Band 8a Adult/Art Psychotherapist-Counselling/Clinical Psychologist

at  Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust

This is an exciting opportunity for an Adult Psychotherapist to join the Complex Psychological Interventions Service in Bristol.
The service consists of clinicians from different professional backgrounds who offer a wide range of therapeutic interventions, such as psychodynamic psychotherapy, Arts psychotherapy, Family Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Mentalisation Based Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, Family and Systemic Therapy, Cognitive Analytic Therapy and EMDR. Therapy is offered individually and in groups.
The service conducts a large number of new assessments and consultations each year and has close links with professionals working within the community teams and with the local GPs. The service works closely with the community based teams providing consultations, supervision, case based discussions and case management. It also plays a pivotal role in the mandatory training of psychiatry trainees (advanced and core) and medical students and offers placements to trainees from non-NHS psychotherapy training organisations.
The ideal candidate will be expected to have extensive experience, and relevant training, in brief and long term relational psychotherapy, experience of working in the NHS and within mental health services, experience of offering clinical and management supervision and experience of contributing to service development.
The post-holder will offer specialist assessments and consultations to service users with complex needs, hold a small caseload and will offer management supervision to other CPI staff, clinical supervision to other CPI staff, psychiatry trainees, therapists working under clinical license and members of the community teams.
It is also expected that the post-holder will liaise with the local teams and will offer specialist advice on identifying appropriate care pathways. Additionally, it is expected that the post- holder will have a lead role in the development of the provision of relational psychotherapy within CPI.
The post-holder will be working with the Central and East Bristol Assessment and Recovery Team. We would like the post holder to make a particular contribution to the workstream that covers the inner city. The ability to consider issues of diversity, accessibility and equality of access are priorities for any successful applicant. The Central and East Bristol Assessment and Recovery Team covers a vibrant diverse community and applicants will need to consider ways to promote a service that is accessible to all.
We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust): a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.
We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.
Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.
At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.
Clinical
1. To offer highly specialist assessments and consultations to patients with complex mental health difficulties.
2. To provide relational psychotherapy to individual patients and groups (if the post holder has relevant training in group psychotherapy).
3. To provide a detailed formulation of the service users’ difficulties following each assessment / consultation and a written summary of the assessment with suggested recommendations.
4. To liaise with Recovery teams, provide consultancy and identify appropriate care pathways for patients with complex needs within secondary services.
5. To work jointly with multidisciplinary colleagues within secondary services offering consultations, case management and case-based discussion and providing expert advice.
6. To participate in joint assessments with Recovery staff to support staff in planning care pathways for individuals and to support skill development.
7. To participate in the locality CPI referral meetings.
8. To participate in clinical supervision and caseload supervision arrangements provided by the CPI service.
9. If required, to provide clinical supervision to psychiatry trainees and contribute in that way to the mandatory training of psychiatry trainees in the Severn Postgraduate Medical Education footprint, therapists working under clinical license, CPI staff and staff working in the Recovery team.
Professional
1. To work within the Ethical Principles and Code of Professional Conduct of the registered professional body. To work using best and evidence based practice.
2. To participate in CPI service business and professional meetings where agreed.
3. To provide management supervision to Band 7 psychotherapists working in CPI, and to other CPI professionals, if needed.
4. To maintain and further develop high standards of CPI service practice, through co-operative work with other CPI members and the post holder’s supervisory arrangements.
5. To be aware of and adhere to Trust Policies and Procedures.
Clinical Governance
1. To support the Director of the CPI in the development and implementation of effective Clinical Governance across the CPI service.
2. To support and participate in multidisciplinary clinical audit in the service.
3. To promote the use of effective interventions in the service.
Training and Staff Development
1. If required, to supervise psychiatry trainees, therapists working under clinical license and CPI staff providing group and individual therapy.
2. To offer training in psychological approaches to a wide range of other staff including staff in the multidisciplinary team and to staff from other parts of the service.
3. To agree a plan for personal development with the CPI line manager and participate in an annual review.
Service Development
1. To have a specialist lead role in the development of the provision of relational psychotherapy within CPI.
2. To work collaboratively with the consultant Medical psychotherapist of the team as well as your professional lead in managing service demands and capacity.
3. To advise the CPI Director, and the local Clinical Managers about service priorities and potential developments in the provision of relational psychotherapy.
4. To participate in CPI service management and consultation meetings, providing local CPI advice.
Research and Development
1. To initiate research as required by the needs of the local Service.
2. To offer advice and support to other members of relevant teams undertaking research projects.
3. To supervise trainees and other professionals to undertake relevant audit / service evaluation projects as appropriate.
4. To participate in Clinical Audit projects in the CPI service.
5. To encourage a culture of evidence based practice in all parts of the Service.
6. To contribute to CPI reporting of activity on a yearly basis

Please refer the Job description for details