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Job summary

Main area
Arts Therapists
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 7
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Part time - 22.5 hours per week
Job ref
354-AB-20958
Employer
Sussex Partnership NHS FoundationTrust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Mill view hospital
Town
Brighton and Hove
Salary
£47,810 - £54,710 pro rata
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
06/08/2025 23:59

Employer heading

Sussex Partnership NHS FoundationTrust logo

Arts Therapist

NHS AfC: Band 7

Come and join us

We're looking for people who share our values (compassion, accountability and optimism) to help us provide high quality care to the patients, carers, families and local communities we serve. We specialise in providing NHS mental health and learning disability services.

So what can we offer you in return?

We're an organisation which puts people first. We'll do everything possible to help you feel respected, valued and included. We'll help you learn, acquire new skills and gain further experience to support your career development. And we'll provide the opportunity for you to bring your fresh ideas to work about how we can do things differently and continue improving.

You will also be joining a health and care system committed to working together to do the best we can for the communities we serve. Above all, at Sussex Partnership you'll have the chance to make a difference to the lives of the patients, carers and families across our communities.

As a Trust we are committed in making a difference. Your development is important to us, so don't forget to ask us during interview what opportunities we can offer. We can offer fully funded lifelong learning opportunities such as an apprenticeship from GCSE to Masters level.

If you like the sound of that, then come and join our team.

Job overview

An opportunity has arisen for an Arts Therapist to join our Acute Services, Psychology and Psychological Therapies team, at Mill View Hospital in Brighton and Hove.

Arts Therapies have a long history of providing services to our inpatient wards and are a valued part of acute assessment and treatment services at Mill View.

Main duties of the job

We are seeking an enthusiastic, motivated art, drama or music therapist to be part of our clinical team, working across Falmer (mixed gender) and Meridian (Older People) acute wards. You will demonstrate experience and a strong commitment to working with people accessing acute mental health services and the ability to use your arts therapies skills and experience to deliver psychological interventions in a hospital setting. Working as part of a multi-disciplinary team is a core requirement of the role as well as the ability to be flexible and integrate your practice within the broader work of the service.

The successful candidate will have excellent team working and group work skills and will demonstrate an ability to facilitate arts therapy groups and individual sessions in ward environments. You will have additional opportunities to contribute to the Psychological Therapeutic group programme and support staff learning, development and training.

Working for our organisation

We are committed to providing Arts Therapies as part of the wards therapeutic programme of groups and interventions as well as supporting patient assessment processes. You will have resilience and good self-management to work within a busy acute environment. The post holder will have access to supervision and be able to link in with the Arts and Play Therapies Network in Sussex. You will be joining a friendly, highly skilled and enthusiastic community of psychologists and psychological therapists (PPT) working in Acute services and have regular access to PPT and AHP, CPD events.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To work as a member of the clinical service/ team, providing a high quality, specialist arts therapy service to clients, their families or carers. In addition, to support psychological practice within the team through consultation, supervision, formulation and training and by participating in systematic clinical governance. To work with complex presentations suitable for psychological therapy in the team, utilising a high level of knowledge and experience and adapting approaches as appropriate, with regard to evidence-based practice.

·        To provide a qualified, high-quality specialist arts therapy service to individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across teams, in line with best, evidence-based practice and trust care pathways.

·        To be responsible for holding and managing a clinical caseload and to exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the planning and prioritising of own workload and the assessment and treatment of clients, within the bounds of the service operational policy.

·        To use analytical and judgment skills and be responsible for taking clinical management decisions in complex clinical issues.

·        To clinically supervise Arts Therapist trainees, Psychological Therapists, Trainee Psychological Therapists and Psychological Practitioners as appropriate

·        To professionally supervise and, when appropriate, manage, arts therapy trainees, psychological therapists, trainee psychological therapists, trainee Practitioner psychologists and psychological practitioners.

·        To provide consultation and advice about psychological issues to other members of the team/service and other professionals working with service users.

·        To work autonomously within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the service/team.

·        To contribute to and take responsibility for local service developments under the supervision of the professional lead.

·        To propose and implement policy changes within the area served by the service.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Post-graduate (or equivalent) qualification in Art Therapy, Dramatherapy or Music Therapy
  • Registration with the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC) as an arts therapist.
  • Evidence of relevant continuing professional development.

Knowledge/Experience

Essential criteria
  • Substantial experience of specialist arts therapy (assessment, formulation and treatment), maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse
  • A high level of competence in applying a psychological therapy to complex difficulties appropriate for this therapy with the client group, and a proven track record of delivering positive outcomes in this therapy
  • Experience of offering teaching, training and supervision within a demanding organisational context
  • A clear and theoretically informed approach to supervision
  • Experience of representing psychological therapy within the context of multi-disciplinary care within a complex organisational context.
  • Significant experience of working with the particular client group served by the team/service

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Apprenticeships logoNo smoking policyDisability confident leaderDefence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) - BronzeCare quality commission - GoodArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardStep into healthPride In Veterans

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Dr Tina Hart
Job title
Principal Clinical Psychologist
Email address
[email protected]
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