Senior Counsellor

Job description

Job responsibilities

Clinical

1. To provide specialist Counselling assessments in at least one NICE recommended counselling for depression model of clients referred to the team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the clients care.

2. To formulate and implement plans for at least one NICE recommended counselling for depression model and/or management of a clients emotional and mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings.

3. To be responsible for implementing a range of Counselling interventions for individuals, groups families and carers, adjusting and refining psychological formulations, drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.

4. To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.

5. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.

6. To provide specialist psychological advice and consultation regarding at least one NICE recommended counselling for depression model to other members of staff, and to clients contributing directly in formulation, diagnosis and treatment plans when required.

7. To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group.

8. To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.

9. To communicate highly complex and potentially highly contentious information in a highly skilled and sensitive manner in situations with patients who may be extremely hostile or highly emotional requiring the highest level of communication skills. To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor and evaluate progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.

Person Specification

Education/Qualifications

Essential

• A post graduate qualification in Counselling or Psychotherapy e.g. a Masters
• Or A registered doctoral level qualification in clinical or counselling psychology
• Be Accredited with the BACP, UKCP or HCPC or similar professional registering body
• A qualification in a NICE recommended intervention for depression (CfD, IPT or DIT)

Desirable

• Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology or equivalent
• Completion of a clinical supervision training (short course) sufficient to be able to supervise IAPT trainees.

Skills & Abilities

Essential

• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
• An ability to formulate and provide treatment within a NICE recommended Counselling model (DIT, IPT, PC CfD or short-term psychodynamic counselling)
• Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
• Demonstrable interest in developing knowledge and skills in Counselling, post qualification.
• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

• Demonstrable experience in providing Counselling post qualification, including experience of specialist Counselling assessments (a minimum of 2 years post qualification is required).
• Experience of specialist psychological therapy assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings.

Desirable

• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in primary care and step2/step 3.
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.
• Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.

Other

Desirable

• Personal experience of mental health problems.

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

Whittington Hospital NHS Trust

Address

Crouch End Health Centre

45 Middle Lane

Crouch End

N8 8PH

Employer's website

https://www.whittington.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)