LMWS (IAPT) Step 3 Counsellor

Job responsibilities

Job title: LMWS (IAPT) Step 3 Counsellor

Service: Leeds Mental Wellbeing Service (formally known as Leeds IAPT). The service is delivered as a partnership of NHS and third sector providers which comprises Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, Leeds & York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Northpoint Wellbeing, Community Links, Touchstone, Womens Counselling and Therapy Service, and Home-Start Leeds.

Responsible to: Clinical Manager

Responsible for: N/A

Contract: Permanent

Salary/Pay Band: £31,365 up to £37,890 per annum WTE (salary range is equivalent to Band 6 on NHS Agenda for Change).

Pension: Eligible employees will be auto-enrolled in a defined contribution scheme. Northpoint Wellbeing operates a discretionary company sick pay policy; statutory maternity & paternity allowances apply.

Hours and days: Full- time 35 hours. Must include one evening per week until 8pm.

Holidays: 28 days annual leave per year plus statutory holidays pro -rata and up to 3 discretionary leave days at Christmas.

Location: Based at Leeds Bridge House with possible travel to clinic locations across Leeds in the future. Due to Covid restrictions this post may initially be remote working from home.

Accountability and reporting: The post-holder is ultimately accountable to the Board of Northpoint Wellbeing, through the Director of Northpoint.

Disclosure and Barring Service certificate: Due to the nature of the work this post will be subject to an enhanced DBS check. Northpoints policy on the recruitment of ex-offenders is available on request a past criminal conviction will not necessarily be a bar to employment.

The post-holder will be a qualified BACP accredited Counsellor and will be expected to train in Interpersonal Therapy (IPT), at the earliest opportunity. This training will be paid for and supported by Northpoint Wellbeing. After qualification as an IPT therapist the post-holder will be expected to hold a full IPT caseload.

Working for Northpoint Wellbeing as a part of Leeds Mental Wellbeing Service (LMWS), the post-holder will provide interventions to a range of clients who have depression. In doing so, they post-holder will assess, plan, deliver and evaluate patient-centred programmes of care to a specialist level, ensuring that their practice is within their sphere of competence and knowledge. They post-holder will work to professional and regulatory body codes, standards and guidance at all times. The post-holder will also be involved in the wider service and engage when needed with primary care staff within LMWS and will work with people with different cultural backgrounds and ages, using interpreters when necessary, and will be committed to equal opportunities.

Purpose of the role

Main duties:

The duties and responsibilities of the post will include the following:

Clinical

Accept referrals via agreed protocols within the service.

Complete IPT training, which will be supported by Northpoint and LMWS.

Assess clients for suitability for an IAPT treatment.

Make decisions on the suitability of new referrals and those waiting for treatment, adhering to referral protocols and referring unsuitable clients on to the relevant service or back to the referral agent as necessary.

Formulate, implement and evaluate therapy programmes for clients.

Educate and involve family members and others in treatment as necessary, conveying psychological formulations with sensitivity in easily understood language.

Reach targets set by the service, including the number of client contacts delivered each week for a full-time therapist (18), the number of clients taken from the waiting list annually (100), a good recovery rate (50% plus) for clients worked with.

Complete all requirements relating to data collection within the service. Keep coherent records of all clinical activity in line with service protocols.

Work closely with other members of the team, ensuring appropriate step-up and step-down arrangements are in place to maintain a stepped care approach.

Assess and integrate issues surrounding work and employment into the overall therapy process.

Liaise with other health and social care staff from a range of agencies, in the care provided to clients.

Professional

Ensure the maintenance of standards of practice of any regulating, professional and accrediting bodies, and keep up to date on new recommendations/guidelines set by the Department of Health (e.g. NHS plan, National Service Framework, National Institute for Clinical Excellence).

Ensure that client confidentiality is protected at all times.

Attend clinical/managerial supervision on a regular basis as agreed with manager.

Participate in individual performance review and respond to agreed objectives.

Keep up to date all records in relation to CPD and ensure personal development plan maintains up-to-date specialist knowledge of latest theoretical and service delivery models/developments.

Attend relevant conferences/workshops in line with identified professional objectives.

Participate in service improvement by highlighting issues and implementing changes in practice.

Contribute to the development of best practice within the service.

Maintain up-to-date knowledge of legislation, and national and local policies and procedures in relation to mental health and primary care services.

Work across the city as required to meet service demand.

General

All employees must be familiar with and adhere to Northpoints operational policies, service protocols and practice guidelines as required, taking account of any relevant partner protocols and procedures.

All employees have a responsibility and a legal obligation to ensure that information processed for both patients and staff is kept accurate, confidential, secure and in line with the Data Protection Act (2018) and Security and Confidentiality policies.

All employees have a duty and responsibility for their own health and safety and the health and safety of colleagues, patients and the general public.

All employees will undertake statutory and mandatory training as deemed appropriate and have a willingness and commitment to professional development.

Northpoint Wellbeing is committed to ensuring that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marital status, gender reassignment or pregnancy/maternity. We fully support the right of all staff to equal opportunities and are committed to the development of a diverse workforce. All employees are expected to be familiar with and to adhere to Northpoints Equal Opportunities Policy.

All employees will adhere to Northpoint Wellbeing safeguarding procedures.

Northpoint will provide regular line-management supervision.

It is the responsibility of all staff that they do not abuse their professional position for personal gain, to seek advantage of further private business, or for other interests, in the course of their official duties.

This job description does not provide an exhaustive list of duties and may be reviewed in conjunction with the post-holder in light of service development.

Northpoint will provide an appropriate level of clinical supervision (within work time) and will pay for an agreed supervisor to provide supervision.

We recognise that people from BAME communities are under-represented in the Leeds IAPT workforce. We are therefore especially keen to receive applications from under-represented communities. This is a core part of our service Vision & Values, as we strive to reflect the communities that we support.

Experience

Essential

• At least two years, or equivalent, post-qualification experience of working in an adult psychological service.
• Experience of undertaking assessments & formulation to deliver appropriate intervention in time-limited work.
• Experience of working in mental health services with adult clients presenting with multiple complex issues.
• Experience of managing own caseload and time to meet service targets.
• Experience of routine outcome monitoring.

Desirable

• Experience of working in an IAPT/ Primary Care Mental Health service.
• Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team.
• Experience of working in a service with agreed targets for outputs and clinical outcomes.
• Experience of working in a third sector organisation.

Qualifications

Essential

• Diploma level qualification in counselling from a BACP accredited course, or an equivalent course (i.e. a course with at least 450 hours of tutor contact time, carried out over at least one year (full-time) or two years (part time), with a supervised placement as an integral part of the training, and which covered theory, skills, professional issues and personal development)
• Accredited with BACP

Desirable

• Post-qualification training in provision of clinical supervision.

Knowledge

Essential

• A working & theoretical knowledge of the pressures & opportunities inherent in time limited approaches.
• An understanding of anxiety and depression and how it may present in Primary Care services.
• Knowledge of medication used in anxiety and depression and other common mental health problems.
• An understanding of the principles underlying the Stepped Care model of mental health treatment.

Desirable

• An understanding of the particular constraints and pressures facing Third Sector organization.
• An understanding of the relationship between employment/unemployment and mental health problems.

Skills and competencies

Essential

• Ability to negotiate differing lengths of treatment appropriate to the needs of the client group.
• Risk assessment skills and an ability to manage safeguarding and risk appropriately
• Ability to work under pressure, dealing with peaks and troughs in own workload managing unpredictable service demands.
• A strong degree of personal integrity; able to adhere to standards of conduct based on a culture of equality and fairness
• Ability to apply learning from own experience (past or current) of receiving therapy
• Ability to be self-reflective, whilst working with clients and in own personal & professional development & to use supervision positively & effectively.

Desirable

• Ability to deliver treatment in community languages

Training

Essential

• Needs to participate in Interpersonal Therapy training, ideally starting in November 2020, or thereafter.
• Must be willing to participate in any relevant training identified to develop skills required to carry out duties
• Good record of Continuing Professional Development and willingness to continue this.

Other requirements

Essential

• Able to work as part of a team and willing to help and assist wherever possible and appropriate.
• Able to develop and maintain positive relationships with others (internal and external) and with patients and their carers
• Highly motivated and reliable
• Positive and flexible attitude to dealing with change; able to respond to the changing needs of the patient in an appropriate and timely manner; willing to explore new ways of doing things and approaches.
• Computer literate
• The ability and skills to foster good professional relationships with all health professionals in promoting the integration of this service with the wider health care system.

Desirable

• Experience of working with diverse communities and within a multicultural setting.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).