CAMHS Family Therapist

NHS; Plymouth; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 50,000

Job description

Are you looking for a new challenge and rewarding career in Children and Young people's Mental Health Services within an evolving team? CAMHS Crisis and Home Treatment Pathway are looking for a resilient, innovative, and motivated individual who is passionate about improving the lives and mental health of our young people.

Our pathway provides crisis support and intensive home treatment to young people who are experiencing mental health crises and emotional distress. The service can be fast-paced, and the ideal applicant will be extremely organized and self-motivated to provide high-quality assessment and formulation for the young people within the service. We provide evidence-based assessments and interventions for young people in keeping with the principles of the iTHRIVE model. The team provides a creative, trauma-informed, and proactive approach in engaging young people and their families. The individual will be able to work independently but also work well in a team.

This is an exciting new role for a Family Therapist to join the Crisis and Home Treatment Team for a year fixed term.

Please note that this role may not be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route; please refer to the Direct Gov website for more information regarding eligibility.

Main duties of the job

Crisis Community: To respond to CYP who present in crisis within the community that have been referred in. Clinicians will complete a psychosocial assessment, risk management, and signpost.

Home Treatment: The team offers CYP an intense community approach to avoid hospital admission and provides step-down support when discharged from a mental health inpatient unit.

You will be offered a robust staff induction period where you will be supported to build on your knowledge and skills.

Please note that Livewell may close the job advertisement earlier than the specified deadline if a high number of applications are submitted. Therefore, we recommend you submit your application at the earliest opportunity.

All Livewell staff are expected to be able and willing to work across a 7-day service.

About us

Livewell Southwest is an independent, award-winning social enterprise delivering integrated health and social care services across Plymouth, South Hams, and West Devon, with specialist services in parts of Devon and Cornwall. Our teams work in community hospitals, GP practices, sports centres, and health hubs.

As an organization with a strong social conscience, we are guided by our values: kindness, respect, inclusivity, ambition, responsibility, and collaboration. We focus on transforming services to ensure sustainability while empowering staff and those we serve.

We involve the people we care for, along with their families and carers, in shaping the care they receive, striving to deliver the right care at the right time and place. Centering our work on individual needs helps people lead healthy, independent lives.

We prioritize employees' development, offering protected CPD time, training pathways, leadership programs, and funding for qualifications like the Care Certificate and Nurse Training Scholarships. Our induction and preceptorship programs ensure a smooth transition into our organization.

Livewell Southwest values diversity and encourages applications from all sections of the community, including those with armed forces experience, lived experience of mental health, neuro-diverse conditions, and learning disabilities. If you need assistance or reasonable adjustments during the application process, contact the Recruiting Manager listed in the job advert.

Job responsibilities

The postholder will ensure that:

• Children, young people, and their families receive specialist family & systemic assessment and interventions with the postholder acting as an autonomous practitioner and working collaboratively with other professionals.
• The postholder will also be a case manager and will formulate care plans collaboratively with the family and use resources creatively to provide excellent therapy for children, young people, and families; uniquely tailoring therapeutic interventions to meet the needs of service users, underpinned by evidence-based models of family and systemic interventions and theory. They will ensure families receive interventions according to NICE guidance and local pathways of care.
• Risk assessments on children and young people in their care will be initially carried out and routinely reviewed, with any changes or new risks identified and recorded in their file.
• The postholder will contribute to the crisis and home treatment team pathway and will be accountable to the service manager in CAMHS.
• The postholder will work in accordance with the code of practice and code of ethics relevant to holding a professional qualification with AFT and UKCP, keeping up to date with research and theory and attending training as required by their registration.
• To provide specialist family and systemic psychotherapy consultation, liaison, and specialist advice to other colleagues, agencies, and services.
• The postholder will work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the team while observing Livewell Southwest and National policies and procedures.
• The postholder will be required to work flexibly in hours of clinical availability.

Key Results:

• Children, young people, and families to receive high-quality family and systemic assessments and interventions based on specialist knowledge and relevant theoretical models.
• To work within all latest relevant clinical frameworks and guidelines including (but not limited to) NICE, Future in Mind, Child Protection, etc.
• Provide support to CAMHS colleagues who have roles within the crisis and home treatment team care pathway and wider service provision.
• To ensure that appropriate levels of supervision are maintained and that clinical governance is of an excellent standard.
• To apply a sound knowledge of safeguarding issues and child development to work with children, young people, and families referred to CAMHS and identify when to refer to other agencies.
• To observe the professional Code of Ethics and Practice as laid down by the Association of Family Therapy and UKCP.
• To maintain adequate records and case notes with Livewell Southwest policy and professional guidelines.
• To monitor and evaluate progress through responding effectively to feedback from families and professional systems.
• To hold an appropriate caseload.

Key Activities:

• Providing a specialist Family and Systemic Psychotherapy service working autonomously within professional guidelines, personal and service objectives within the remit of CAMHS.
• To provide assessment and treatment options for people experiencing moderate, severe, and complex mental health problems.
• To exercise expert clinical judgment based on the highest standards of evidence-based practice.
• To utilize theory, evidence-based literature, and research to support evidence-based practice of self and others.
• To use appropriate routine outcome monitoring in clinical practice and apply this to service development.
• To receive regular professional supervision from the professional Lead for Family and Systemic Practice and where appropriate, other senior clinicians.
• To design assessment and treatment interventions as appropriate, which are delivered collaboratively with colleagues within CAMHS or other agencies as deemed appropriate.
• To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation, and treatment plans of patients in your care and to effectively evaluate progress.
• To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing, and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of practice and Livewell Southwest policies and procedures.
• To be able to cope with frequent exposure to highly distressing or emotional circumstances and to work with those who may have suffered physical, emotional, or sexual abuse.
• To sustain a genuine level of empathic engagement to work with ambivalent, resistant, and sometimes emotionally disturbed patients.
• To follow appropriate Child Protection guidelines in all clinical work, reporting any concerns regarding the safety or wellbeing of children, young people, and families in accordance with Livewell Southwest Policy and National guidelines.
• To provide opportunities for live clinical training and consultation.
• To work within the agreed philosophy of the service, respecting and valuing the different therapeutic approaches available within the multidisciplinary team.
• To work closely with children, young people, and families, ensuring they play an integral role in the development of services and individualized care.
• To contribute to the development and articulation of best practice in family and systemic psychotherapy across the service, by continuing to develop the skills of reflective practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervision and appraisal, and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the field and related disciplines.
• To be responsible for ensuring effective integrated working and communication with colleagues, partnership agencies, and the Third Sector.
• To maintain up-to-date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies, and issues in relation to the children, young people, and families the service serves.
• To contribute to the development of parents' groups and other groups within the HTT pathway using creative and imaginative concepts and theories.
• Maintain confidentiality, in line with Livewell Southwest Confidentiality Policy and Code of Conduct.
• To understand your professional responsibilities with regards to data quality for any information which you create, use, or process in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Livewell Data Protection Policy.
• To undertake continuing professional development in keeping with the nature of the post and its responsibilities, and in line with AFT and UKCP registration requirements.
• To receive regular supervision, in line with Livewell Southwest Supervision Policy and an annual appraisal in line with Livewell Southwest Appraisal Policy, during which mandatory, role-specific, and personal development needs should be identified and agreed.
• The postholder will be responsible for evaluation and review of their own practice and to make improvements and developments therein.
• The postholder will recognize, respect, and support the equality and diversity of staff, colleagues, service users, families, and carers and the public. Contribute to a working environment, which promotes and responds positively to difference and diversity.
• The postholder will comply with all Health and Safety requirements ensuring they fulfill the legal requirements of not endangering self, fellow employees, or others by action or omission.
• To participate in the development of the service, including the setting, auditing, monitoring, and reviewing of quality standards.
• To maintain professional registration and provide a copy annually of the registration document with UKCP.

Please see supporting information for full Job Description and Person Specification.

Person Specification

Experience

• Experience as a Family and Systemic Psychotherapist
• Experience of problems that present to a CAMHS service and appropriate interventions
• Awareness and ability to work with Child Protection Procedures and anti-discriminatory practice
• Ability to assess, develop and implement treatment for individual patients and for families. To hold a dual role of case manager and family and systemic psychotherapist, and to practice in accordance with organizational structures and guidelines
• Post qualification experience in child and adolescent mental health specialty and in working with families with severe and complex difficulties

Knowledge

• Knowledge of and skill in using the variety of modalities and approaches within family and systemic practice as required to meet the needs of children, young people, and families and the ability to work with a range of psychiatric and psychological difficulties.
• Evidence of continuing Professional Development as required by AFT/UKCP
• Knowledge of legislation and its implications for both clinical practice and professional management in relation to mental health.
• Knowledge of mental illness in children
• Knowledge of team and group dynamics
• Knowledge of routine outcome monitoring in practice

Qualifications

• Accredited postgraduate qualification in Family Therapy and Systemic Psychotherapy
• MSc level qualification or evidence of equivalent
• UKCP and AFT registered.
• Relevant professional training qualification and experience prior to Family Therapy training (e.g., nursing, OT, Psychology or medical qualification). Or equivalent.
• Certified training in other treatment modalities relevant to children and young people's mental health

Other

• Personal integrity, with values compatible with the philosophy of the service
• Ability to work alone or as part of a team
• Flexibility of approach
• Commitment to supervision

Skills

• Excellent planning and organizational skills
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively with patients of all ages, in difficult circumstances (see KSF for detailed examples)
• Ability to frequently sustain considerable concentrated mental and emotional effort under stressful and complex situations
• Ability to communicate highly complex information, both verbally and in written reports and formulations
• Ability to work with highly complex issues that require analysis, judgment, and interpretation and also assessment and management of risk.
• Ability to work effectively in a multi-disciplinary team
• Ability to provide appropriate and effective consultation to other professionals
• Ability to work innovatively and autonomously within this specialized area of work
• Skills in live-supervision
• Ability to advocate for family and systemic theoretical approaches whilst respecting and valuing other theoretical approaches
• Ability to design, plan and facilitate groups

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Full-time, Part-time, Job share, Flexible working.