpret policies in areas of specialism for the staff team and facilitate their implementation.
• To actively engage in individual performance reviews and undertake training as identified.

Person specification

Qualifications

• M.A. (or equivalent) in either dramatherapy or music therapy
• Registered with Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as an Arts Therapist (dramatherapist)
• Training in clinical supervision
• Member of Professional Body (BADth)

Experience

• Experience of working in an inpatient setting
• Experience of working with people with a range of mental health problems including personality disorder, psychosis
• Experience of working as an autonomous professional and developing a service
• Experience of providing a range of therapeutic interventions including assessment, inpatient and outpatient work, individual and group work, exploratory and supportive.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name Clare Hubbard Job title Arts Therapies Professional Lead Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 07554331023

Caroline Finch, Head of AHPs, Acute and Crisis Division [e-mail]

Gerald Maiello, Principal Dramatherapist, [e-mail]