CAMHS Infant Mental Health Psychotherapist

37.5 hours per week. An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist to work within the CAMHS Infant Mental Health pathway alongside a small, established team of dedicated professionals. This role will add to an existing 0-5 team by offering assessment and psychotherapy to young children aged 3-5 years, with the ability to work with rising 5s up until 7 years old and their parents if clinically appropriate. This post is an exciting venture into spanning the age between 5-7, which is currently being held mostly by our Early Help Pathway. The post holder will offer consultation and supervision to the Early Help Pathway assisting with their work with 5-7 year olds. This post will enable therapy to continue with rising 5s who have been referred to the Infant Mental Health pathway but whose difficulties require ongoing longer-term psychotherapy.

The post holder will provide a high standard of service to infants, children, their families, and professionals from other organisations. The post holder will work autonomously and jointly within professional guidelines. The post holder will take an important role within the Child & Adolescent Psychotherapy pathway within Plymouth CAMHS and participate in the future development of this service. The post holder will ensure that the standard of the service is maintained at all times. The post-holder will develop knowledge and skills in teaching, training, and provide consultation to CAMHS colleagues.

Main duties of the job

This post will support the provision of a specialist Child & Adolescent Psychotherapy service within the CAMHS infant mental health pathway to young people across Plymouth within CAMHS.

Our aim is to improve children and young peoples mental health through the effective delivery of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) through provision of a multi-disciplinary Infant and Community Mental Health Pathway for infants, children, and young people aged 0-18 using the Anna Freud i-Thrive framework to inform delivery and provide safe, effective, cost-efficient, timely, and accessible services that are in accordance with national and local priorities and responsive to the needs and views of local children, young people, and their families.

To hold an autonomous caseload of young children aged 3-7 years and their parents/carers who are experiencing highly complex mental health difficulties, providing treatment, assessment, and consultation.

To provide assessment and treatment of infants, young children, and their families based on psychoanalytic principles and techniques.

To provide supervision to Livewell Southwest staff (as appropriate).

Promote and participate in professional reflection and Clinical Supervision.

The post holder will currently be located at Tamar Folk Children's Centre, Plymouth but may be required to work in other areas of the service when needed and there will be some hybrid working.

This role may not be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route.

About us

Livewell Southwest is an independent, award-winning social enterprise providing integrated health & social care services for people across Plymouth, South Hams & West Devon, as well as some specialist services for people living in parts of Devon & Cornwall. With teams in community hospitals, GP practices, sports centres, health & wellbeing hubs.

As an organisation with a strong social conscience, we always value being kind, respectful, inclusive, ambitious, responsible, and collaborative. Transforming services to make them sustainable, ensuring that we value, support & empower each other.

We are committed to involving the people we care for, families & carers in everything that we do, working towards co-production where we can. Helping us to deliver the right care for people, in the right place & at the right time. By putting people at the centre of what we do, we ensure to support people to lead healthy independent lives & be the very best at helping people to live well.

Valuing our employees making an investment in their development a priority. We offer:

• Protected CPD time for registered staff
• Various development pathways and ongoing regular training packages for all staff
• Leadership & mentoring programmes
• Access & funding for training including Care Certificate, Assistant Practitioners Course & Scholarship Into Nurse Training
• A Robust Preceptorship
• A bespoke induction programme
• Existing members of the NHS Pension Scheme can continue their membership when they join the organisation.

Job description

Job responsibilities

• To manage an autonomous caseload for infant children and young people who are experiencing highly complex and persistent mental health difficulties including exposure to domestic violence and other trauma.
• To provide formal, highly specialist assessments of children and their parents/carers, to inform and assist in planning care pathways, both within the CAMHS and with other agencies, taking into account relevant evidence bases research, theory practice, and highly complex processes which have shaped the child, their parents/carers and family.
• To provide individual short and long-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy for children either individually or with their parent/carers with the focus of the work being based in parent/child relationships.
• To provide highly specialist, psychoanalytically based assessment and treatment to families who may be highly dysfunctional, with complex and persistent problems.
• To participate in regular review and ongoing discussion of cases in treatment with other members of the multi-disciplinary team and where appropriate, co-ordinate and organise network meetings with professional members of other agencies.
• To be responsible for continually monitoring and evaluating risk to/from children and young people in own caseload and during supervision/consultation discussions. This may be due to Child Protection concerns emotionally-led behavioural issues or other risk behaviour in their parents/carers.
• To provide highly specialist advice, guidance, and consultation to professional colleagues within CAMHS.
• To contribute directly and indirectly to a specialist psychoanalytically informed understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group, their parents/carers, and families.
• Participation in the provision of high-quality evidence-based supervised assessment and treatment of service users with highly complex emotional and behavioural difficulties.
• Assisting with the management of referrals to the child psychotherapy service, ensuring they are appropriately managed and in consultation with CAMHS team colleagues determining the most appropriate treatment for patients.
• To provide supervision, as required by the Clinical Pathway Manager to the Child Psychotherapists in Training.
• To work as an independent practitioner and have regular clinical professional supervision on their caseload in accordance with good practice guidelines as well as discussion of management of cases.
• Work as a Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist within professional guidelines & overall framework of Service policies & procedures & in conjunction with a clinical supervisor(s) and line manager.
• Work within a small multi-disciplinary team that offers a comprehensive range of intervention including parent & infant psychotherapy (individual & group) psychology, targeted interventions, assessments, and groups within I-THRIVE framework.
• To provide consultation with Plymouth CAMHS and external agencies where appropriate.
• To work within CAMHS service to provide psychoanalytic assessment and treatment. The role may also include generic assessments.
• Be responsible for adhering to the administrative procedures within Livewell Southwest CAMHS, including keeping clear & up to date case notes.
• Utilise research skills for audit, policy & service development.
• Assist with teaching & training activities within CAMHS Psychotherapy pathway.

Clinical responsibility:

• Be responsible for high quality evidence-based assessment and treatment to service users referred into the infant mental health pathway.
• To participate in a team approach to working with highly complex emotional and behavioural difficulties. Manage emotional situations with sensitivity, skill and have an understanding of unconscious processes. Service users will include those with complex, severe and enduring mental health needs.
• Manage organisation of a complex clinical case-load (including arranging weekly consultations in a weekly appointment system (System1), WTE contacts 15 per week in line with targets agreed by your line manager.
• Work flexibly and cooperatively, with colleagues within the infant mental health pathway and other pathways across CAMHS service.
• Apply specialist knowledge and experience of mental health assessment and treatment, and of psychoanalytic models of psychotherapy, to formulate a treatment plan, consulting with relevant colleagues as appropriate.
• Communicate with service users about the outcome of assessment, treatment recommendations, and informed discussion of options.
• Assess and manage clinical risk within appropriately defined frameworks. Recognise need for additional mental health team input where appropriate. Undertake risk assessment and management with service users in line with principles of child psychoanalytic psychotherapy and in conjunction with a clinical supervisor.
• Engage and communicate with service users and carers sensitively and clearly over sustained periods of time. Understand, contain and manage severe difficulties with communication, including unconscious factors, and high levels of emotional disturbance and arousal.
• Engage and communicate with service users across a wide range of social, language, and cultural barriers. Engage and communicate with interpreters and advocates for service users about the specific needs of users of specialist psychotherapy services.
• Receive and utilise regular clinical supervision of work in accordance with good practice guidelines.
• Maintain relevant and up-to-date clinical records. Ensure that the outcome of assessment and treatment is communicated appropriately to referring and other agencies. Execute such responsibility with sensitivity to, and understanding of, issues concerning confidentiality and risk assessment/management.
• Be responsible for developing and maintaining knowledge of local resources and developing effective working relationships with relevant statutory and non-statutory services and organisations.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Clinical experience as a Child Psychotherapist within CAMHS and infant mental health.
• Extensive knowledge of normal and abnormal child development and other relevant theories, practices, and research in the field of child and adolescent development.
• Substantial experience in working in multi-disciplinary, multi-agency context.
• Knowledge of Child Protection legislation.
• Knowledge of research methodology.
• Experience of recent research and audit.
• Knowledge about risk assessment and how to support all staff members in assessing and managing risk.
• Knowledge of the range of specific clinical and therapeutic skills relevant to working with children and young people aged 0-19 and their families.
• Recognised postgraduate level training in Child & Adolescent Psychotherapy conferring eligibility for full membership of the Association of Child Psychotherapists.
• Evidence of relevant continuing professional development.

Desirable

• Experience of working within a multicultural framework.
• Work with non-communicating children.
• Keyboard / IT skills.
• Experience of working with partner agencies.
• Experience of working across the age range.

Qualifications

Essential

• Recognised Qualification in Child/Adolescent Psychotherapy (equivalent to Doctorate Level Degree).
• Eligibility for membership of the Association of Child Psychotherapists.
• Evidence of current CPD as recommended by professional body.
• Please see attached person specification.

Desirable

• Breakaway/Management of aggression training.

Understanding

Essential

• An understanding of the system of health, social care, education, and third sector for children and families.
• Understanding which supports the implementation of quality and patient safety, health and safety legislation, local and national policy around safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.
• Understanding of performance management and the role this can play in the delivery of excellent and effective services.
• Mental Health assessment skills.
• Well-established case management skills.

Desirable

• Knowledge of the key strategies and policies affecting children's mental health services and how that is located into a wider strategic picture of child health and well-being.

Circumstances

Essential

• Valid driving licence.
• Ability to travel across Plymouth.
• Able to work evenings up to 8 pm and weekends if required.
• Ability to work flexibly (hours of work and duties) both as an individual and with other colleagues in Livewell and with partner agencies.
• Able to undertake the demands of the post with reasonable adjustments where required.

Desirable

• Car owner/driver or suitable alternative transport to enable you to undertake the job. It is unlikely that public transport will meet this requirement.
• Adjustments can be considered in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act.

Employer details

Employer name

Livewell Southwest

Address

Tamar Folk Children's Centre, Victoria Road Primary School, Plymouth, PL5 1RH

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

B9832-2024-SP-1003-4