CHILDREN?S INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION PATHWAYS
CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOTHERAPIST / CHILD ART PSYCHOTHERAPIST/
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST
HOURS: 3 days per week (open to discussion)
SALARY: Dependent on experience
LOCATION: Childhood Matters, Blackrock, Cork
RESPONSIBLE TO: CHIPPS Clinical Lead (Senior Clinical Psychologist, Dr
Emma Ronayne)
CHIPPS, the Childhood Matters Child in Care Mental Health team, is
seeking to expand and would like to recruit a child and adolescent
psychotherapist, child art psychotherapist and occupational therapist.
CHIPPS is a mental health service for children aged **Apply on the
website** years who are in the care of Tusla. The work that we carry
out is psychology-led, attachment-based, trauma-informed, and
specialist in nature. We offer a stepped-care model of intervention
with therapeutic input taking various forms including consultation to
social care and other professionals; groups (both psychoeducational
and therapeutic) for children/young people/foster carers as well as
direct, individual therapy for children/young people and their carers.
Interventions are attachment-focussed and incorporate dyadic and
systemic ways of working with the child, carers and team around them,
drawing on models such as Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP);
Theraplay; Mentalisation-Based Treatment (MBT) approaches, Sensory
Attachment Intervention (SAI), Therapeutic Life Story Work (TLSW),
among others. Our Multidisciplinary Team is currently comprised of
clinical psychologists, assistant psychologists, a play therapist,
child art psychotherapist and specialist occupational therapist.
Successful candidates will take a key role in contributing to MDT
discussions of each referred child?s needs as well as those of the
system around them, formulating the presenting difficulties and
considering appropriate intervention. Clinicians joining the team will
provide both direct and indirect therapeutic input. They will liaise
with partner agencies to endeavour to achieve positive outcomes for
children in care and their carers, working to build/restore placement
stability and enhance key relationships in the child?s
family/support network.
The role will include offering specialist training and consultation to
colleagues and the wider team/system around the child, such as social
workers, teachers, foster carers, and residential and support workers
supporting children in care. We are committed to embedding an
evidence-based culture of trauma-informed care and therapeutic
practice and therefore keen to continually assess the effectiveness of
our service. All clinicians are asked to complete routine outcome
measures and carefully consider the effect(s) of their interventions
in collaboration with the MDT.
Childhood Matters is a trauma-informed and equal-opportunity employer.
We offer competitive salary packages as well as benefits including
enhanced maternity leave; pension contribution scheme; health care
plans; flexible working hours; internal and externally provided
training opportunities, and competitive annual leave entitlement.
THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES WILL BE EXPECTED TO:
* Work as a member of the multi-disciplinary therapy team, providing
high quality, in-person therapy to children in care and their
families/carers as well as offering support and guidance to the system
around the child via telephone or video conference, email,
consultation, professionals? meetings, attending and participating
in statutory Child in Care Reviews etc.
* Support and promote empirically-based practice within the team
through engaging in consultation, supervision, formulation and
training /education
* Be responsible for holding and managing a clinical caseload and
exercise autonomous professional responsibility (where appropriate)
for the planning and prioritising of own workload and the assessment,
treatment and discharge of clients within the bounds of the
service?s operational policies
* Compile comprehensive assessment and treatment reports and any
other reports as required relating to the children and carers to whom
they are offering input
* Promote the team?s trauma-informed and trauma-responsive ethos,
supporting colleagues and other departments within the organisation as
well as referred children/carers/networks
* Contribute to developing and maintaining equality of opportunity
in working practices by complying with legislation and organisational
policies. Advise colleagues about equality, diversity and human rights
policies and procedures and ensure they are followed
* Attend court, if required, as an expert witness.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
QUALIFICATIONS:
* IACP or AOTI accredited qualification
* CORU registered (Occupational Therapists)
EXPERIENCE:
* Experience of providing attachment-based therapeutic input to
children who have experienced developmental trauma is essential
ESSENTIAL SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE
* An ability to offer attachment-focussed therapeutic interventions
tailored to meet the individual needs of children/young people and
their carers referred to CHIPPS
* An ability to work dyadically with carers and children as well as
systemically with the network around the child
* Familiarity with key legislation relating to children in the care
of the state and awareness of partner agencies involved in working
with children in care
* Excellent communication skills (oral and written) and an ability
to communicate therapeutic concepts to non-clinical
professionals/colleagues as well as to children/young people and
carers
* An understanding of psychometric tests and the use of routine
outcome measures in child mental health services; ability/willingness
to complete same with children/carers
* Skills in the provision of supervision and consultation to both
external and internal professionals and teams (where appropriate and
dependent on level of experience)
* Excellent time management skills and an ability to meet deadlines
and prioritise workload
* Exceptional organisational skills and a capacity to balance
clinical tasks and administrative workload including clinical
note-writing, letter/report writing, updating of services databases
etc.
* An understanding of developmental trauma, attachment, child
development and neurodiversity, child and adolescent mental health
issues
* An understanding of working therapeutically with children who have
experienced developmental trauma as well as their carers and the
system around the child
* An understanding of theory and research in the field of
developmental trauma, attachment and therapeutic interventions with
this population
* An understanding of the use creative, non-directive approaches in
therapy for children who have experienced developmental trauma
* An excellent understanding of safeguarding children issues as well
as an understanding of care and control, notification procedures and
equal opportunities, data protection and general good practice
* Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Outlook; Power Point, and
Excel
DESIRABLE SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE
* CPD/training completed in any of our core therapeutic models
including Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP); Theraplay;
Mentalisation-Based Treatment (MBT) approaches, Sensory Attachment
Intervention (SAI), Therapeutic Life Story Work (TLSW) or other
attachment-focussed approaches to working with developmental trauma
* Experience of consulting to/liaising with social care teams and
other professional groups such as teachers, court-appointed guardians
and other professionals in the justice system
* Experience of using digital clinical record systems
TO APPLY
To apply submit your CV and covering letter to Human Resources
Department, Bessborough Centre, Blackrock, Cork or email: **Apply on
the website** by 5pm on Thursday **Apply on the website**th February
**Apply on the website**. Interviews will be held week beginning
**Apply on the website**th February at Childhood Matters in Blackrock,
Cork.
We need : English (Good)
Type: Permanent
Payment:
Category: Health
