Dramatherapist (Arts Psychotherapy)

SPECIALIST DRAMATHERAPIST - BAND 7 (Arts Psychotherapies)
0.4 WTE (two days a week)

**Base**: Open Acute Psychiatric Inpatient Wards/PICU & Low Secure Psychiatric Ward - Park Royal Mental Health Centre/Tamarind Centre

POST REQUIREMENTS
Qualified and registered Dramatherapist (HCPC registration)
Substantial experience in adult mental health, specifically in acute settings
Evidence of Continued Professional Development since qualifying

The post holder work load will include assessment and treatment of people experiencing a hospital admission associated with acute mental states. Specialist dramatherapy work (group and individual work) should draw on evidence-based approaches as part of the inpatient adult mental health Arts Psychotherapies provision within the North West Arts Psychotherapies Service. The post holder will be required to plan, provide and develop dramatherapy service for: inpatients on two open acute psychiatric wards, one PICU and one low secure psychiatric ward at Park Royal Centre for Mental Health. Strong links should be developed with other adult mental health services where patients are referred to.

The dramatherapy service will include doing systematic assessment, treatment and evaluation of group and individual work, using dramatherapy. The post holder will be also required to manage and clinically supervise allocated staff, specifically dramatherapy trainees, and regularly undertake arts psychotherapies research/audit as part of the Trust Arts Therapies research strategy.

The post holder will be required to work autonomously and to manage a busy and complex caseload. Significant interest and experience of working with acute states of mind (psychosis, challenging behaviour) and complex emotional needs (e.g. EUPD) presentations is required.

As part of CNWL, the North West London Arts Psychotherapies Service consists of a large and diverse team of arts therapists, providing music, art, drama and dance-movement therapy for adults with mental health needs in North West London across a variety of inpatient, outpatient and community services. Monthly team meetings and regular CPD events take place. Specialist clinical supervision is provided within the Trust.

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Job Description and Main Responsibilities
1. To plan and develop a specialist dramatherapy service for people with severe and enduring mental health problems on inpatient wards at Park Royal Centre for Mental Health wards (two open psychiatric wards, PICU, low secure unit)
2. To offer specialist treatment for those who would benefit from psychological therapy but find primarily verbal psychotherapy difficult to access (e.g. thought disorder, cognitive difficulties, emotional withdrawal, language problems, etc.)
3. To assess referred (self-referred) patients with respect to planning dramatherapy treatment including inpatient/outpatient follow-up if appropriate, taking into account risk factors, and complexity of presentation, patient’s need, and service priorities.
4. To contribute specialist knowledge from your assessment and treatment to the overall care plan for each patient through contribution to clinical meetings (ward rounds, CPAs, tribunals) via written reports, as well as verbal feedback to the ward teams
5. To refer on other appropriate services after assessment or on discharge
6. To work as an integrated team member of the multidisciplinary team, respecting others’ ways of working and having these others in mind when providing dramatherapy.
7. To adapt your clinical practice to suit particular challenges of the environment without comprising therapeutic goals.
8. To use your clinical skills to contribute to the overall treatment goals for the client beyond art therapy treatment where necessary and if appropriate and needed by the team, e.g. facilitation of reflective practice group, joint assessments and so on.
9. To assess risk and adopt appropriate measures to maintain a safe and therapeutically sensitive environment for all when faced with e.g. verbal abuse, deliberate self-harm or violence or aggressive or threatening behaviour.
10. To maintain a high degree of professionalism at all times and to maintain proper boundaries particularly as the clinical work will frequently involve working alone with individuals for substantial periods in emotionally intense therapy sessions, where behaviour might be unpredictable, potentially violent, disinhibited or where there may be poor self-care.
11. To undertake ongoing evaluations of patient’s progress to manage time limited therapy including therapy endings and follow up
12. To seek out help of seniors or more experienced arts therapists in this field to enhance your clinical practice, possibly from sources within and outside the Trust, and to promulgat