Position overview

Mental Health, Justice Health and Alcohol & Drug Services (MHJHADS) provide health services directly and through partnerships with community organisations. The services provided range from prevention and treatment to recovery, maintenance and harm minimisation. Consumer and carer participation is encouraged in all aspects of service planning and delivery. The Division works in partnership with consumers, carers and a range of government and non-government service providers to ensure the best possible outcomes for clients.

The Division delivers services at a number of locations, including hospital inpatient and outpatient settings, community health centres, detention centres, other community settings including peoples’ homes.

These services include:

• Adult Community Mental Health Services
• Older Persons Mental Health Services
• Adult Inpatient Mental Health Services
• Alcohol & Drug Services
• Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services
• Justice Health Services

The AIMHS is across The Canberra Hospital, the University of Canberra Hospital, and North Canberra Hospital (NCH) sites, and includes services such as Adult Mental Health Unit, Ward 12B Mental Health Unit, Mental Health Short Stay Unit, Mental Health Clinical Liaison TCH and NCH, the Adult Mental Health Rehabilitation Unit, the Adult Mental Health Day Service, Banksia Mental Health Unit (Banksia) and Acacia Mental Health Unit (Acacia).

The successful applicant of the HP1 Creative Arts Therapist position is responsible for conducting skilled clinical assessment and delivering individual and group based interventions to people.

At this level it is expected that you will provide high quality interventions and achieve sound outcomes for people under routine supervision. You will be required to undertake quality initiatives to promote service delivery at a standard of best practice.

This is a full-time position working Monday to Friday within the Allied Health (AH) team and will provide services to the Adult Mental Health Unit, 12B, Mental Health Short Stay Unit, and to any mental health surge wards that open at Canberra Hospital.

The AH team is made up of diverse group of allied health professions that work together to support the recovery goals of consumers admitted to any of the AH Adult Mental Health Inpatient facilities.

Operational and clinical reporting for this position will occur through Allied Health leadership, with professional governance provided by the Creative Art Therapy Profession Lead.

Key Responsibilities

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Under limited direction of the Allied Health Manager and Allied Health Clinical Lead you will perform the independent professional judgement on routine to moderately complex tasks.
You will:

1. Provide appropriate and skilled creative arts assessment and interventions to consumers with severe, complex and/or acute mental health issues, within the creative arts therapy scope of practice and using established techniques and methods.
2. Participate in the delivery and evaluation of therapeutic programs, including individual and group-based creative arts therapy interventions
3. Work collaboratively within the multi-disciplinary team and engage consumers, carers, children, Nominated Persons, GPs, and other service providers in the recovery planning process, as required.
4. Adhere to risk management processes, identifying and escalating issues appropriately.
5. Complete clinical and program records to standards required and meet data collection requirements.
6. Participate in clinical supervision, continuing professional development and personal performance review process.
7. Participate in the development, planning, implementation and evaluation of services in specific area of work, as required.
8. Actively contribute to the implementation of clinical governance activities, quality improvement projects, research programs, and health promotion in areas relevant to service.
9. Undertake other duties appropriate to this level of classification which contribute to the operation of the organisation.

Competencies

Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to the following.

• Ability to manage confidential and sensitive information.
• Ability to respond to and prioritise competing and often urgent requests in a calm and efficient manner while also maintaining high work standards and accuracy.
• Works cohesively within a multi-disciplinary team and adapts quickly to a changing environment.
• Commitment to achieving positive outcomes for mental health consumers.

Qualifications

Essential

• A Master’s degree in Arts Therapy (e.g. Art Therapy/Creative Arts Therapy/Dramatherapy)
• Professional membership or eligibility for professional membership of the Australian, New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association (ANZACATA)
• Current registration issued under the Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Act 2011

Desirable

• Hold a current ACT driver’s license.
• Have an understanding of how the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) indicators align with this role.

Experience

Essential

• N/A

Desirable

• Previous experience in an inpatient and secure mental health facility.
• Experience or knowledge of the CHS Exceptional Care Framework and all other related frameworks.

Prior to commencement

Appointment to this position is conditional on being granted and retaining appropriate clearances:

• Pre-employment National Police Check.
• Current registration issued under the Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Act 2011 is required.
• Comply with Canberra Health Services Occupational Assessment, Screening and Vaccination policy.
• Comply with CHS credentialing and scope of clinical practice requirements for allied health professionals.

Important information

All employees are required to:

• Adhere to the Canberra Health Services Values and the ACT Public Service Code of Conduct.
• Act in accordance and comply with all relevant Safety and Quality policies and procedures.
• Comply with all relevant clinical and/or competency standards.

CHS is leading the drive to digitally transform health service delivery in Australia through the implementation of a territory wide Digital Health Record. Computer literacy skills are required which are relevant to this role as you will be responsible for completing required documentation and becoming a proficient user of the Digital Health Record and/or other Information Technology systems; once proficient, you will need to remain current with changes, updates, and contingencies.

What you Require (Key Selection Criteria)

These are the key selection criteria for how you will be assessed in conjunction with your resumé and experience.

1. Proven ability to work collaboratively with individuals with severe, acute and/or complex mental illness and undertake relevant creative arts assessment, plan treatment and provide creative arts interventions.
2. Understanding of the principles of recovery, the National Standards for Mental Health Services, and evidence of a developing knowledge of contemporary mental health issues and best practice approaches in mental health.
3. Ability to work effectively within multi-disciplinary teams and collaborate with other service provides to ensure positive patient outcomes.
4. Demonstrated effective oral and written communication skills, including the ability to use a range of information technology applications to maintain clinical documentation and data collection.
5. Demonstrates understanding of, and adherence to, safety and quality standards, work, health, and safety (WH&S) and the positive patient experience. Displays behaviour consistent with CHS’s values of reliable, progressive, respectful, and kind.

Work environment description

The following work environment description outlines the inherent requirements of the role and indicates how frequently each of these requirements would need to be performed. Please note that the ACT Public Service is committed to providing reasonable adjustments and ensuring all individuals have equal opportunities in the workplace.