Area Counsellor Specialist/Psychotherapist/Psychological therapist

Job responsibilities

Role Purpose

To deliver an effective counselling service as an integral part of wider service provision, collaborating with local and national colleagues to ensure a local offer that is responsive, dynamic and flexible to need.

Supported by central Via Clinical Department (including clinical supervision) to provide and facilitate high quality talking therapy assessment and interventions across designated Via services as part of a multi-disciplinary team.

Be responsible for supervision of volunteer counsellors and other less experienced psychological professionals, acting as a professional lead for pre-registration counsellors, trainees, and students, in designated Via services.

Key duties and activities of the role

Clinical:

Provide specialist assessments drawing on complex data from a variety of sources.

Formulate and implement plans involving the psychosocial treatment and/or management of problems, utilising joint working where appropriate, based on an appropriate conceptual framework and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy (e.g. NICE guideline recommended interventions).

Provide advice and consultation on clients psychological care to colleagues and to other, non-professional carers.

Support the application of psychological principles in care delivery, using theory, evidence-based literature and research.

Undertake risk assessment and management relating to psychological interventions and ensuring appropriate action in accordance with legislation, professional and organisational requirements and best practice guidance.

Record, monitor and report on clinical work and communicate (in accordance with organisational requirements), in a skilled and sensitive manner, clinical information (including assessment, formulation, treatment plans and progress) to a variety of recipients (e.g. people who use services, their significant others, other professionals, formal panels, statutory and voluntary organisations) orally, in writing and electronically.

To engage in regular clinical professional supervision from the service HCPC registered practitioner psychologist, or alternative agreed qualified psychological professional if necessary.

Leadership:

Provide clinical supervision, guidance and professional oversight for volunteer counsellors, trainees, students, other less experienced psychological professionals, and other practitioners, within designated services and as needed, ensuring compliance with national internal and external best practice.

Ensure assessment, screening of service user suitability for counselling, and allocation is undertaken, including directly delivering this.

To record and oversee the recording of service user contact with the counselling service.

Provide service level operational leadership for designated VIA counselling volunteer services, as needed.

Facilitate psychological therapies service-related evaluation, policy and service development, as well as wider research.

Act as an effective conduit for communication between senior managers, partners, key stakeholders, and the designated therapy team.

Be involved in relevant audits/performance indicators and implementation of associated recommendations/action plans.

Lead on development and implementation of evidence-based talking therapy interventions and care packages

Implement policies and propose/facilitate changes to psychological therapies service

Meaningfully participate in appropriate multi-disciplinary/project meetings, advising on issues of service and policy development for the psychological care of people, who use our services, as well as wider operational and strategic issues.

Provide line management or oversee line management as appropriate for volunteer counsellors, trainees, students, and other less experienced psychological professionals.

Working with Vias People Team and clinical leaders to lead local recruitment, induction, development and training for the designated therapy team.

Work collaboratively with partner agencies to help improve our psychological therapies provision (e.g. universities, commissioners), developing and facilitating pathways into wider services such as mental health teams and social services.

To develop skills and contribute to professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision, as appropriate. Where relevant, complete course-related paperwork and reports.

General:

Work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the teams policies and procedures.

Manage the emotional demands of working with individuals with complex needs, including behaviours that the service can find challenging to manage.

Develop skills and competencies that assist in the delivery of current duties.

Work alongside management and their direct reports to effectively support a one team approach.

Qualifications

Essential

• Accredited postgraduate qualification (or its equivalent) as accredited by the BACP, UKPC, HCPC (Practitioner Psychologist), or the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP).
• Accredited as a supervisor by the UKCP, BABCP, or have completed a BPS approved supervision skills course or supervisor qualification from a substantial counselling modality supervision course (e.g. DIT, IPT, person centred experiential counselling for depression)
• Up to date registration with the BACP, UKCP, HCPC or BABCP

Desirable

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Experience

Essential

• Experience in the provision of talking therapy assessments and treatment of people with a range of psychological problems and severity, including co-occurring substance use and mental health problems, using formulation to inform complex decision making.
• Experience of providing supervision, training and/or consultation to other professional/non-professional groups.
• Demonstrable ability to plan, prioritise and organise own clinical work and team workload.
• Experience with routine outcome monitoring and audit.
• Skills in the effective communication of highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to a wide variety of recipients in a range of settings, including the ability to produce comprehensive and coherent letters, reports and associated documentation
• A demonstrable understanding of Health and Social Care regulatory requirements including the CQC, NICE and any other relevant bodies.
• Good IT skills including use of Microsoft Office programs, digital meeting platforms and Case Management Systems.
• Solution-focused, with an inclusive and innovative approach to service development.
• The ability to work calmly under pressure, ensuring that deadlines are met, and ensure all information is recorded in a timely manner.
• The ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, in different settings (e.g., written, spoken, presented, etc) in situations which may be highly emotive and to different groups of people.
• A demonstrable commitment to working in partnership with other professionals such as criminal justice agencies, primary care, secondary care, commissioners, community groups and other stakeholders to achieve good outcomes for people who use our services.
• Additional or willing to undertake further psychological training in relevant therapeutic modality (e.g. Person-Centred Counselling for Depression, CBT, EMDR, DIT).
• Sound and demonstrable knowledge of psychological issues relating to problematic substance use, including safeguarding and risk management.
• Experience of planning and coordinating an area of service development.
• Demonstrable leadership skills, team working, communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to maintain professional boundaries with professionals, colleagues and service users at all times.
• Ability to travel between localities and offer flexibility in response to service needs.

Desirable

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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).