Job summary
A unique opportunity has arisen for an Arts Therapies Assistant to join the dedicated Arts Therapies team within West London Forensic Services. In this role, you will support Art, Drama, and Music Therapists in delivering therapy groups across low and medium secure services for both men and women.
The role also includes facilitating therapeutic groups and supporting service users with entries to the Koestler Awards. You will receive regular supervision, participate in team meetings, engage in peer training and reflective practice, and collaborate closely with departments such as Psychology and Occupational Therapy.
We welcome enthusiastic, creative, and thoughtful applicants with a passion for the arts in therapy. Knowledge of Arts Therapies and psychodynamic approaches is highly valued.
There is also the possibility for this post to be offered as a job-share or part-time, offering flexibility for the right candidate.
In return, we provide a supportive environment with excellent opportunities for skill development and professional growth.
Due to the volume of applications, this vacancy may close earlier than advised, so early applications are encouraged.
Main duties of the job
Under the supervision of Arts Therapists, this role involves preparing therapy rooms and materials and supporting sessions by helping service users communicate and express themselves through various art forms within a safe and containing environment. The post holder will contribute to electronic case records, liaise with multidisciplinary teams, and assist with audit or research projects.
The role also includes coordinating submissions to the annual Koestler Awards and developing and facilitating a therapeutic group in line with Arts in Health principles. It requires the ability to assess and manage risk in accordance with departmental policies and procedures.
This is a challenging yet highly rewarding role, demanding flexibility, resilience, and adaptability to meet complex needs while making a meaningful contribution to service users' wellbeing and creative development.
About us
West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse providers of mental health, community and social care in the UK.
Our 3,982 staff care for people in hospital and in the community, helping them to recover and go on to lead full and productive lives. We aim to be the best organisation of our kind in the country.
We provide care and treatment for more than 800,000 people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow, delivering services in the community (at home, in GP surgeries and care homes), hospital, specialist clinics and forensic (secure) units.
We'rerated good overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Together, we're committed to promoting hope and wellbeing, working with patients, service users, carers, families and partners across the communities we serve.
We are keen to ensure that our workforce reflects the community it serves, particularly in terms of ethnicity, gender, disability, LGBTQ+ and experience of mental illness.
The West London Forensic Service provides a comprehensive multi-disciplinary assessment, treatment and rehabilitation service for mentally disordered offenders, as well as those with challenging behaviour and specialist rehabilitation needs for men and women.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached
The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached
The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Diploma/degree in health care or arts related subject (e.g. psychology/mental health/art studies).
Desirable
- Other related academic qualifications
- Further training in relevant areas of professional psychological therapies, mental health practice, arts qualification and/or research design and analysis
- Advanced keyboard skills.
Experience
Essential
- At least six months as an HCA or equivalent in either a severe and enduring mental disorder or a forensic setting.
Desirable
- Experience of engagement/interest in art, music or drama
- Experience of the application of arts or psychological support in different cultural contexts
- Experience of working with service users with co-morbid substance use problems
Knowledge
Essential
- Able to understand a number of psychological models and their applications for service users with severe and enduring mental health problems and high levels of behavioural disturbance.
- An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with mental health problems or other disabilities
- An ability to apply existing psychological and the role of arts knowledge to a mental health context
Desirable
- An understanding of arts therapies and/or psychodynamic approaches applied to health care.
Skills
Essential
- High level communication skills (both written and verbal) including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive.
- Ability to communicate complex, sensitive and potentially contentious information to service users in a way that addresses psychological resistance and the propensity of the service users towards hostile reactions.
- Able to make judgements based on psychological knowledge, clinical information and environmental events within a session and make decisions on this basis e.g. with regard to feedback to nursing or other staff.
- Able to plan and prepare sessions with appropriate media.
- Able to plan and organise straightforward activities.
- Able to manage their own time effectively.
- Able to maintain a well organised office environment and support the smooth running of the arts therapies department.
- Able to use word processing, database and test/administration scoring software.
Desirable
- Experience of using databases or data-analysis, knowledge of SPSS for Windows.
- High standard of report writing
Other Requirements
Essential
- An interest in working with people with mental health problems or other disabilities.
- Able to sit for lengthy periods of time while demonstrating active listening skills
- Able to maintain light physical effort for short periods
- Able to maintain intense concentration frequently with service users (e.g. in the assessment and treatment of mentally disordered offender service users)
- Able to function in potentially traumatic circumstances and in highly emotionally distressing circumstances on a frequent basis (e.g. in dealing with service users with serious mental illness, histories of homicide and serious violence, self-harm, sexual abuse).
- Able to provide services in a secure environment with service users who are disturbed and sometimes violent and where the awareness of the risk of assault must always be maintained
- Able to "hold" the stress of service users compulsorily detained in a secure hospital
- Able to respond adaptably to rapidly changing service demands
- Able to work effectively as member of an MDT
- Able to utilise supervision reflectively and responsively
- Capable of being guided by precedent, clearly defined policies, procedures and codes of conduct.
- Able to accept the professional advice and guidance of qualified psychologists.
- Able to complete Breakaway training
- Willing to participate actively in CPD
Desirable
- A desire to explore a career in Arts Therapy, Psychology or Psychotherapy
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Diploma/degree in health care or arts related subject (e.g. psychology/mental health/art studies).
Desirable
- Other related academic qualifications
- Further training in relevant areas of professional psychological therapies, mental health practice, arts qualification and/or research design and analysis
- Advanced keyboard skills.
Experience
Essential
- At least six months as an HCA or equivalent in either a severe and enduring mental disorder or a forensic setting.
Desirable
- Experience of engagement/interest in art, music or drama
- Experience of the application of arts or psychological support in different cultural contexts
- Experience of working with service users with co-morbid substance use problems
Knowledge
Essential
- Able to understand a number of psychological models and their applications for service users with severe and enduring mental health problems and high levels of behavioural disturbance.
- An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with mental health problems or other disabilities
- An ability to apply existing psychological and the role of arts knowledge to a mental health context
Desirable
- An understanding of arts therapies and/or psychodynamic approaches applied to health care.
Skills
Essential
- High level communication skills (both written and verbal) including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive.
- Ability to communicate complex, sensitive and potentially contentious information to service users in a way that addresses psychological resistance and the propensity of the service users towards hostile reactions.
- Able to make judgements based on psychological knowledge, clinical information and environmental events within a session and make decisions on this basis e.g. with regard to feedback to nursing or other staff.
- Able to plan and prepare sessions with appropriate media.
- Able to plan and organise straightforward activities.
- Able to manage their own time effectively.
- Able to maintain a well organised office environment and support the smooth running of the arts therapies department.
- Able to use word processing, database and test/administration scoring software.
Desirable
- Experience of using databases or data-analysis, knowledge of SPSS for Windows.
- High standard of report writing
Other Requirements
Essential
- An interest in working with people with mental health problems or other disabilities.
- Able to sit for lengthy periods of time while demonstrating active listening skills
- Able to maintain light physical effort for short periods
- Able to maintain intense concentration frequently with service users (e.g. in the assessment and treatment of mentally disordered offender service users)
- Able to function in potentially traumatic circumstances and in highly emotionally distressing circumstances on a frequent basis (e.g. in dealing with service users with serious mental illness, histories of homicide and serious violence, self-harm, sexual abuse).
- Able to provide services in a secure environment with service users who are disturbed and sometimes violent and where the awareness of the risk of assault must always be maintained
- Able to "hold" the stress of service users compulsorily detained in a secure hospital
- Able to respond adaptably to rapidly changing service demands
- Able to work effectively as member of an MDT
- Able to utilise supervision reflectively and responsively
- Capable of being guided by precedent, clearly defined policies, procedures and codes of conduct.
- Able to accept the professional advice and guidance of qualified psychologists.
- Able to complete Breakaway training
- Willing to participate actively in CPD
Desirable
- A desire to explore a career in Arts Therapy, Psychology or Psychotherapy
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
