Family Therapist

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Family Therapist to join our multi-disciplinary team working with Children and Young People Mental Health Services (CYPMHS) in St Helens.

The post holder will be expected to provide interventions, advice, consultation and supervision to both colleagues and external partner agencies in line with THRIVE and clinical competency.

As the post is identified within the CYPMH strategy, it is expected the role will continue to develop in line with national and local initiatives.

This post is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check.

Main duties of the job

To provide specialist generic and discipline-specific assessments of referred clients, using interviews, and other assessment methods as appropriate. To formulate and devise treatment plans for referred clients and to provide interventions using a range of generic and discipline-specific models appropriate to the service. This includes both short and long-term treatment approaches. To provide specialist mental health advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals/agencies to assist in the formulation, diagnosis and treatment of clients.

To work autonomously providing open access assessment and treatment service based within the community. To contribute to and undertake multidisciplinary assessments and treatment. To carry a caseload of families requiring family and systemic psychotherapy. To provide reports and communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner concerning the assessment, formulation, treatment plans and needs of clients. To liaise with other health, social care and education staff, from a range of agencies, in the care provided to clients from each service. To carry out clinical work in health and education settings, and clients' homes to best meet the client's needs.

About us

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce costs as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

Job responsibilities

Qualifications Essential criteria

• Post-graduate/ doctoral level qualification in family and systemic psychotherapy recognised by DOH and AFT.

Knowledge & Experience Essential criteria

• Generic and discipline-specific mental health assessments and treatments of children and families across a range of ages.
• Formulating and devising treatment plans for a range of presentations, including both short and long-term treatment approaches.
• Working autonomously with families providing an assessment and treatment service.
• Contributing to multidisciplinary team meetings and coworking assessments and treatment within clinic-based settings.
• Case managing families requiring longer term family and systemic psychotherapy.

Values Essential criteria

• Continuous Improvement
• Accountability
• Respectfulness
• Enthusiasm
• Support
• High professional standards
• Responsive to service users
• Engaging leadership style
• Strong customer service belief
• Transparency and honesty
• Discreet
• Change oriented

Skills Essential criteria

• High-level knowledge of the theory and practice of family and systemic psychotherapy.
• Knowledge and skills of a range of models in the assessment and treatment of child mental health including specific family and systemic theories and evidence base.
• Knowledge and skills in effective communication, 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.
• Knowledge of the relevant clinical research literature and ability to apply it to field of child mental health.
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health, education and the children Act and Child protection.
• Ability to form good working relationships and work flexibly with others in a multidisciplinary and multi-agency settings.
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice.

Essential criteria

• Family Therapist with registration.

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 to check for any previous criminal convictions.