Senior Parent-infant

CNWL Parent-Infant Mental Health Service (PIMHS) is an exciting new service being developed in Brent as part of the Start4Life Programme. We are looking for a Senior Parent-Infant Psychotherapist/Child-Adolescent Psychotherapist to join this new team and help the Lead to develop the Parent-Infant Mental Health Service. The post-holder will be based in Brent CAMHS and will have clinics in the community and in Family Hubs across Brent.
In line with the Start for Life Programme, the service will offer support to infants in the first two years of life with mild, moderate or severe mental and emotional health needs, and their parents/carers in the first two years postpartum who have mild to moderate mental health concerns, past or present, that causes a risk to the parent-infant relationship. This service also extends to fathers, co-parents and the overall familial relationship with the infant, with the infant remaining the focus of the work.
The service will be delivered by a MDT consisting of a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, a Lead Parent-Infant Psychotherapist, a Senior Parent-Infant Psychotherapist, two Parent-Infant Psychotherapists/Psychologists, and an Assistant Psychotherapist.
To provide clinical expertise and supervision for psychotherapists who deliver care and support for women/parents in the perinatal period and their infants up to 2 years, to include their families and carer networks.
To undertake and supervise highly specialist parent-infant psychotherapy assessment and treatments to service users, and support and signposting to families. To utilise and supervise the provision of specific Parent-Infant psychological interventions, working with infants and parents to promote the quality of parent-infant relationships.
To provide specialist, Parent-Infant interventions, including developing group work within the community, and/or virtually, and will contribute to implementing care plans for families with a range of mental health and social and emotional difficulties, particularly focusing on providing interventions flexibly which are adapted to the needs of infants and their mothers/carers in mild to moderate degrees of illness and distress.
To undertake specific duties as requested, pertaining to clinical and service governance objectives including planning, data collection and analysis, report writing and presentation.
To undertake and contribute to teaching, training, supervision, health promotion, research and related activities of the service and affiliated organisations to the Trust as relevant to this post.
To attend weekly team meetings, case discussion and reflective practice forums and supervision.
This post necessitates working directly and indirectly with women who have vulnerable infants and are experiencing complex and severe mental health difficulties. Some clients/patients may be difficult to engage and their behaviour may significantly challenge the integrity and welfare of the post holder. The post also necessitates the post holder to travel regularly across Brent and when necessary, to local community amenities or independent sector establishments often transporting test materials, audio-visual and IT equipment.
To provide an efficient, effective, comprehensive and highly specialist Parent-Infant psychotherapy assessment and treatment to service users, and support and signposting to mothers, to promote the quality of parent-infant relationships.
To provide the particular highly specialist areas of expertise gained in post qualifying specialist training to mothers with a range of mental health and social and emotional difficulties, particularly focussing on providing interventions flexibly which are adapted to the needs of infants and their mothers/carers in complex and varying degrees of illness and distress.
To provide advice and consultation from a psychodynamic perspective on clients’ psychological care to psychologist and non-psychologist colleagues and to other, non-professional carers, working autonomously within professional guidelines and within the overall framework of the service’s policies and procedures.
To be informed by evidence-based practice and participate in audit, policy and service development and research.
To work autonomously within professional guidelines and within the overall framework of the service’s policies and procedures.
To undertake and oversee audit and research activity.