Psychotherapist / Counsellor

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job title: Psychotherapist/Counsellor, Hackney

Service: Off Centre

Salary: Grade 3 point 24-28 plus inner London weighting

Hours: 37 hours per week (full time) possible job share available

Location: Unit 7, Textile Building, Hackney, London

Responsible to: Clinical Lead / Operational Manager

Job Summary:

At Family Action we transform lives by providing practical, emotional and financial support to those who are experiencing poverty, disadvantage and social isolation. We have been building stronger families since 1869 and today we work with more than 60,000 families in over 150 community based services, as well as supporting thousands more through national programmes and grants.

The 16-25 year old Young Persons Transitions Mental Health Service provides early access help for young people with moderate to severe mental health problems who would not be suitable for adult services. It facilitates the transition to adult services where appropriate, improves the mental well-being of young people by providing timely or early interventions including individual, time limited and outcome focussed counselling / psychotherapy, accessible drop in provision, therapeutic group work and keywork support. Following a holistic assessment, the service will provide a range of therapeutic interventions with a step in, step up and step down approach dependent on the complexity of the individual young adults issues.

The clinical arm of the service will provide individual, time limited and outcome focused counselling / psychotherapy to vulnerable young people / young adults with complex needs referred from GPs, CAMHS, Neighbourhoods Teams, Statutory Adult Mental Health Services, amongst others as well as self-referrals.

The objectives of the service include: improving mental health outcomes for young people in City and Hackney; improving the wider determinants of good mental health for children and young people to increase academic attainment, life opportunities and future employment opportunities; to relieve increasing burden on health and mental health systems where mental health problems endure in to adulthood; and to relieve the burden on wider public systems owing to the impact of mental health problems extending in to society and social settings.

As Counsellor / Psychotherapist you will be responsible for undertaking assessments, delivering 1-1 time limited, outcome focussed sessions with young people for up to 24 weeks (depending on their assessment evaluation) and evaluating therapeutic interventions for young people. You will also undertake associated case management and administrative work including liaising with the wider mental health networks where necessary. You will be required to provide evening sessions, up until 8pm up to two days per week Mondays/Thursdays as part of your full-time working hours (minimum one evening for part time).

We are committed to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in all that we do and welcome applications from all sections of the community. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQIA+ candidates and candidates with disabilities because we are committed to increasing the representation of these groups at Family Action. We know that greater diversity will lead to even greater results for families and children and strive for our workforce to be truly representative of the diverse communities we support. We offer a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants and will reimburse your travel cost if you attend an interview.

Key Tasks & Responsibilities:

1. To carry out clinical and holistic, initial assessments of service users needs and suitability for service, including assessing risk and safeguarding issues, co-design outcome focussed treatment plan with young adult, utilizing agreed assessment and outcome tools such as CORE 10, PHQ 9 and GAD 7.

2. To carry and maintain a caseload of service users receiving individual counselling / psychotherapy applying specialist knowledge and techniques of counselling / psychotherapy where appropriate during interventions. In addition, undertake the associated case management and administrative work in accordance with funding requirements. You will also co-facilitate the weekly Drop In on Thursday evenings.

3. To provide high quality support, based on excellent counselling / psychotherapeutic theory and practice with the aim of providing the best possible interventions in all areas of all clinical practice.

4. To keep excellent and up-to-date records of work with service users at all times, adhering to confidentiality and information sharing protocols in conjunction with safeguarding requirements.

5. Ensure all data, outcome measurements and monitoring information is provided to the services Clinical Lead/Operational Manager in a timely manner for reporting requirements and actively contribute towards the design, delivery and evaluation of the service.

6. To advise and liaise with outside agencies involved in the mental health and wellbeing needs of clients in accordance with point 4.

7. Contribute locally as well as regionally, to strategic planning discussions and ensure collaborative working with statutory and voluntary agencies and service providers to ensure a high quality unified service. Ensure that service-users views are heard and understood and inform and influence the development of local mental health services provision and practice.

8. Take responsibility for personal development and actively participate in team, clinical and working group meetings, and Family Actions supervision and appraisal processes. Be responsive to critical challenge, advice, feedback and direction as part of a process of continuous improvement and clinical supervision. To keep informed of and adhere to the BACP / UKCP code of ethics.

9. To be able to evidence Family Actions values at all times, which underpin Family Actions mission of building stronger families by:

a)Being people focused

b)Reflecting a can do approach

c)Striving for excellence in everything we do

d)Having mutual respect for everyone we work with, work for and support through our services

10. To adhere to all quality and safeguarding standards as set out in Family Actions policies and procedures, promoting and safeguarding children / young people and vulnerable adults.

11. To ensure the implementation of Family Actions Diversity & Equality Policy and our Ethical Policy in every aspect of your work and positively promote the principles of these policies amongst colleagues, service users and other members of the community.

12. To comply with Family Actions Health and Safety Policy, Data Protection Policy and to protect your own and others health, safety and welfare.

13. To work flexibly as may be required by the needs of the service, delivering sessions up to 8.00pm on up to two evenings per week including Thursdays, and carry out any other reasonable duties as required.

14. Embrace and implement Family Actions Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy in every aspect of your work and positively promote its principles amongst colleagues, service users and other members of the community.

15.Comply with Family Actions Health and Safety and Data Protection policies and protect your own and others health, safety and welfare.

16.Work flexibly as may be required by the needs of the service and carry out any other reasonable duties as required.

Person Specification

PS

Essential

• Education, Qualifications & Background
• 1. Educated to level six or above, with a recognised professional Counselling or Psychotherapy qualification. Commitment to continued professional development.
• 2. Educated to degree level or above in a relevant sector.
• 3.Hold individual BACP /UKCP (or equivalent) registration or accreditation (or be eligible for accreditation) with a proven commitment to continuing learning and professional development including active participation in clinical supervision, line management supervision and performance appraisals.
• Experience
• 4.Demonstratable post qualification experience as a counsellor / psychotherapist and evidence of experience of working with children / young people / young adults with complex mental health and psychosocial issues and providing outcome focussed interventions that support resilience and / or recovery. Experience of working with young LGBTQIA+ people and group work would be desirable.
• 5.Experience of monitoring, evaluating and reviewing treatment in progress, adapting delivery to maximize client engagement, applying clear knowledge of counselling and psychotherapeutic theory and practice to support best possible interventions and outcomes in all areas of clinical practice.
• 6.Demonstrable experience of advising and liaising with other professionals in relation to young peoples mental health needs. Experience of delivering presentations on such areas would be an advantage.
• 7.Experience of prioritizing own workload, plan and undertake action under own initiative, manage time and competing priorities effectively.
• 8.Proven experience of liaising effectively with other professionals from different disciplines and backgrounds and maintaining successful relationships with a variety of stakeholders.
• 9.Proven experience in collecting data that informs the service as well as local stakeholders and funders of performance, trends, gaps in provision, risks, barriers as well as successes and contribute to production of monitoring and evaluation reports in accordance with funding specification.
• Knowledge & Skills
• 10.Ability to empathise with needs of young people from a range of communities and backgrounds and a working knowledge of the social issues that affect young people and impact upon their mental health and well-being. Proven experience of delivering a range of therapeutic intervention levels and different durations, that result in positive outcomes for young people.
• 11.Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal. Ability to work as part of a team from different theoretical backgrounds and identify with organizational and service goals.
• 12.Excellent knowledge and understanding of risk management, health and safety issues and pan-London Child Protection procedures and Working Together to Safeguard Children, as well as ability to work in accordance with local and organisational Child Protection and Safeguarding policies and procedures (for both children and adults) and keep up to date as required. Implementing child protection procedures in consultation with management.
• Values
• 13.Able to evidence Family Actions values at all times, which underpin our mission of building stronger families by:
• Being people focused
• Reflecting a can do approach
• Striving for excellence in everything we do
• Having mutual respect for everyone we work with, work for and support through our services
• 14.Be committed to equal opportunities and uphold and comply with Family Actions Equality, Diversity & Inclusion policy in all aspects of your work, promoting its principles amongst colleagues, service users and other members of the community.
• In addition
• 15.Willing to work hours in a flexible way, including evenings and weekends as required to meet the needs of the service.
• 16Appointments are subject to Family Action receiving a satisfactory disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service. Enhanced Check for Child and Adult Workforce with childrens barred list

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

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

Employer details

Employer name

Family Action

Address

Off Centre

The Textile Building

Hackney

E9 6FJ

Employer's website

https://www.family-action.org.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)