Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Arts Therapist

The closing date is 06 August 2025

Job summary

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.

About us

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.

Date posted

23 July 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£47,810 to £54,710 a year pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

354-AB-20958

Job locations

Mill view hospital

Brighton and Hove

BN3 7HZ

Job description

Job 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.

Job description

Job responsibilities

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 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

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

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

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

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

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

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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).