Art Therapist

Job Overview

This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship. If you require sponsorship you may withdraw your application.

We are seeking a highly motivated, person‑centred individual with excellent communication skills to join our well‑established Community Learning Disability Team.

Our mission is to provide high‑quality, community‑based, integrated services for adults with learning disabilities. The incumbent will be a specialist Art Therapist passionate about enhancing learning disability services.

The successful candidate will have therapeutic experience with learning disability users, complex mental or physical health needs, autism, and complex behavioural needs. You will thrive in multidisciplinary, multi‑agency settings, working creatively to secure positive outcomes and embracing new ways of working. An active interest in academic research is highly desirable.

The team is clinically supportive, pro‑psychology, and offers frequent opportunities for creative and collaborative joint working. MDT colleagues include nurses, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and psychiatrists. You will be an important member of the MDT.

• Provide assessment and art psychotherapy interventions for people with learning disability (individual and group therapy). You may encounter clients who are “hard to treat” or difficult to engage.
• Advise and guide the multidisciplinary team on art therapy and creative assessment and treatment methods.
• Occasionally assess and advise service users expressing thoughts of self‑harm or experiencing high levels of emotional distress.
• Participate in the shared clinical coordinator role – processing referrals and taking duty calls.
• Offer consultation, specialised advice, case support, clinical supervision, and training – important ongoing elements of this post.
• Participate in intake assessment meetings when required.
• Prepare reports, summaries, and letters to relevant parties within the limits of professional confidentiality.

• MA in Art Psychotherapy.
• BA Honours in Fine Art or related subject with demonstrated commitment to an established practice of art.
• Full registration with BAAT/ACP.
• Full registration with HCPC.
• Evidenced post‑qualifying continuing professional development relevant to one or more additional specialised areas of psychotherapeutic practice or psychological treatment (e.g., Psychodynamic Counselling).

• Experience working therapeutically with service users with learning disability and autistic continuum; including those presenting with behavioural challenges.
• Experience working as part of a multidisciplinary team with service users presenting a wide variety of mental health and behavioural needs in diverse settings.
• Experience collaborating with other professionals and agencies related to mental health and wellbeing.
• Experience working with carers and families.
• Adherence to appropriate best practice and professional guidance as a qualified clinician.

• Experience providing student placements.
• Research and development.
• Quality and service improvement and evaluation.

• Up to date knowledge of relevant practice, guidelines and developments.
• Understanding of complex behavioural needs, individuals on the autistic continuum, and people with complex mental health difficulties including complex trauma.
• Ability to develop and communicate well‑reasoned clinical formulations, assessments and care‑plans.
• Awareness of local and national developments, protocols and policies relevant to learning disabilities and autism, including DSR processes, CTR/CETR & LAEPs, the MHA and MCA.
• Experience and knowledge relating to evidence‑based practice.
• Well‑developed communication skills – orally and in writing, highly technical and clinically sensitive information to service users, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS, including Child Protection and Adult Safeguarding.
• Well‑developed risk assessment and risk management skills –…