Senior Systemic Psychotherapist/ Family Therapist - Oxford/Bucks

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust; Milton Keynes; On-site; GBP 46,000 - 61,000

Job description

Senior Systemic Psychotherapist/ Family Therapist - Oxford/Bucks

Band 7 - 8a (preceptorship opportunity)

Main area: Adult Forensic Mental Health Services

Grade: Band 7 - 8a (preceptorship opportunity)

Contract: Permanent

Hours: 37.5 hours per week (9 day fortnight considered)

Job ref: 267-FS6803624

Site: Marlborough House, Town: Milton Keynes

Salary: £46,148 - £60,504 plus an RSU allowance of £1,446 per annum | pro rata

Salary period: Yearly

Closing date: 31/03/2025 23:59

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust has been rated as Good by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

We are a responsive and innovative Foundation Trust that places our values of Caring, Safe, and Excellent at the heart of everything we do. We take great pride in our staff and believe that investing in you is key to us achieving our vision of outstanding care delivered by outstanding people.

Good luck and we hope to hear from you.

Job overview

Are you an experienced Systemic Psychotherapist or Family Therapist wanting to make a difference to patients with complex and severe mental health difficulties?

We would be excited to have someone like you join our team as a Systemic Family Psychotherapist.

Oxford Health has secured funding to develop systemic family psychotherapy across our Forensic Service. This is a creative development, reflecting the NICE guidelines recognition of systemic intervention for psychosis which affects a significant proportion of the forensic patient population.

This service covers three counties: inpatient wards in Buckinghamshire (Milton Keynes), Oxfordshire, and Berkshire, all of which provide specialist community-based services in collaboration with the probation service.

There is a new vacancy for a Band 8a (or preceptorship at Band 7) to join the Lead in bringing systemic thinking and clinical expertise to the service. In order to thrive in this role, you'll have experience of general adult mental health services, though forensic experience is desirable. The location of the role can either be in Buckinghamshire or Oxford, with some travelling to community sites.

Please note if you are based outside of the UK you will need to hold HCPC registration in order to be considered for this role.

Main duties of the job

• Delivering systemic Family Therapy to patients and families
• Offering sessions in the community, home visits, hostels
• Providing Continuity of Care – Following patients and families throughout from inpatient to community.
• Working in Multidisciplinary team, systemic teaching
• Co-working – Family Therapy with members of MDT, (Social Worker, Psychologist)
• Delivering training to staff, induction, and presentations at Academic meetings and community settings
• Co-facilitating Carers Forum and Families and Carers Open Days
• Systemic Consultation/Reflecting on practice to Teams

Please refer to the job description attached for a comprehensive list of duties.

Working for our organisation

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust provides physical, mental health, and social care for people of all ages across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Swindon, Wiltshire, Bath, and North East Somerset.

Our vision is that no matter who you are or where you are, you will tell us that you receive: “Outstanding care delivered by an outstanding team.”

Our values are: “Caring, safe, and excellent.”

At Oxford Health, we offer a wide range of benefits designed to support your career and wellbeing. These include:

• Excellent opportunities for career progression
• Access to tailored individual and Trust wide learning and development
• 27 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days with continuous service
• NHS Discount across a wide range of shops, restaurants, and retailers
• Lease car scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Mental Health First Aiders
• Staff accommodation (please note waiting lists may apply)
• Staff networking and support groups hosted by our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion team

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

We offer great CPD and training opportunities and have excellent links with the Oxford Centre for Psychological Health and Oxford Institute for Clinical Psychology Training, which is hosted by the Trust.

We actively encourage innovation and research with opportunities for collaborations with the University of Oxford Department of Psychiatry. We also collaborate with Oxford Brookes University, Buckinghamshire New University, and the University of Bath.

We provide excellent opportunities for professional development and accredited supervision by senior therapists to help you consolidate your therapy skills in a focused and supported way, monthly opportunities to meet psychological therapy colleagues from across the county for reflective practice groups and clinical updates.

We would really like to hear from you if you can demonstrate you have the following skills:

• Experience of leadership and management of therapy staff
• Significant knowledge in your specialist therapy area
• A good working knowledge of effective treatments
• Sound clinical risk assessment and management
• Experience of safeguarding children and vulnerable adults
• Substantive experience of supervision with other Systemic Psychotherapists and Family Therapists

Person specification

Qualifications – Academic/Skills/Professional

• Post graduate qualification in Social Work, Clinical/Counselling Psychology, Nursing or equivalent with relevant professional registration e.g. HCPC
• Masters level qualification in Systemic Psychotherapy
• Registration with UKCP AFT Division as a Family Therapist
• Eligible for registration as Clinical Supervisor by Association for Family Therapy
• Couples Therapy qualification.

Experience

• Working as a family therapist where the index patients are adults

Knowledge and Skills

• Advanced skills in the use of complex methods of systemic assessment, intervention with individuals, couples, family systems and groups frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
• Advanced knowledge of and skill in using a wide range of systemic theories and interventions and the ability to use these appropriately in relation to client need, developmental stage of client and work setting.
• Highly developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Advanced skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
• Analytic and judgement skills in processing the significant complexity of information arising from systemic understandings requiring assessment and formulation and then prioritizing from a range of options while maintaining a collaborative alliance with family members and fellow professionals.
• Advanced skills in professional supervision to meet UKCP requirements, skills for offering live supervision of both systemic psychotherapists and other colleagues.
• Ability to work with a racially and culturally diverse community in a wide range of contexts including highly specialist skills for working therapeutically in family homes.
• Masters or Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology consistent with systemic practice.
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.

Further Training or Job Related Aptitude and Skills

• Good organisational and time management skills, ability to plan and prioritise own workload
• Ability to work autonomously, setting appropriate goals, in accordance with ethical and professional guidelines and Trust policies.
• Evidence of continuing professional development as required by professional and accrediting bodies.
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
• Appointment to this post is subject to the trust receiving satisfactory references covering 3 years of employment or study.
• We’re advocates of flexible working and many of our roles offer a range of employment options to help you balance your work and personal life.
• Employees are expected to undertake mandatory and statutory training related to their role.
• We are ambitious in our pursuit of excellence, driven by the belief that a fair, just and fully inclusive organisational culture enables our teams to deliver the best quality of care and services possible.
• We welcome applications from all sections of the community, are an Equal Opportunities employer.
• We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults.

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: Amanda Austen

Job title: Lead Systemic Family Psychotherapist

Email address: [e-mail]

Telephone number: 077 7657 2517