SSCH provide care to children and
young people with life-limiting conditions, and family members known to the
hospice. Depending on their need, hospice families access respite care,
community nursing interventions and specialist palliative care. All families
can access SSCHs core psychosocial care from point of referral/diagnosis, at
end of life and bereavement care provided to the family for 3 years and 3
months after the death of their child. This encompasses a holistic and flexible
offer of family support, a pathway of care through bereavement and a
substantial program of therapeutic support groups and events provided at both
hospices, in order that families can benefit from building a network of support
with others who have lived experience. Where required, each member of the
family system can access specialist psychological care in the form of
individual, couples and dyadic therapies and counselling, EMDR therapy and
trauma-informed CBT, social work, transitional care, and closed therapy groups.
The post holder will provide high quality, evidence-based art, drama,
play or music therapy to life-limited children and families, including the siblings and family members accessing SSCH
Specialist Bereavement Service. This therapy should be child and family
focused, utilising the medium of art, drama, play or other creative techniques,
addressing the psychological challenges associated with life-limiting
conditions and issues of loss and grief.
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, education, signposting, supervision and
support to staff, families, schools and other professionals.
Shooting Star Childrens Hospices are a leading childrens hospice
charity caring for babies, children and young people with life-limiting
conditions, and their families.We support families across Surrey and
Southwest London from diagnosis to end of life and throughout bereavement with
a range of nursing, practical, emotional and medical care.
At the heart of the hospice are our dedicated clinical staffs. Their
exceptional commitment and professionalism is commented on by so many of the
supported children and their families.
It costs £10.5 million a year to maintain our
current level of care. Only 30% of that income comes from government funding
via the NHS or local authorities, so we rely on our supporters generosity to
keep the service running. We employ 175 staff, including 98 nursing and medical
staff, providing hospice and community-based services to around 700 families.
Predominantly we work
with families living in the Northwest and Southwest of London and Surrey,
although will accept children outside these geographical areas if they do not
have access to specialist palliative care support locally. We have a reputation for delivering high
quality care. We have a CQC rating of
Outstanding
Job description
Job responsibilities
JOB DESCRIPTION
Job Title: Arts Therapist
Team: Family
Support Service
Salary range/pay band: £38,336 - £43,410
(including geographical allowance)
Reports to: Lead Therapist
Direct reports: Volunteer or student therapists
Hours: Full Time 37.5 hours per week, 18 months
fixed term
Location: Across both hospice sites
Introduction to Shooting Star Childrens
Hospices
Shooting Star Childrens Hospices
Shooting Star Childrens Hospices are a leading childrens
hospice charity caring for babies, children and young people with life-limiting
conditions, and their families. We support families across Surrey and Southwest
London from diagnosis to end of life and throughout bereavement with a range of
nursing, practical, emotional and medical care.
At the heart of the hospice are our dedicated clinical
staffs. Their exceptional commitment and professionalism is commented on by so
many of the supported children and their families.
It costs £10.5 million a year to maintain our current level
of care. Only 30% of that income comes from government funding via the NHS or
local authorities, so we rely on our supporters generosity to keep the service
running. We employ 175 staff, including 98 nursing and medical staff, providing
hospice and community-based services to around 700 families.
Predominantly we work with families living in the Northwest
and Southwest of London and Surrey, although will accept children outside these
geographical areas if they do not have access to specialist palliative care
support locally. We have a reputation
for delivering high quality care. We
have a CQC rating of Outstanding.
Introduction to Team
SSCH provide care to children and young people with
life-limiting conditions, and family members known to the hospice. Depending on
their need, hospice families access respite care, community nursing
interventions and specialist palliative care. All families can access SSCHs
core psychosocial care from point of referral/diagnosis, at end of life and
bereavement care provided to the family for 3 years and 3 months after the
death of their child. This encompasses a holistic and flexible offer of family
support, a pathway of care through bereavement and a substantial program of
therapeutic support groups and events provided at both hospices, in order that
families can benefit from building a network of support with others who have
lived experience. Where required, each member of the family system can access
specialist psychological care in the form of individual, couples and dyadic
therapies and counselling, EMDR therapy and trauma-informed CBT, social work,
transitional care, and closed therapy groups.
Part 1: Job Profile
a) Main
purpose of job
The post holder will provide high quality, evidence-based
art, drama, play or music therapy to life-limited children and families,
including the siblings and family members accessing SSCH Specialist Bereavement
Service. This therapy should be child and family focused, utilising the medium
of art, drama, play or other creative techniques, addressing the psychological
challenges associated with life-limiting conditions and issues of loss and
grief.
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, education, signposting,
supervision and support to staff, families, schools and other professionals.
b) Scope
of job
As part of our Family Support Service, childrens
psychological therapy assessments are offered to life-limited children, young
people, siblings (including adult siblings) and families. Assessments are also
offered to bereaved siblings, parents and families. Depending on the outcome of
the assessment, where appropriate, series of sessions/support are put in place.
Therapy sessions are predominantly provided individually
with close collaboration with parents (while respecting the bounds of
confidentiality); however, programs may also consist of joint parent and child
sessions, family sessions, closed and open group sessions.
Within the team, 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 seeking innovative, flexible and
individualised approaches that meet the psychological needs of children, and
continually developing professional knowledge and skills to respond to evolving
needs within childrens palliative care.
This care and support will predominantly be provided at
Christophers in Guildford and Shooting Star House in Hampton. Risk
assessments, consultations, assessments and sessions for children and families
may take place virtually or in-person.
Some travel to family homes and hospitals will also be required. Hospice
Care is provided 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, therefore the post holder may
be required to work occasional Saturdays or Sundays.
Part 2: Main duties and key responsibilities
a) To
plan and implement individual, joint and family therapy sessions safely and
effectively
To risk
assess, identify clinical need, and determine the appropriateness of a creative
therapy interventions for children and family members referred for therapeutic
support.
Provide
individual, family and group therapy, working within the defined parameters of
the SSCH childrens psychological therapies agreement 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.
Utilise an
expert, trauma-informed approach in formulation and delivery of therapy.
Work
collaboratively with the child and family to carefully consider the aims of
therapy programs and to continually review work, identifying outcomes.
Utilise
outcome and evaluation tools and assessment measures throughout clinical
interventions to assess, record and measure impact; to continually review aims
and approach.
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 be
proactive in forming effective inter-agency collaboration with schools, GPs,
social care, child death review nurses and other external professionals.
Provide a
series of parent consultation meetings to an identified caseload of
parents/carers whose children are not accessing therapy.
Demonstrate
safe clinical practice in all aspects of your work with families.
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.
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.
b) To
provide holistic family support
Consider
families holistically, ensuring they are aware of relevant support services
available to them both internally and externally.
Contributing
professional expertise to multi-disciplinary discussions and meetings to ensure
all families at Shooting Star receive support suitable to their needs.
Supervise
the work of the Family Support Workers through multi-disciplinary case review.
Lead and
contribute to the planning, development and delivery of therapeutic support
groups and events for children, siblings and families, utilising a flexible
approach to support the emotional wellbeing of those known to SSCH.
Create and
lead group therapy projects/workshops for children and families.
Participate
as an active member of the team, promoting family support services and
supporting their development.
To be the
representative therapist at hospice multi-disciplinary meetings, journal club
and case presentations.
To
deputise for the Lead Therapist when required.
Provide
immediate care to those experiencing mental health crisis including self-harm
and suicidal ideation, drawing on a wide bank of strategies for individualised
safety planning.
To
identify and share safeguarding concern, with a detailed account of your risk
assessment and action planning with members of the Safeguarding Team.
To share
first-hand accounts of concerns with childrens named social workers or a
single point of access duty team.
To
identify professionals who can participate in joint safety planning, promote
and facilitate collaborative safety plans.
To
continue a dynamic risk assessment throughout therapy work in order to report
safeguarding concern in a timely manner.
To ensure
ongoing documentation and communication of safeguarding matters.
c) Practice
education and quality
Maintain
awareness of current developments in childrens psychological therapies and
their implications for practice.
Engage in
learning about the wider care of life limited children, and family members who
have experienced anticipated and unexpected death in children.
Contribute
to service evaluation or audit to ensure equity of service and maintain high
quality service provision.