Art Psychotherapist

Main area: Art Therapist Grade Band 7

Contract: 20 months (fixed term 20 month contract)

Hours:

• Full time
• Job share

37.5 hours per week (Post is also open to job share 0.4 and 0.6 WTE)

Job ref: 277-6871436-CMH

Site: Memorial Hospital

Town: Greenwich

Salary: £51,883 - £58,544 pro rata pa inc

Salary period: Yearly

Closing: 12/01/2025 23:59

Job overview

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced art therapist to develop an art therapy service for Older Adults in our Dementia and Mental health services across Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich. The post is also open for job share with a split of 2 days Bromley and 3 days Bexley / Greenwich. This is a new post and we are looking for a candidate who has a passion for working with Older adults and is keen to develop an innovative service which meets the needs of our service users.

We have a trust wide team of 30 Art therapists and the successful candidate will be able to attend Art therapy CPD opportunities, Art Therapy group supervisions and Journal club to help develop their practice.

Main duties of the job

1. To assess clients with complex and high risk needs for suitability for individual and group Art therapy. To facilitate a treatment program which is flexible and sensitive to the needs of the clients group and involve clients in 1:1 and Group work, using a variety of art materials in a therapeutic and creative way.
2. To work as part of a multidisciplinary team in planning, implementing and evaluating treatment, providing assessment and treatment for clients referred to the service and evaluate care.
3. To provide specialist advice and clinical supervision for other professionals, colleagues or trainees.
4. The post holder will show proof of commitment to continuing professional development.
5. To work independently, designing and establishing a specialist clinical Art therapy service for clients.

Working for our organisation

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children’s centres, schools and people’s homes.

We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

• We Listen
• We Care

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

1. To liaise with other members of the multidisciplinary team around treatment outcomes, referrals and formulation to ensure the service meets client needs while working within professional boundaries and HPC ethics and code of conduct.
2. To be able to access and disseminate up to date research and information in support of clinical work.
3. To initiate and activate audit and evaluation of clinical work and ensure that all interventions are based on clinical research and best practice.
4. Develop the service by promoting Art therapy to other clinicians and members of the wider team. To run staff training sessions as required. To take presentations and experiential workshops for the Trust and external agencies as required.
5. To provide clinical supervision to trainees. To plan Trainees induction and clinical time while on placement.
6. To be able to build key working relationships with clinicians from diverse areas of the service and communicate complex information to clients, relatives and other professionals in a clear and sensitive manner. Using interpersonal skills to communicate effectively with relatives, clients and other bodies involved in patient care.

Person specification

Experience

• HCPC registered
• Interest/experience in working with Older Adults

Knowledge

• Art therapy Masters Qualification
• Evidence of CPD activity in group work

Project management

• To have worked autonomously on a clinical project in a related field

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that welcomes and supports individuals of all abilities. Remember, if you meet the minimum criteria for this role and you have a disability, you can be guaranteed an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme - Please ensure you select this on your application form. We would encourage you to be open about your needs so we can work with you to design a comfortable and accessible interview experience. Any information you provide regarding a disability or a need for adjustments will be treated in confidence and will only be shared with colleagues who are supporting this request.

If you require any adjustments to participate fully in the interview process, please let us know by adding the relevant details when scheduling your preferred interview date and time. Please feel free to contact the appointing manager to discuss your needs.

We encourage applicants to contact the hiring manager before their interview, if they have any questions about the role or the process. This is a great way to get clarity and prepare effectively for the interview.

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: Louise Smart

Job title: Head Art Therapist

Email address: louise.smart3@nhs.net

Additional information: please contact by email to arrange a time to speak further about the post

If you'd like to explore opportunities to work for us please submit an expression of interest form.

Our HR team will keep in touch with you to find the right opportunity.