Professional & Clinical Support Services
Professional & Clinical Support is embedded in the core of each service, working as a vital component in the delivery of the Options Group’s aim of establishing innovative approaches to the care and education of children and young adults with complex special needs. These services use best practice to support people with profound and complex needs, providing high quality provision that is, as far as viable, evidence based.
Our professional& clinical support services support each individual we work with to achieve their personal outcomes as well as the outcomes expected by the agencies that commission our services.
This Professional & Clinical Support is therefore integrated and embedded at three key levels within each service:
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At the systemic level, supporting the development of every aspect of the service – from its management and leadership structure, though the staffing teams, the deployment and development of staff, to the creation of environments and opportunities that are of high quality and fit for purpose.
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Working in an empowering partnership with the staff directly providing the care, the education and the day to day living experiences to our service users. We strive to enhance and improve the quality and expertise of their work, through the provision of advice, guidance, mentoring, training, advocacy, counselling and support.
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Direct work with the service user and others closely involved with them, such as the family and workers from other agencies, to provide professional and clinically valid assessments and diagnostic opinions, professional and clinically valid advice and guidance that promotes both the day to day quality of life and the achievement of real and positive outcomes and the provision of specialist support and treatment, including therapy to those individuals who can benefit from these approaches
The Professional & Clinical Support provides high quality services, that are based on the use of professionally qualified and clinically skilled colleagues, working within multi-disciplinary teams. This ensures that our services are able to offer the varied range of specialist services that these complex individuals require. In addition to Keith Howie, who is the director of this service, we have the following professional/clinical leads:
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Jan O’Toole, Consultant Clinical Lead for Speech and Language Therapy
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Pat Smith, Principal Educational Psychologist
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Dr. Ze’ev Levita, Consultant Clinical Psychologist
In addition we employ a range of colleagues, either directly as employees or on sessional basis to further enhance the support we can provide to services. We ensure that all those working with us:
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are professionally qualified
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have the depth and breadth of experience required to work with the client groups they support
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have current practising status within their professional body
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complete the continuing professional development necessary for continued practice
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Are professionally supervised
Currently we employ additional colleagues within these areas of professional practice:
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Psychotherapy
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Psychiatry
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Occupational Therapy
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Speech & Language Therapy
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Clinical & Educational Psychology