Shooting Star Children’s Hospices rLEkJpjc
The role involves planning and implementing therapy sessions while conducting risk assessments and identifying clinical needs for children and families in the program. The therapist will collaborate with families and local professionals to enhance the therapy experience, ensure the safety and effectiveness of the services, and manage administrative tasks such as documenting contacts and producing reports. They will also engage in multi-disciplinary assessments, build community networks, and work towards continually developing their professional skills to respond to the evolving needs of children in palliative care.
The post holder will provide high quality Music, Art or Dramatherapy to appropriate life-limited children and families accessing Shooting Star Childrens Hospices (SSCH), including the Specialist Bereavement Service.
This is a new, community-based Arts Therapy post for West London and has been created to enhance access, enabling those not previously able to utilise services to receive needed interventions.
Therapy work addresses the psychological challenges associated with life-limiting conditions issues of loss and grief, including the sudden and unexpected death of a child. The post holder will have a diverse caseload, and provide assessment, individual and group therapy programs with designated children and/or family members, alongside providing advice, workshops, signposting, supervision and support to families, staff, schools and other professionals.
As part of our Family Support Service, psychological therapy assessments are offered to life-limited children, young people, siblings (including adult siblings), parents and grandparents. Assessments are often offered to bereaved siblings, parents and grandparents. Depending on the outcome of the assessment, where appropriate, series of sessions/support are put in place.
Therapy sessions are predominantly offered to children, provided both individually, in groups and workshops. Programs may consist of dyadic or family sessions. Parent consultations can be offered to provide psychoeducation to those not accessing therapy.
Risk assessments, consultations, assessments and sessions for children and families may take place virtually or in-person. The post-holder will travel to hubs, family homes and hospitals (predominantly in West London). This includes the boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hammersmith & Fulham, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Westminster, and theRoyal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Equipment will be provided to enhance the provision of therapy within the community.
The post holder will be working closely with the West London Family Support Worker(s), and West London Counsellors to seek ways to work in the heart of communities, build networks, understand need and help shape services appropriately.
About us
job Title:West London Arts Therapist
Team/Directorate:Family Support Service
Salary range/pay band:£38,782 - £47,374(salary based on 37.5 hours)
Reports to:Lead Therapist
Direct reports:N/A
Hours:30 - 37.5 hours per week
Location:Shooting Star House (base) and community-based work in West London.
Job holder:New role
Part 1: Job Profile
a) Main purpose of job
The post holder will provide high quality Music, Art or Dramatherapy to appropriate life-limited children and families accessing Shooting Star Childrens Hospices (SSCH), including the Specialist Bereavement Service.
This is a new, community-based Arts Therapy post for West London and has been created to enhance access, enabling those not previously able to utilise services to receive needed interventions.
Therapy work addresses the psychological challenges associated with life-limiting conditions issues of loss and grief, including the sudden and unexpected death of a child. The post holder will have a diverse caseload, and provide assessment, individual and group therapy programs with designated children and/or family members, alongside providing advice, workshops, signposting, supervision and support to families, staff, schools and other professionals.
b) Scope of job
As part of our Family Support Service, psychological therapy assessments are offered to life-limited children, young people, siblings (including adult siblings), parents and grandparents. Assessments are often offered to bereaved siblings, parents and grandparents. Depending on the outcome of the assessment, where appropriate, series of sessions/support are put in place.
Therapy sessions are predominantly offered to children, provided both individually, in groups and workshops. Programs may consist of dyadic or family sessions. Parent consultations can be offered to provide psychoeducation to those not accessing therapy.
Risk assessments, consultations, assessments and sessions for children and families may take place virtually or in-person. The post-holder will travel to hubs, family homes and hospitals (predominantly in West London). This includes the boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hammersmith & Fulham, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Westminster, and theRoyal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Equipment will be provided to enhance the provision of therapy within the community.
The post holder will be working closely with the West London Family Support Worker(s), and West London Counsellors to seek ways to work in the heart of communities, build networks, understand need and help shape services appropriately.
The post holder contributes to the continual multi-disciplinary assessment of families needs, as well as the provision of support, signposting, information sharing, developing resources and groups and events for children and families.
The postholder is responsible for ensuring and enhancing the quality, safety and effectiveness of psychological support offered to SSCH children and families. This involves continually developing professional knowledge and skills to respond to evolving needs within childrens palliative care.
The post holder will be given key objectives as part of an annual appraisal, with initiatives to lead
and develop in line with SSCH strategy, updating the leadership team appropriately.
Part 2: Main duties and key responsibilities
a) To plan and implement individual, joint, family and group therapy sessions safely and effectively
To plan and implement arts therapy sessions safely and effectively:
To risk assess, identify clinical need, and determine the appropriateness of arts therapy interventions for children and family members referred for therapeutic support.
Complete comprehensive assessments of children and families referred for therapy. To risk assess, identify clinical need, and determine the appropriateness of a therapy intervention.
Provide individual, family and group therapy, working within the defined parameters of the various SSCH therapy agreements and guidelines.
Utilise creativity and the arts to support a child and family in accessing therapeutic support that meets their psychological need, and to offer opportunity for development and growth.
Create safe and conducive spaces to work within different settings to enable the therapy process.
Provide urgent psychological care to individuals experiencing acute symptoms, creating safety plans that include signposting, communication with appropriate professionals, individualised strategies and safeguarding utilising the SSCH mental health escalation pathway.
Identify suicidal ideation and assess risk (in collaboration with appropriate members of the team), escalating where necessary in line with the SSCH mental health escalation pathway.
Demonstrate safe clinical practice in all aspects of your work with families.
To work collaboratively with the child, family and local professionals to carefully consider the aims of therapy programs and to continually review work, identifying outcomes.
Ensure accurate and contemporaneous notes and records of all contacts are recorded within the electronic notes system.
Ensure the respect, dignity and rights to privacy of children and their families as far as possible, whilst following safeguarding guidelines.
Utilise outcome and evaluation tools throughout clinical interventions to assess, record and measure impact; to continually review aims and approach.
To ensure equity of service supporting throughput and effective management of waiting lists through effective risk assessment, safe and innovative practice.
Initiate and participate in effective communication with the other teams within care; to ensure the wider team is informed of any relevant changes in the family or childs needs or circumstances.
To grow effective inter-agency collaboration with schools, GPs, social care and other external professionals.
Produce written reports to a high standard, when requested.
Manage own time and prioritise workload, providing a flexibility in the service delivery that is responsive to families individual and changing needs.
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