Suicide Prevention Therapist

Job responsibilities

The opportunity

We are seeking to recruit a Suicide Prevention Therapist to support men in suicidal crisis at our centre in central London. We are looking for an experienced mental health professional or therapist with demonstrable interest in suicide prevention. We will work with you and train you to develop your therapeutic skills to offer our collaborative semi-structured psychologically informed intervention. You will support the centre user and their supporter(s) to recover from the suicidal crisis and maintain their safety. You will report to a Senior Suicide Prevention Therapist.

We opened the London centre in 2022 and this appointment is the last part of our expansion phase. New therapists will join an experienced supportive team and will gradually build a caseload to meet the growth of referral partnerships and increased awareness raising in London. As a part of this phase of the expansion, therapists may be involved in outreach, partnerships and other projects before dedicating their time to a full caseload supporting four men in suicidal crisis per day.

The Charity

James Place exists to stop men dying by suicide. We opened our first centre in 2018 in Liverpool, the first of its kind in the UK, in 2022 we launched our second centre in London, and this year we opened our third centre in Newcastle. To date, we have supported over 1500 men and delivered over 7000 sessions of our life-saving intervention. James Place is a therapy centre for men who are experiencing a suicidal crisis and it was set up to make the experience of finding help as easy as possible. It offers men a brief, intensive, therapeutic intervention in a safe environment. Men who walk through the door at James Place will be in a space where they feel valued and respected.

Building on the success of our centres in Liverpool, London and Newcastle, we are now expanding our model to reach more men in suicidal crisis. Our aim is to have five centres open across England by 2026.

Experience

Essential

• Essential Knowledge/Experience
• Demonstrable experience working with adults experiencing acute psychological distress
• Demonstrable knowledge of the impact of suicide on communities and individuals
• Demonstrable knowledge of social and other factors which could lead to suicidal thinking and actions
• Demonstrable knowledge of the particular difficulties contributing to male suicide
• Evidence of being able to deliver a therapeutic session
• Effective communication skills (written & verbal)
• Good interpersonal skills with the ability to manage difficult situations
• Able to assess, plan, implement & evaluate therapeutic interventions
• Able to work as an effective team member
• Able to prioritise own workload
• Self-motivated, uses own initiative and will make decisions
• Good time management
• Promotes peoples equality, diversity and rights
• Knowledge and understanding of Safeguarding Procedures
• Knowledge of Service Governance and Evaluation
• Commitment to clinical supervision

Qualifications

Essential

• Essential Qualifications
• A Core Profession such as Mental Health Nurse, Occupational Therapist or Social Worker registered with NMC, HPC, BASW.
• Or
• Therapists registered with IAPT, BACP, UKCP, BABCP, NCPS
• Or
• Psychology Graduate with experience of working as a Psychology Assistant or extensive experience of working within secondary mental health services

Essential Skills

Essential

• Essential Skills
• Commitment to working with men who are experiencing a suicidal crisis and their supporters.
• An ability to work in a therapeutic environment.
• An ability to manage therapeutic sessions.
• An ability to maintain boundaries within a time-limited intervention.
• An ability to maintain up to date service user records in line with James Place standards.
• Able to conduct effective risk assessments and collaborative safety plans with men who are presenting with a high risk of suicide or be willing and able to learn how to do so.
• An ability to maintain own personal safety and the safety of others within the centre.
• An ability to manage an allocated caseload.
• An ability to identify if the service offered is not adequate to maintain the persons safety and facilitate a rapid transfer to the most appropriate service.
• An ability to collaborate with centre users in the development of a person centred, individual intervention plan.
• An ability to engage the service user in the intervention plan, overcoming barriers to communication.
• Please note, candidates will be reviewed and interviewed on an ongoing basis, so please apply early as the role may close prior to closing date if a suitable candidate is appointed.
• If you have any questions about the role please email robyn.hart@jamesplace.org.uk
• When you apply for this role we will be in touch for you to provide a cover letter. It is important to demonstrate you have the knowledge, skills and experience we are looking for in your CV and cover letter. Please keep your cover letter to less than 2
• sides of A4

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).