Having Child & Adolescent Psychotherapists working as an integral part of the medical team constitutes an asset. They will work to promote a model of care that integrates the mind, emotional experience, and the body. Through excellent observational and analytical skills, Child & Adolescent Psychotherapists facilitate communication between team members which will have a knock-on effect on the communication between the medical team and patient group. Child & Adolescent Psychotherapists working in medical settings will strengthen the department of health’s move to improve access to talking therapies and acute mental health treatment by liaising and referring to community child & adolescent mental health services when appropriate. This consultative work takes place in ward rounds, psychosocial meetings, multi-disciplinary meetings as well as in safeguarding meetings, where the young person’s medical, psychological and emotional needs are considered.
Working with ill children is painful and stressful. The way this is managed has an impact on clinical care. Child & Adolescent Psychotherapists provide support groups for medical and nursing staff, qualified or in training. Such groups support clinical staffs’ resilience and enable teams to work more effectively by providing the opportunity to reflect on the emotional impact of the work. Child & Adolescent Psychotherapists also provide multi-professional debrief meetings following the death of a child patient, helping staff to process inevitable distress that can otherwise spill over into others areas of work and private life.
Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist also offer their expertise by providing supervision to other paediatric colleagues in subjects of emotional and psychological developments and functioning. Rigorous supervision is an integral part of the training and work of Child & Adolescent Psychotherapists which in turn develops supervisory skills
Child & Adolescent Psychotherapists function not only as a link between paediatric settings and mental health services in the community, but they also liaise with the other agencies in the community such as education and social services representing the psychological and emotional needs of the child and young person.