Ireland’s national organisation for one-parent families is recruiting a part-time Play Therapist. One Family is Ireland’s organisation for people parenting alone, sharing parenting or separating. We provide support, information and specialist family support services to all members of all one-parent families, as well as to those experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and to professionals working with one-parent families. One Family’s vision is that every family in Ireland will be cherished equally, and will enjoy the social, financial and legal equality to create their own positive future.

Play Therapist Role

This additional Play Therapist role will join the Parenting Service in One Family.

One Family Parenting work with parents and children from one parent families, where children may be struggling with big emotions, at times stemming from parental separation. We offer a Tusla funded project, Separating Well for Children (SWP), and focus our family support within the framework of infant mental health. We aim to prevent children being negatively impacted by parental separation, and to support families where conflict and domestic violence is impacting on children’s wellbeing.

Play Therapist Job Description

• Contribute to the provision of a professional and comprehensive Creative Therapy Service within the Parenting Service.
• Deliver play therapy sessions on an individual basis to children aged 4 to 14 years of age.
• Directly engage in the delivery of group-based support for children both through Rainbows Ireland programmes and therapeutic short programmes designed for children.
• Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
• Maintain all quality/professional standards and codes of practice

Other

• Attend relevant internal and external supervisions and trainings including clinical supervision.
• Complete all relevant admin associated with the role
• Follow all of One Family’s policies and procedures
• Contribute to evaluations, policy, reports, funding applications etc as requested
• To be line managed by the Director of Parenting & Professional Development and take direction where appropriate on issues relating to clients and case load from the Practice Manager (Parenting Service).
• Undertake any other work as requested by your Manager.

Person Specification – you must:

• Have a relevant professional qualification in play therapy and be fully accredited.
• Be an accredited member of Play Therapy Ireland or another relevant professional body.
• Have a minimum of 3 years’ experience working as a play therapist with children.
• Have a children’s focus and perspective
• Be enthusiastic and self-motivated
• Have experience working in an interdisciplinary team
• Have a knowledge of the impact of domestic abuse, interparental conflict and separation/divorce on children and young people
• Be confident in applying Children First within your practice
• Understand the HSE National Consent Policy and the relevance of dual consent when working with children and minors.
• Have a broad knowledge and understanding of the issues affecting children in today’s world, particularly in one parent families.

Terms of Role

This is a part-time fixed term contract role running from September 1st, 2024, to June 30th, 2025. The role will be over 1.5 - 2 days a week/10.5- 14 hours with one full day of direct 1-1 therapeutic work to be delivered on Fridays in One Family offices in Coke Lane, Dublin 7. The children’s room is where all creative therapies for children take place and currently is only available on Friday. It is important to One Family that we increase capacity for 1-1 in person sessions with children. We will aim to offer some flexibility about the remaining hours.

The full-time salary for this role is up to €44,565 for a 35-hour week; the salary offered will be pro rata for 10.5- 14 hours. It is expected that the role will start on point 1 of the scale. Annual leave, sick leave, training supports and pension contribution as well as other benefits will be provided in line with our terms and conditions. The post is subject to a six-month probationary period.

Applicant Process

A cover letter and CV addressing the required competencies should be emailed to gkelly@onefamily.ie Director of Parenting & Professional Development. Your application should be marked clearly Play Therapist Application.

Closing date for applications is 12 noon Friday 26th July 2024.

One Family is an equal opportunities employer