Art Psychotherapist: Second Step in Bridgwater

# Art Psychotherapist: Second Step in Bridgwater**Second Step**The Rollercoaster Building, Bridgwater, TA6 4RL Start Date01/10/2026£ GBP Part-TimeContact MemberSecond Step is hiring an Art Psychotherapist in Bridgwater, Somerset. The fixed-term, five-month role is part-time and available as a job-share. The salary is £48,423 a year, and the closing date is 30 November 2026. The post supports Step Together, a service commissioned by Somerset Council for people who are rough sleeping or at risk of homelessness with multiple disadvantage and complex needs.The Art Psychotherapist supports staff working with adults affected by severe and multiple disadvantage. The work includes Psychological, Adversity and Trauma-informed understanding, reflective practice, team formulation and one-to-one supervision. The role also evaluates reflective contexts that support staff wellbeing and guides support planning, safety and inclusion.* Role: Art Psychotherapist* Employer: Second Step* Location: The Rollercoaster Building, Bridgwater, TA6 4RL* Employment: Fixed-term for five months, part-time, job-share* Salary: £48,423 a year* Closing date: 30 November 2026* Disclosure check: Disclosure and Barring Service check requiredThe vacancy sits within Step Together, which Second Step delivers under a Somerset Council commission that began in 2019 and was recommissioned in April 2026. The service works with people experiencing rough sleeping or homelessness alongside other complex needs. Staff support includes attention to trauma, adversity, attachment, safety and the social conditions affecting a person's wellbeing.The post's clinical contribution is centred on staff support rather than a standalone caseload. The practitioner develops trauma-informed understandings with teams, helps staff consider how people adapt and survive difficult experiences, and contributes to formulations that account for context, intersectionality, equality, diversity and inclusion. Experience with severe and multiple disadvantage, adult mental health problems, substance misuse, forensic histories or homelessness is relevant to the work.## Reflective Practice And Team FormulationReflective practice gives staff protected space to examine the effect of complex work on judgement, relationships and wellbeing. The Art Psychotherapist provides one-to-one supervision and helps teams build shared formulations, so staff can connect a person's presentation with trauma, attachment, adversity and current circumstances.Team formulation also supports practical decisions. Staff consider goals, safety, inclusion and support planning while keeping the person's history and present environment in view. The role evaluates and develops reflective contexts instead of treating supervision as a single isolated meeting.* One-to-one supervision for staff* Team formulation around complex needs* Reflective practice that supports staff wellbeing* Guidance on support plans, goals, safety and inclusion## Experience With Multiple DisadvantageThe work involves adults who may experience several overlapping forms of disadvantage. Severe mental health problems, substance misuse, homelessness and forensic histories can affect safety, trust, communication and engagement at the same time. Trauma-informed and attachment-based thinking helps staff interpret those pressures without reducing a person to a diagnosis or a single incident.Experience of formulating adaptation and survival is part of the role's practice context. Evaluation and audit experience also matters because the service develops its reflective work and needs to understand how those arrangements support staff and service quality.## Art Psychotherapy In Mental Health ServicesArt psychotherapy is a psychological therapy delivered by trained art therapists and art psychotherapists. The British Association of Art Therapists describes its purpose as supporting social, emotional and mental health needs through therapeutic work that can include art-making and discussion. The British Association of Art Therapists also identifies Health and Care Professions Council regulation for therapists in its directory.Within this vacancy, art psychotherapy knowledge sits alongside consultation, supervision and formulation. The practitioner helps staff think about emotional communication, relationships and distress in people whose needs may not be captured by a short verbal account. The service context places those ideas alongside homelessness support, substance misuse work and safety planning.## Bridgwater Service ContextThe role is based at The Rollercoaster Building in Bridgwater, TA6 4RL. Bridgwater is in Somerset, and Step Together operates within a local authority commissioned service. Staff contact includes Alex Steward, Service and Transformation Manager, for vacancy questions.The closing date is 30 November 2026, while the five-month contract gives the role a defined service period. The therapist vacancies section contains other roles in the field, and the Bridgwater vacancy filter identifies work listed around the town.The application requires attention to the fixed-term arrangement, part-time job-share pattern and service population. Experience supporting people with homelessness, substance misuse, forensic histories or severe mental health problems belongs near the top of the application because those areas define the work.Alex Steward is the named contact for the vacancy. The role's DBS check requirement also forms part of the employment process, alongside the experience needed for trauma-informed formulation, reflective practice and evaluation.Apply For This RoleApplicants should have the relevant experience with severe and multiple disadvantage, trauma-informed work and evaluation ready when applying. Alex Steward, Service and Transformation Manager, is the named contact for questions about the vacancy and can be reached at
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