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 Assessment & Therapy Affiliate Network at Five Rivers

Five Rivers Child Care has launched an affiliate network in 2018

Five Rivers has been at the forefront of child-centred, therapeutic support for looked after children for more than 25 years. We are meeting an escalating demand for assessment and psychotherapy for children suffering from attachment and trauma disorders, both in and out of the care system.

Over many years, we have built relationships with Local Authority Commissioners in every corner of the country by delivering our trusted fostering, residential care and education services. Recently, the demand for our assessment and therapy services has been growing.

Children in care are four times more likely than their peers to have a mental health difficulty*  – which needs to be correctly assessed and treated in order for their placements, care and learning to be truly effective.

Working with the other services, we have developed an Integrated Care Management model which ensures a rigorous assessment that the best therapeutic solution is provided to each individual child’s needs. The ongoing success of this approach has resulted in our partners within local authorities asking us to provide flexible support for their overstretched statutory services.

For example, there is an acute requirement for detailed assessment and treatment packages in these areas:

  • North West (Stockport)
  • North East
  • West Country (Bristol and Exeter)

There is also demand for our clinical services from third-party providers of fostering, adoption and specialist educational settings around the country.

Responding to the demand for child psychotherapists

Over the past 18 months, we have brought in high-calibre therapists to grow and complete our in-house team, but we realised that that was not enough: we needed more capacity to meet a growing range of referrals while remaining cost-effective. Our solution was to design a referral and delivery framework for a network of independent, affiliated, qualified psychotherapists and psychologists.

The benefits of working within an affiliate network

Attracting referrals takes time and effort for psychologists and therapists working alone or within practice groupings that have to attract private referrals as well as market themselves to commissioning bodies. Contract management, billing and chasing payment are time-consuming activities which sap resources and morale. Using agencies may help, but therapists can find themselves working in isolation on an ad hoc basis – feeling like a spare pair of hands with little investment in them from their clients.

We believe a better way for therapists to offer their services is to join a managed referral network. That’s because, as an integrated provider, we can generate a steady flow of reliable, well-planned and managed contract work alongside much-needed administrative support: our administration team streamlines the process of referral, appointment-setting and report handling and ensures prompt payment.

We would be delighted to receive applications to join our network of Psychologists and Psychotherapists in all therapeutic disciplines. We are keen to hear from those experienced in detailed psychological assessments and reporting, and therapists in the following disciplines:

  • Dyadic Development Psychotherapy
  • MBT
  • Theraplay
  • Video Interactive Guidance
  • Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
  • Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing

We would also be very interested to hear from Occupational Therapists with experience in Sensory Integration Therapy.

Career development opportunities in a Social Enterprise

Five Rivers is in a position to develop the careers of expert practitioners. As a social enterprise, we have a strong ethos of respect, integrity and support: we really want to develop close relationships with affiliates and nurture them with exclusive continuing professional development opportunities. Our Research and Development partners are the Anna Freud Centre (Excellence in Trauma and Attachment) and the Bowlby Centre (Excellence in Attachment research). Exciting career paths beckon for affiliates interested in developing their practices in working with children and young people.

If you are a Post-graduate qualified Clinical Psychologist, Counselling Psychologist, Child/Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, or qualified therapeutic practitioner registered with an accredited body (UKCP, HCPC, BACP, ACP etc); can evidence three years’ experience in working with children and young people who are looked after; are committed to CPD; and working or able to work on an independent freelance contract basis, please get in touch to discover more about our services and apply to join our network.

Contact Alison.Hodgetts @ five-rivers.org or call 07590 861234 who would be delighted to answer your questions and review your CV and advise on your suitability for the role.

Visit our Assessment and Therapy recruitment page for more information and to start the application process.

(Please note, this a detailed and exacting application form, but you can save, complete and submit it whenever you are satisfied)

Our HR team is also available on 01722 626994

We look forward to hearing from professionals who share our vision for a world where all children can have their mental health and well-being needs met.

*Source: NSPCC Calculation based on Office of National Statistics data

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