Highly Specialist Systemic Family Therapist inTooting inTooting PUBLISHED 1 DEC 2023

Clinical

1. To provide highly specialist systemic assessment of referrals in order to formulate and implement plans for the treatment and/or management of a patients mental health problems based upon an appropriate conceptual framework and employing evidence-based methods.
2. To work in ways which are sensitive to the needs of families from a wide range of racial, cultural and religious backgrounds. This includes an ability to understand and offer therapeutic interventions to a variety of family forms including single parents, same sex couples and their families, extended families and patients with mental health difficulties.
3. To provide systemic psychotherapy with clinical autonomy drawing on a range of models and wherever possible brief interventions. To practice in a way which is inclusive and considerate of the needs of each individual in the system including family members and their varying developmental stages and current emotional stage.
4. To be responsible for implementing a range of systemic interventions for patients and their families, including families with eating disorders, adjusting and refining systemic formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.
5. To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.
6. To exercise appropriate autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by care plans.
7. To organise and provide systemic psychotherapy clinics in line with service and training needs. To provide live supervision of other professionals and non-systemic clinicians in the service who are members of the clinic.
8. To communicate effectively verbally and in writing.
9. To maintain current knowledge of the operation of recording equipment and promote ethical and effective use in line with Trust policy. To introduce this practice to families in a sensitive way and to advise and instruct clinicians in other disciplines and systemic psychotherapy trainees on the fitting and appropriate use of this intervention.
10. To convene case conferences and professional network meetings in order to clarify what might be the best possible care for the client and family system.
11. To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner information including assessment, formulation and treatment plans of patients and to monitor progress during the course of uni and multi-disciplinary treatment.
12. To work in accordance with the team objectives by adhering to Trust policies, including risk assessment in all work, ensuring care plans are in place, recording of notes up to date, attending and contributing a systemic view in case discussion and team meetings.

Teaching, Training and Supervision:

1. The post holder will be expected to undertake teaching, training and supervision in accordance with common expectations for P&P staff and in line with the strategy agreed within the CAMHS and All Age Eating Disorders Directorate.
2. To receive regular clinical professional supervision from a senior psychologist / systemic family psychotherapist and, where appropriate, other senior colleagues in accordance with Trust clinical governance standards and the codes of practice and ethical guidelines of Association for Family Therapy (AFT) and United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP).
3. To gain additional experience and skills relevant to the profession and/or the service (as agreed with the responsible professional and team manager) in accordance with the CAMHS and All Age Eating Disorders Directorates common expectations for P&P staff.
4. To gain additional highly specialist experience and skills relevant to the profession and/or service (as agreed with the responsible professional and team manager) in accordance with the CAMHS and All Age Eating Disorders Directorates common expectations for P&P staff.
5. To maintain and develop skills within the areas of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision and to provide supervision to the multi-disciplinary team work.
6. To provide professional and clinical supervision and training placements, across professional groups, where appropriate.
7. To act as a specialist systemic psychotherapy resource by provision of systemic supervision and consultation to the teams within theCAMHS & All Age Eating Disorders directorate.

Management, Recruitment, Policy and Service Development

1. To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the services operational policies and services (as directed), through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.
2. To contribute to a culture that is therapeutic, productive, accessible, inclusive and flexible to meet the needs of the local population.
3. To manage the workloads of doctoral trainee clinical/counselling psychologists and trainee systemic psychotherapists where appropriate, within the framework of the team/services policies and procedures.
4. To be involved, as appropriate, in the short listing and interviewing of assistant/graduate psychologists and qualified staff at Band 7 and below.
5. To work as a member of organisational groups, working parties etc within the team, as requested.
6. To contribute to the development of user and carer involvement within the team.
7. To manage own workload effectively and efficiently, taking into account the needs of the team and the flexibility required to sustain client engagement.

Research and Service Evaluation:

1. To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research, eg NICE guidelines, to inform evidence based practice in work with individuals, families and their networks.
2. To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research.

Other:

1. To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the post holders professional and service manager(s).
2. To contribute to the development of best practice in systemic psychotherapy by taking part in regular supervision and appraisal and maintaining awareness of current developments in the field.
3. To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping, including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of practise and Trust policies and procedures.
4. To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific client group and mental health.
5. To maintain UKCP registration.

We have an exciting opportunity for a family therapist within our leading-edge adult eating disorder services. The service supports both the direct work with adults and their families on the adult specialist eating disorder unit and supports with the integrated eating disorder care pathways.
We are looking for experienced family therapists interested in working in this fascinating area. Please note you do not need to have experience in eating disorders as we will provide support and training to develop this specialist knowledge.

The successful candidate will work closely with the multi-disciplinary teams in the ward servicesin the delivery of evidence based psychological systemic therapies.

Avalon ward is 18 bedded unit for adults suffering with severe eating disorders, often at a very low weight and there is a high level of co-morbidity with other conditions. The team is a recovery focused service and aims to discharge patients safely back to their local community services. The team is made up of nurses, healthcare assistants, psychiatrist, dieticians, occupational therapists, social worker, psychologists and peer support workers.

Avalon Ward has moved to a bright, new environment at Springfield hospital in the new Trinity Building. The adult service receives client patients from both the national service within the UK and Northern Ireland and from the local surrounding areas.

• Support the development of the delivery of evidence based systemic family therapies adapted to an in-patient setting for adults with eating disorders.
• Participate in assessment and care planning for people admitted to the ward.
• Facilitate psycho-educational workshops and parent/carer support groups.
• Support nursing staff to implement care plans through the dissemination of systemic frameworks and interventions.
• Support management of ROMs and audit.
• Offer systemic family therapy to carers and clients using a range of systemic interventions and family therapy for anorexia nervosa (FT-AN) and the Maudsley models.
• Attend all multi-disciplinary meetings and care planning reviews.
• Run systemic consultations across the MDT and contribute to thinking about the patients and their families from a systemic psychotherapy perspective.
• Set up and run reflecting team groups to develop systemic thinking across the staff groups.

Agile and flexible working:

As one of the few Trusts in London we are proud to offer flexible working as part of our new ways of working, and we are happy to talk flexible working at the interview stage.