Family and Systemic Psychotherapist

Family and Systemic Psychotherapist

Job description

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Family and Systemic Psychotherapist in Enfield Generic CAMHS and in the SAFE Team.

The Generic Team provides a comprehensive range of assessment and therapeutic interventions, and consultation to professionals dealing with children, young people and families with emotional and behavioural difficulties, and for neurodevelopmental conditions.

The post-holder will conduct assessments and deliver evidence based systemic psychotherapy for a broad range of mental health conditions between the ages of 5-18 years old, meeting specialist CAMHS criteria.

The role will focus on the delivery of timely, high quality therapeutic interventions.







The SAFE team (service for adolescents and families in Enfield) is a children and young people’s mental health service for young people between the ages 13 and 18 who experience very overwhelming stresses and difficulties.

SAFE is a multidisciplinary team which offers mental health support to young people and families within Enfield where the young person may experience a range of difficulties, including low mood, anxiety and traumatic events which negatively impact their lives and interpersonal relationships .

SAFE offers a range of interventions to support young people and families to achieve a greater sense of wellbeing. We also work alongside social care, schools and other community services.

Main duties of the job

CAMHS teams are responsible for the assessment and treatment of the mental health needs of children and adolescents from birth through to 18 years of age.

Generic CAMHS teams address the most complex cases that require multi-disciplinary and multi-agency involvement.





Their brief covers the entire range of mental health conditions and disorders including self harming children and adolescents, learning disability, dual diagnosis and early onset psychosis.

Generic CAMHS teams also work with the consequences of neglect and physical or sexual abuse, post traumatic shock disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, and the extremes of distress and violence contained in the work with offenders and juvenile offenders.

Over the past years Enfield CAMHS has been part of the CYP-IAPT initiative and the team provides a range of therapeutic approaches in line with national NHS recommendations.

Because of the dependent nature of children, CAMHS teams customarily address children's needs in the context of their family or carer networks.







These networks will have their own resources and belief systems, they may also contain their own sources of distress including abuse, mental illness, substance misuse and domestic violence.

Although Systemic Psychotherapists frequently work alone, their trademark skills are mostly evident in "screen and team" settings.

The post-holder may therefore be expected to work with a range of professionals as well as being part of Family Therapy Clinics.

Working for our organisation

The partnership between Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust (BEH) and Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust (C&I;) is going from strength to strength since it was originally established in 2021 forming the North London Mental Health Partnership.

Why choose to join the Partnership?







We believe that by working together, our two Trusts can achieve more for the residents of North Central London and our patients than we can by working apart.

Deliver the best care using the most up-to-date practise in supporting those with mental health illnesses.

Transforming and creating a positive environment for our service users, staff and visitors.

Creating and working together to become a great place to work for all our staff.

We offer flexible working, a wide range of health and wellbeing initiatives, NHS Pension and so much more.

Generous Annual Leave Allowance

NHS Discounts in a large variety of retail stores and services.

We have excellent internal staff network support groups.







In order to meet the needs of the new Partnership services you may be required from time to time to work at different locations to your normal place of work.

This may mean that you are required to work at any location that fall under Barnet, Enfield and Harringay Trust and Camden and Islington Trust.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

1) To provide a systemic assessment of referrals of a significant and complex nature with a view to formulating and implementing plans for the treatment and management of a child or adolescent’s mental health problems within the context of family and other systems.

These assessments will be based upon an appropriate conceptual framework and will employ research based evidence and also information from appropriate rating scales,





self report measures and service user feedback.

2) To work in ways which are sensitive to the needs of families from a wide range of racial, cultural religious backgrounds.

This includes an ability to understand and offer therapeutic interventions to a variety of family forms including single parents, blended families, same sex couples and their wider family networks, accommodated children and their network of care, children who are on the At Risk register and parents with mental health difficulties

3) To provide specialist systemic psychotherapy with clinical autonomy, drawing on a range of models and approaches, and incorporating both short and long-term interventions.

To practice in a way that is inclusive and considerate of the needs of each individual in the system,





including family members at a variety of developmental stages and taking account of the current emotional state of each individual member.

4) To be responsible for implementing a range of systemic psychotherapeutic interventions. Drawing upon different explanatory models to maintain a number of provisional hypotheses in reaching a formulation and treatment plan.

5) To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options, whilst taking into account highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the child and their difficulties

6) To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment,





treatment and discharge of clients / patients and formulate effective care plans in collaboration with the client and family.

To undertake risk assessment and risk management relevant to individual patients including protective and risk factors present in the network of significant relationships.

This may also include assessment of risk for self-harm.

7) To work jointly and collaboratively with other multidisciplinary team members in order to enhance and develop work with families by providing specialist systemic knowledge and skills.

8) To provide specialist consultation, advice and guidance to other professionals at all levels working with families both within the service and in partner agencies.

This will include liaison and work with professional networks involved with complex issues, such as those involving child protection and Looked after Children and adolescents

9) To communicate effectively verbally and in writing, and to provide reports, including those for the Courts and Child Protection Conferences concerning highly complex circumstances.

10) To maintain current knowledge of the operation of video and recording equipment and, in line with Directorate policy, to promote the ethical and effective use of such equipment and to introduce this practice to families in a sensitive manner.

To advise and instruct clinicians in other disciplines and systemic psychotherapy trainees, as to the fitting and appropriate use of this therapeutic tool.

To use video tape review to enhance the skills of colleagues in the systemic psychotherapy clinic and to help parents understand their child’s difficulties, dilemmas, and traumatic experiences.

Please see the attached Job Description and Person specification for more information on the role requirements and duties.*

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

- Post-graduate qualification in relevant mental health / social welfare profession.
- Masters / Doctorate level qualification in Systemic Psychotherapy
- UKCP Registration

Skills

Essential criteria

- Skills in the use of complex methods of systemic assessment and treatment of individuals, couples, family systems and groups, frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
- Knowledge of and skill in using a wide variety of systemic theories and interventions and the ability to use these appropriately in relation to client need and work setting.
- Sufficient knowledge of other modalities to engage appropriately with colleagues and their work with clients.
- Ability to work within a multi-disciplinary team.
- Well developed skills to communicate effectively, orally and in writing at an age appropriate level (including use of play, drawing, role play, metaphor and stories) complex, highly technical and / or clinically sensitive information to children, adolescents, their families, carers and professionals within and outside the NHS including reports for the Courts.

Experience

Essential criteria

- Minimum three years experience of working with children, adolescents and families
- Experience of working with a wide variety of patient groups across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
- Experience of risk assessment and risk management
- Experience of working with families when a child or adolescent has complex needs

▶️ Family and Systemic Psychotherapist
🖊️ Barnet, Enfield & Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust
📍 Enfield