Specialist Practitioner / Art Therapist

Job summary

If you're a passionate Art Therapist or Creative Therapist who wants to make a lasting difference to the lives of Deaf children and young people, this role offers a truly unique opportunity.

National Deaf CAMHS (South West) is seeking an enthusiastic and skilled Specialist Practitioner to join our specialist, psychology-led service. This is a rare and exciting opportunity to join a Specialist CAMHS team, and work within a bicultural, bilingual multidisciplinary service providing high-quality mental health care for deaf children, young people and their families across the South West.

Given our need to work creatively with our deaf young children and children of deaf adults, we welcome applications from experienced art and creative psychotherapists. We would be particularly interested in hearing from applicants with additional qualifications or experience in attachment-based interventions, although this is not essential.

Prior training in British Sign Language is not required, and training within this would be delivered as part of the role.

This role offers excellent work-life balance and extensive professional development.

Location: Nominal base in Bristol with occasional travel to Taunton.

This is a predominantly home-based role, with regular travel across the South West. Most travel will be between Bristol, Gloucester and Taunton, although there may be occasional travel to other locations across the region as required.

Main duties of the job

The role

• Provide highly specialist assessment, formulation and intervention for Deaf children and young people and their families
• Hold a caseload, including key working packages of care
• Offer specialist consultation, advice and training to professionals in education, health and social care
• Work collaboratively with colleagues to deliver high quality, person centred care
• Support and contribute to service development, audit and research
• Provide clinical supervision to staff, trainees and volunteers, in line with experience and service need

You will work autonomously within professional guidelines, with responsibility for the quality and governance of psychological practice within the service, while being well supported through regular professional and clinical supervision in line with BPS and Trust guidance.

Who we're looking for

We are looking for a creative therapist who is:

• Passionate about improving mental health outcomes for Deaf children and young people
• Collaborative, reflective and values driven
• Interested in service development, innovation and learning
• Comfortable working within a specialist and multidisciplinary environment
• Interested in working with creative approaches, and with experience of attachment interventions

About us

At Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, we're committed to supporting our employees with a range of benefits designed to enhance your professional and personal life. We offer:

• Flexible working options to help you balance work and life
• NHS pension scheme for long-term financial security
• Generous annual leave allowance to recharge and relax
• A strong focus on career development to help you grow and achieve your potential

Additionally, you'll gain access to our Blue Light Card, unlocking exclusive discounts on shopping, dining, and leisure activities, as well as NHS-specific perks to support you both inside and outside of work.

We are proud to foster a diverse, skilled, and inclusive workforce, and we encourage applications from all backgrounds.

Why Somerset? Somerset offers the perfect blend of idyllic countryside, outstanding areas of natural beauty, and breathtaking coastlines, with vibrant cities like Bristol, Bath, and Exeter just a short drive away - and only two hours to London.

The region is home to excellent educational facilities, and with affordable housing compared to other parts of the country, it's a great place to build both your career and your future.

Somerset truly has it all - the peaceful countryside and cosmopolitan city life, with something for everyone to enjoy.

Job responsibilities

What it's like to work in our team, from our current Art Psychotherapist:

"I have worked for the South West NDCAMHS team since the beginning of 2022 and absolutely loved it. Having had no prior experience in working within this client group, I have learnt so much about deaf culture, deaf development and experience. I have undertaken some incredible CPD and grown so much professionally. There are so many opportunities to work creatively with young people, and to develop the service to make a real difference to the families we work with. The team are wonderful; given the fact we are a small and specialist team, there are lots of opportunities for close working and I have learnt so much from my colleagues and their wealth of knowledge as well as real life experiences. This is a fantastic opportunity for a truly unique and fulfilling career".

Working with us

The team is based at Foundation House in Taunton, and provides services across the South West region. However, we are highly mindful of staff wellbeing and work--life balance and most of our team work from home and then travel out to schools across the South West. Ideally, this post will be based in the North of our region, with a nominal base in Bristol, with the post holder travelling to schools and other sites across Bristol, Gloucester and surrounding areas as needed, during working hours. There may be infrequent travel across the wider South West region.

British Sign Language experience is not required and training in BSL will be provided. You will work with a dedicated pool of qualified BSL interpreters, alongside training and support in working effectively with interpreters and Deaf clients.

About the service

National Deaf CAMHS is a specialist regional service that supports deaf children and young people with a range of complex mental health and neurodevelopmental needs. We also provide assessment and intervention for Children of Deaf Adults (CODA's) where appropriate.

We are proud to be a bicultural and bilingual service, working with deaf and hearing communities, and offering psychologically-informed care that recognises the importance of language, identity and culture. Our multidisciplinary team includes professionals from psychology, psychiatry, social work, occupational therapy and deaf specialist outreach workers, combining a wide range of expertise and perspectives. As a team we complete a lot of joint working, particularly joint assessments, to utilise this range of expertise.

The South West service is closely connected with other National Deaf CAMHS teams across England, offering strong professional links, high-quality supervision and shared learning. These national links also provide exciting opportunities to contribute to research, service development and innovation at a national level.

This is an exciting time to join National Deaf CAMHS. We are currently expanding our community services offer and are actively involved in a national review of our service specification. This brings with it opportunities to influence national service provision for deaf young people and contribute to service improvement projects such as trauma-informed approaches and creative ways of working with deaf young people.

You will be supported to learn more about deaf culture and deaf development and to develop your interests and expertise. Training and professional development are actively supported, both locally within Somerset Foundation Trust and through our national networks.