CAMHS Family

Job summary

Band 8a Senior Family and Systemic Psychotherapist within Bedford CAMHS Emotional and Behavioural Team (EB3) 1 WTE (Part-time position would be considered)

We are really pleased to offer an exciting opportunity to join our Bedford CAMHS Emotional and Behavioural team. We are looking for an experienced and qualified Family and Systemic Psychotherapist to join our well established team. We are a team that prides itself on creative, innovative and evidenced based approaches to our work with service users and carers and value a supportive and reflective culture in the work environment.

The team is part of Bedfordshire CAMHS which is a large, dynamic and successful CAMHs service comprising of 2 emotional and behavioural teams, a LAC team, a CAMHs schools team, a parent-infant psychotherapy team, a paediatric team, a GP team, an adolescent mental health team, a crisis team and an eating disorders service and Neurodevelopment Team. We also have embedded workers in Early Help, CDC and social care. We offer regular opportunities for staff to undertake individualised CPD, and we provide opportunities for staff wishing to 'act up' into more senior roles on occasion. Bedfordshire CAMHs has a thriving service-user participation group which meets regularly to consider service development initiatives. The successful applicant would have the opportunity to join in a number of quality improvement (QI) projects which can lead to innovations within the Service.

Main duties of the job

The post-holder will provide a specialist service within CAMHS to children, young people and their families in the North of Bedfordshire and will be based in our CAMHS hub in Bedford. The successful post-holder will directly contribute to the positive working environment within the multi-disciplinary team. As a band 8a clinician, the post-holder will be expected to hold a high degree of autonomy and to contribute to service development projects as well as line management and clinical supervision of other team members.

About us

Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Job description

Job responsibilities

For more information regarding the role please refer to the attached detailed job description and person specification.

Person Specification

Education/ Qualification/ Training

Essential

oQualification in appropriate mental health/social welfare profession such as Social Work, Nursing, Psychology, Psychiatry, Teaching OR AFT-agreed equivalent oMasters or Doctoral level qualification in Systemic Psychotherapy or AFT agreed equivalent oUKCP Registration oEvidence of CPD

Desirable

oRegistration as Clinical Supervisor by Association for Family Therapy

Experience

Essential

oExperience in relevant first profession oPost-qualifying experience oExperience of working with a wide variety of patient groups across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse oExperience of working with children and young people in an emotionally demanding environment. oExperience of working with children and young people and their families in a therapeutic context oExperience of working with children, young people and families in emotional crisis oKnowledge and experience with working with child protection issues and serious mental health problems oExperience of risk assessment and risk management oExperience in working in a complex multi-disciplinary context oExperience, skills and flexibility to contribute to and facilitate effective working within a multi-disciplinary team setting oExperience/knowledge of working in a multi-ethnic community and of working with interpreters oExperience of using audio visual/video equipment in clinical setting

Desirable

oExperience of self-harm assessment and intervention with both individual child/adolescent and their families oExperience of teaching and training systemic psychotherapy

Knowledge

Essential

oEvidence of continuing professional development as required by UKCP/AFT guidelines oKnowledge of and skill in using a wide variety of systemic theories and interventions and the ability to use these appropriately in relation to client need and work setting oSufficient knowledge of other modalities to engage appropriately with colleagues and their work with clients oKnowledge of child and adolescent development oUp-to-date knowledge of relevant legislation , and ethical issues, including The Children Act 1989, and strategic frameworks and their implications for both clinical practice and professional management oKnowledge of current developments in systemic family therapy, in clinical psychology and in psychiatry generally, in working with children and adolescents with serious mental health problems. oAbility to develop and maintain highly specialist knowledge of clinical aspects of child and adolescent mental health. oKnowledge, understanding and experience with diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds and families with a high level of deprivation oKnowledge of current developments in the assessment and treatment of a range of serious mental illnesses, including psychotic disorder, schizophrenia, obsessive/compulsive disorder, schizo-affective disorder and other related issues.

Desirable

oKnowledge of current development in CAMHS oMasters or Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology consistent with systemic practice

Skills

Essential

oSkills in the use of complex methods of specialist systemic assessment and treatment of individuals, couples, family systems and groups, frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration oA specialist level of clinical skill oSkills in applying systemic theory to work with individuals, couples, family systems, groups and organisations oWell developed skills to communicate effectively, orally and in writing at an age appropriate level, complex, highly technical and /or clinically sensitive information to children, adolescents, their families, carers and professionals within and outside the NHS including reports for the Courts oAbility to communicate distressing and unwelcome information to children, adolescents and their families oAbility to work with a racially and culturally diverse community in a wide variety of contexts including highly specialist skills for working therapeutically in family homes oAbility to deal sensitively with stressful situations including:- staff and /or organisational problems child abuse family breakdown serious mental ill health oAbility to cope with verbal abuse and to recognise and diffuse potential physical abuse from clients. oAbility to work within a multi-disciplinary team oAbility to work flexibly across service boundaries and CAMHS Tiers oSkills and ability to liaise effectively with other agencies and professionals oAbility to use supervision effectively

Desirable

oAn interest of developing some area of expertise oAbility to teach basic family therapy concepts oPresentation/teaching skills oSkills in offering clinical supervision oAbility to provide services in a variety of environments as meets the needs of clients and contracted work. oIT skills oDriving skills oSkills in live supervision of both systemic psychotherapists and multi-disciplinary colleagues

Other

Essential

oAbility to contain and work with organisational stress and ability to "hold" the stress of others oWorking to Professional Guidelines oAbility to work autonomously, setting appropriate goals, in accordance with professional ethics guidelines and Trust policies oUnderstanding of equality of opportunity and related policies and procedures oAbility to endure prolonged periods of concentration for extended client therapy sessions oAble to sit in constrained positions for a substantial period of working time oRespectful approach to service users, families, carers, colleagues and other professionals

Desirable

oRecord of having published in either peer-reviewed or academic professional journals and/or books. oAdvanced video skills and the ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings

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