Lead Parent-infant Psychotherapist

CNWL Parent and Infant Relationship Service (PAIRS) is an exciting new service developed in Brent as part of the Start4Life Programme. We are looking for a Lead Parent-Infant Psychotherapist to manage and further develop this relatively new team. The post-holder will lead the MDT, and work closely with the Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist to further develop the 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, two Parent-Infant Psychotherapists and an Assistant Psychotherapist.
To lead the systematic provision of a high quality, highly specialist parent-infant psychotherapy service to clients of the CNWL PAIRS service, across all sectors of care.
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 complex and varying degrees of illness and distress.
To provide clinical supervision to parent-infant psychotherapists.
To undertake and supervise highly specialist parent-infant psychotherapy assessment and treatments to service users, and support and signposting to families.
To supervise and support the parent-infant assessment and treatment of patients provided by the psychotherapists, which are adapted to the needs of patients.
To work autonomously within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the service and teams.
To conduct, promote and facilitate audit and research within the perinatal field.
To act as a specialist resource to the wider Trust and across the National professional community.
To propose and implement policy changes within the area served by the team/service.
This post necessitates working directly and indirectly with women who have vulnerable infants and are experiencing mild to moderate mental health presentations (maternal complex and severe mental health difficulties sit under the peri-natal service).
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.
Working in a leadership role within a multidisciplinary context, the post holder may be required to address challenging team dynamics/conflicts of interest, restricted working environments and undertake generic roles and responsibilities.
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The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.
The professional supervision of parent-infant psychotherapists and honoraries, trainees and others as relevant to this post.
Ensuring parent-infant psychotherapy referral and user contact data is properly collected, recorded and administered as directed by the Service manager.
Ensuring therapy outcome data is collected in a timely effective manner for the purposes of reporting and audit.
Ensuring the welfare of those to whom the post holder is considered as holding the duty of care in accordance with professional codes of conduct and Trust policies and procedures.
Overseeing the allocation of Material resources as test materials and equipment, books, stationery and IT equipment.
Overseeing the use of video feedback and storage of digital film data to ensure compliance with the relevant clinical governance and data protection purposes.