Job summary
We are looking for an innovative Head of Art Therapy with extensive clinical experience to join our service at consultant level. This pivotal role will contribute to the ongoing development of Art Therapy and psychological therapies across our Trust.
As a Consultant Art Therapist, you will play a crucial role in helping to shape the future of Oxleas psychological therapy services, demonstrating leadership in clinical practice, service development, supervision, training, and management. Your expertise will be instrumental in enhancing the quality and reach of our services, ensuring that we provide the best possible evidence-based care to our service users, their families and support networks. You will play a key role in developing and supporting training for our staff in working with our service users' support networks (including families and carers).
Oxleas has a clear commitment to support and develop staff.You will receive regular clinical and professional supervision and will be supported to continue developing your clinical and leadership skills as part of your ongoing professional career development within the role.
Oxleas is committed to the provision of Psychological Therapies and the Director of Therapies, Neil Springham (Art Therapist) holds a Board level decision-making role with psychological therapies central to the Trust's work.
Main duties of the job
Oxleas has developed an excellent reputation as a place to work. Listed as one ofThe Sunday Times top ten large organisations to work for in 2025, winner of the 2023 HSJ Trust of the Year Award, we are proud of our culturally diverse workforce and our shared values of kindness, fairness and caring. Psychological Therapy services are well respected within the wider Trust reflected in our Chief of Therapies Neil Springham, Art Psychotherapist being a full member of the Board of the Trust alongside the Medical and Nursing Chief Officers.
This role will work in partnership with a strong, well-respected professional leadership structure which includes senior Psychological Therapy and AHP colleagues within the Therapies directorate including excellent peer support from Consultant Lead Psychological therapists across the Directorates. You willfocus on the ongoing development and delivery of Art therapy across the Trust, alongside providing clinical input to our Bexley AMH community teams.
You will lead Art Therapy as well as engaging joint initiatives, fostering a supportive environment where diverse perspectives are respected and integrated into our service delivery. Your expertise will be vital in shaping the future of our services, implementing innovative approaches, and maintaining the high standards of patient care.
If you believe you have the qualities we are looking for, we encourage you to apply and contribute to our vision of delivering exceptional psychological care.
About us
Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children's centres, schools and people's homes.We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.
Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:
- We're Kind
- We're Fair
- We Listen
- We Care
Job description
Job responsibilities
Further detailed information relating to the role and responsibilities can be found in the attached supporting documentation
Job description
Job responsibilities
Further detailed information relating to the role and responsibilities can be found in the attached supporting documentation
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- MA in Art Psychotherapy and has studied degree standard in Art/Design
- HCPC registration
- Evidence of continuing professional development
- Additional qualification in therapy
Desirable
- Post-graduate qualification in leadership/management.
Experience
Essential
- substantial experience as a qualified Art Therapist
- experience of Teaching/ training/ supervision
- Experience of carrying out post-qualification research, audit, or service evaluation projects.
- Experience of undertaking leadership roles.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity and complexity across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, primary care, in-patient and residential care settings.
- Experience of professional and operational management of a team of qualified psychological practitioners
- Experience of working in a specialised art form.
- Experience of working with, and addressing issues of, diversity, including experience of working within a multicultural framework.
Desirable
- Experience of having worked specialist services for Anxiety, Depression, Affective Disorders, Personality Disorder or Trauma.
- Experience of working with older people with mental health issues
- Experience of working in Forensic and / or prison settings.
- Experience in teaching clinical supervision
knowledge and skills
Essential
- Advanced level knowledge of Art psychotherapy including highly developed knowledge of lifespan developmental psychology, models of psychopathology and evidence-based models of Art psychotherapy
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of management and leadership.
- Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence based psychological therapies and how it relates to this post.
- Knowledge and skills gained in managing qualified and unqualified psychological practitioners, including recruitment and retention, appraisal and performance review and personal development procedures, sickness absence, maternity leave/paternity leave, annual leave, and disciplinary procedures.
- use of complex methods of specialist psychological assessment, intervention and management
- High level knowledge of the issues presented by client with complex needs and with personality disorders Advanced theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatments
- owledge of a range of therapeutic ideas/ approaches/ models in assessment and treatment relevant to discipline.
- Knowledge of legislation and strategic frameworks and their implications for both clinical practice and professional management
- Knowledge of and ability to work with protected characteristics and diversity and factors affecting access to mental health care in a wide variety of contexts'
- Knowledge of scientific research methodology, analysis, and interpretation of data consistent with Art psychotherapy
- Advanced skills in professional supervision; including skills for offering live supervision of both psychotherapists and multi-disciplinary colleagues.
Desirable
- management of budgets and resources
Effort and environment
Essential
- Emotional stamina and ability to respond constructively in highly stressful situations where individuals hold very different perspectives, and there is a high level of distress, ambiguity and conflict.
- Ability to organise and coordinate areas of work that are complex and demanding
other
Essential
- Ability to identify provide and promote appropriate means of support to staff
- A commitment to the continuous improvement of services using feedback from individual clients, families, user surveys, and clinical research
- Ability to articulate and interpret clearly the role of the profession of Art psychotherapy based on a good understanding of the framework of government and national professional policy.
Desirable
- Record of having published in either peer reviewed or academic or professional journals and/or books.
- A demonstrated interest in supporting the development of the field through participation in professional bodies and activities
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- MA in Art Psychotherapy and has studied degree standard in Art/Design
- HCPC registration
- Evidence of continuing professional development
- Additional qualification in therapy
Desirable
- Post-graduate qualification in leadership/management.
Experience
Essential
- substantial experience as a qualified Art Therapist
- experience of Teaching/ training/ supervision
- Experience of carrying out post-qualification research, audit, or service evaluation projects.
- Experience of undertaking leadership roles.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity and complexity across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, primary care, in-patient and residential care settings.
- Experience of professional and operational management of a team of qualified psychological practitioners
- Experience of working in a specialised art form.
- Experience of working with, and addressing issues of, diversity, including experience of working within a multicultural framework.
Desirable
- Experience of having worked specialist services for Anxiety, Depression, Affective Disorders, Personality Disorder or Trauma.
- Experience of working with older people with mental health issues
- Experience of working in Forensic and / or prison settings.
- Experience in teaching clinical supervision
knowledge and skills
Essential
- Advanced level knowledge of Art psychotherapy including highly developed knowledge of lifespan developmental psychology, models of psychopathology and evidence-based models of Art psychotherapy
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of management and leadership.
- Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence based psychological therapies and how it relates to this post.
- Knowledge and skills gained in managing qualified and unqualified psychological practitioners, including recruitment and retention, appraisal and performance review and personal development procedures, sickness absence, maternity leave/paternity leave, annual leave, and disciplinary procedures.
- use of complex methods of specialist psychological assessment, intervention and management
- High level knowledge of the issues presented by client with complex needs and with personality disorders Advanced theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatments
- owledge of a range of therapeutic ideas/ approaches/ models in assessment and treatment relevant to discipline.
- Knowledge of legislation and strategic frameworks and their implications for both clinical practice and professional management
- Knowledge of and ability to work with protected characteristics and diversity and factors affecting access to mental health care in a wide variety of contexts'
- Knowledge of scientific research methodology, analysis, and interpretation of data consistent with Art psychotherapy
- Advanced skills in professional supervision; including skills for offering live supervision of both psychotherapists and multi-disciplinary colleagues.
Desirable
- management of budgets and resources
Effort and environment
Essential
- Emotional stamina and ability to respond constructively in highly stressful situations where individuals hold very different perspectives, and there is a high level of distress, ambiguity and conflict.
- Ability to organise and coordinate areas of work that are complex and demanding
other
Essential
- Ability to identify provide and promote appropriate means of support to staff
- A commitment to the continuous improvement of services using feedback from individual clients, families, user surveys, and clinical research
- Ability to articulate and interpret clearly the role of the profession of Art psychotherapy based on a good understanding of the framework of government and national professional policy.
Desirable
- Record of having published in either peer reviewed or academic or professional journals and/or books.
- A demonstrated interest in supporting the development of the field through participation in professional bodies and activities
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
