Drama Therapist

We are looking for a highly motivated drama-therapist who is interested in developing effective, innovative, recovery orientated arts therapies approaches. This post will mostly provide interventions to the community Integrated Care System, with one session in Acute inpatient care.

The arts therapies are an established part of provision in West London Mental Health Trust, working across the three boroughs of Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith and Fulham. The service is part of the Trust’s psychological therapies provision and is managed by a Head of Arts Therapies. There are also strong links to arts therapies across the wider trust. The post-holder will be supported by these links and by those to local multi-disciplinary teams.

Tuesdays are a core team day so the post-holder will be expected to work Tuesdays.

The post-holder will offer interventions within defined timescales, encompassing both brief, low intensity and longer, high intensity interventions. A keen interest in trauma informed practice is essential and the post-holder will be implementing trauma informed approaches for a range of presentations. Most interventions will be groups but there will also be scope for some individual work. In addition to direct clinical work you will support the wider team to work with service users e.g. through formulation.

You will need to be able to work independently to develop your part of the service in liaison with inpatient and community teams and to supervise trainees on placement.

You will be line managed by the head of arts therapies and supported by a structure of meetings with arts therapies colleagues and clinical supervision.

All arts therapists are active in developing the evidence base for their work through the use of outcome measures, clinical audit and research.

West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse providers of mental health, community and social care in the UK.

Our 3,982 staff care for people in hospital and in the community, helping them to recover and go on to lead full and productive lives. We aim to be the best organisation of our kind in the country.

We provide care and treatment for more than 800,000 people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow, delivering services in the community (at home, in GP surgeries and care homes), hospital, specialist clinics and forensic (secure) units.

We’re rated good overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Together, we’re committed to promoting hope and wellbeing, working with patients, service users, carers, families and partners across the communities we serve.

We are keen to ensure that our workforce reflects the community it serves, particularly in terms of ethnicity, gender, disability, LGBTQ+ and experience of mental illness.

The post-holder will work within community acute mental health and acute services for Hounslow, providing group and individual dramatherapy interventions. In the community, they will provide both low and high intensity interventions according to patient and service need. In acute services they will provide interventions appropriate to that setting and to individuals in acute mental states.

They will keep appropriate clinical records in accordance with trust policy, completing discharge reports at end of therapy, summarising process, outcomes and any recommendations. They will work collaboratively with other members of the multi disciplinary team to support safety, autonomy and recovery for service users. They will also participate in evaluation, audit and research.

The post-holder will provide clinical supervision for trainees on placement and for less experienced staff. They be available for consultation and will act as a source of information about the arts therapies and about the psychological therapies, informing other staff, service users and carers about the arts therapies, giving presentations to teams, devising written information and offering specialist advice to other staff on complex cases.

They will participate in clinical and managerial meetings and will assist in management and service development and in liaison with external agencies such as universities and the third sector.