Job summary
This is an exciting opportunity for applicants to be part of a new initiative to receive training and work as part of the national improving access to psychological therapies programme (IAPT). Health Education England (HEE) is piloting a new salaried training pathway that will provide trainee Psychotherapeutic Counsellors with skills in the practical application of psychotherapeutic counselling and a defined standard of competency in the NICE-recommended Person-Centred Experiential - Counselling for Depression (PCE-CfD). The training provider for this pathway is to be Metanoia Institute.
These posts are recruit to train positions and so all candidates will need to apply for both the trainee role with with the Brent IAPT service and apply to the PCE-CfD NHS Psychotherapeutic Counselling programme at Metanoia Institute through the Metanoia website and the link is below. You must do BOTH, otherwise your application will not be considered.
https://www.metanoia.ac.uk/programmes/career-development-pathways/nhs-psychotherapeutic-counselling-programme-person-centred-experiential-counselling-for-depression-pathway/
As this is a training position, please be aware that this is a dual application process where you must be employed in a Recruit to Train funded job to also receive a place on the course, and vice-versa.
Please note that when you apply to this role, your name will be shared with the Higher Education Institute (HEI) running the course.
Main duties of the job
Vaccination
The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users and we will therefore be seeking proof of vaccination or medical exemption during the recruitment process.As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings
These roles will be best suited for applicants that are able to balance a busy work and study schedule. You will be an employee at the service but also enrolled for 2 days a week on a Postgraduate Diploma course (3-4 days a week for the first term of year 1 to gain readiness to begin practice).
The course will be a mixture of in person training at Metanoia Institute in Ealing, West London and online live input via the zoom platform. As this is a Postgraduate level diploma, you will also be required to be able to study and write academic material at this level. Applicants must be prepared to study and write assignments outside of protected study time (such as on weekends and after work).
Your 2 days of clinical placement will be at the Brent IAPT team bases at Willesden and Kingsbury and you are required to come on site to see patients face to face and attend supervision.
About us
The Brent Talking Therapies Service works to the IAPT national programme and is part of Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust. We are a large and busy service with a diverse staff group. All staff are trained to work with people with long term health conditions as part of their counselling intervention, and we provide training to support this work. The main service hub is based at Fairfields House in Kingsbury with an additional hub at Bell House in Willesden. This is shared with other Trust colleagues working in secondary care.
It is a large and well established service, and provides individual and group based treatments for the population of Brent in many different languages. The service is responsible for the provision of Low intensity and High Intensity therapies within the standards of stepped care model. The counselling service is part of step 3 provision and includes generic brief focused counselling from different approaches, including DIT, Counselling for depression and couples counselling.
The service meets a high level of need given current resources and has good links with local community and voluntary sector organisations. The service, also has good recovery rates. There are clear and well defined systems for triaging and screening of incoming referrals, allocation of clients to step 2 and step 3, management of waiting lists and stepping up and stepping down clients as appropriate.
Job description
Job responsibilities
All candidates entering the programme should hold evidence of academic credit or equivalence allowing entry to the Level 7 programme. A degree at 2:2 or above in any relevant subject, or equivalent, should be considered the minimum requirement for entry. Candidates without a degree at 2:2 or above may be able to secure a place by demonstrating competency via a portfolio of evidence, which meets specified academic equivalence requirements.
Candidates should show proficiency in reading, writing and spoken English of a standard necessary to support academic study and professional practice at Level 7 - IELTS 6.5 overall with a minimum of 6.0 in each element.
All candidates should have completed a Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills, which ordinarily involves a minimum of 10 days or 60 hours of face-to-face tuition at level 2 or level 3. Online courses are not acceptable. Please note: L2 Award, Helping Skills and Introductory courses are not accepted.
Job description
Job responsibilities
All candidates entering the programme should hold evidence of academic credit or equivalence allowing entry to the Level 7 programme. A degree at 2:2 or above in any relevant subject, or equivalent, should be considered the minimum requirement for entry. Candidates without a degree at 2:2 or above may be able to secure a place by demonstrating competency via a portfolio of evidence, which meets specified academic equivalence requirements.
Candidates should show proficiency in reading, writing and spoken English of a standard necessary to support academic study and professional practice at Level 7 - IELTS 6.5 overall with a minimum of 6.0 in each element.
All candidates should have completed a Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills, which ordinarily involves a minimum of 10 days or 60 hours of face-to-face tuition at level 2 or level 3. Online courses are not acceptable. Please note: L2 Award, Helping Skills and Introductory courses are not accepted.
Person Specification
Qualification
Essential
- Recognised degree at 2:2 or above in any relevant subject, or equivalent, or Demonstrates competency via a portfolio of evidence, which meets specified academic equivalence requirements
- Completed a Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills, (minimum of 10 days or 60 hours of face-to-face tuition at level 2 or level 3). Note: Online courses are not acceptable. L2 Award, Helping Skills and Introductory courses are not acceptable.
Experience
Essential
- Show a commitment to working with people with common mental health problems
- Demonstrable interpersonal skills and values consistent with providing hopeful, person-centred care within the IAPT stepped model of care
- Evidence of working within a team environment
- Evidence of communicating with individuals from diverse backgrounds
- Demonstrates high standards in written communication
- Able to write clear reports and letters
Desirable
- Evidence of working with people who have experienced a common mental health problem.
- Evidence of working in the local community
- Previous clinical or professional expertise in mental health
- Worked in a setting where agreed targets in place demonstrating clinical outcomes
- Experience managing own caseload and time
- Evidence of working in the local community
- Experience of working in partnership with other services
Skills and Competencies
Essential
- Ability to integrate training into practice
- Demonstrates warmth, kindness, compassion, empathy , authenticity, maturity and good listening skills
- Capacity for reflexivity and understanding and ability to respect and observe professional boundaries
- Ability to be vulnerable and make use of and reflect upon own life experience
- Ability to cope with the intellectual and academic requirement
- Awareness of and ability to explore issues of difference and equality and the nature of prejudice and oppression
- Good IT skills, organisation and time management
- Ability to listen, be present and attentive
- Ability to come alongside people experiencing emotional and psychological distress
- Ability to be self-critical and use both positive and negative feedback
- Ability to recognise the need for personal and professional support and self-care
- Able to develop good therapeutic relationships and maintain professional boundaries
- Excellent organisational and time management skills including ability to manage conflicting demands and work under pressure
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including telephone skills
- Computer literate - with skills required to manage electronic patient records
Desirable
- Received training in and carried out risk assessments within scope of practice
- Ability to use clinical supervision and personal development activity positively and effectively
Knowledge
Essential
- Demonstrates an understanding of and commitment to evidence based practice (as outlined in NICE guidance) for anxiety and depression and the IAPT stepped care model.
- Demonstrates a knowledge of the issues surrounding work and meaningful occupation and the impact it can have on mental health
- Demonstrates an understanding of anxiety and depression including the wider impact for the whole person
- Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence based psychological therapies and how it relates to this post
Desirable
- Knowledge of medication used in anxiety and depression and other common mental health problems
Training
Essential
- Able to meet all the requirements of the IAPT Psychotherapeutic Counsellor training
- Able to complete academic components of the full training programme including Foundation course, and postgraduate diploma.
Other
Essential
- High level of motivation to work within IAPT services and complete the psychotherapeutic counselling training
- Willingness and ability to travel to locations throughout the organisation
- Willingness and ability to work through interpreters
- Ability to be self-reflective, whilst working with service users, in own personal and professional development and in supervision
- Ability to foster good working relationships
- Regard for others and respect for individual rights of autonomy and confidentiality
Desirable
- Fluent in languages other than English
Person Specification
Qualification
Essential
- Recognised degree at 2:2 or above in any relevant subject, or equivalent, or Demonstrates competency via a portfolio of evidence, which meets specified academic equivalence requirements
- Completed a Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills, (minimum of 10 days or 60 hours of face-to-face tuition at level 2 or level 3). Note: Online courses are not acceptable. L2 Award, Helping Skills and Introductory courses are not acceptable.
Experience
Essential
- Show a commitment to working with people with common mental health problems
- Demonstrable interpersonal skills and values consistent with providing hopeful, person-centred care within the IAPT stepped model of care
- Evidence of working within a team environment
- Evidence of communicating with individuals from diverse backgrounds
- Demonstrates high standards in written communication
- Able to write clear reports and letters
Desirable
- Evidence of working with people who have experienced a common mental health problem.
- Evidence of working in the local community
- Previous clinical or professional expertise in mental health
- Worked in a setting where agreed targets in place demonstrating clinical outcomes
- Experience managing own caseload and time
- Evidence of working in the local community
- Experience of working in partnership with other services
Skills and Competencies
Essential
- Ability to integrate training into practice
- Demonstrates warmth, kindness, compassion, empathy , authenticity, maturity and good listening skills
- Capacity for reflexivity and understanding and ability to respect and observe professional boundaries
- Ability to be vulnerable and make use of and reflect upon own life experience
- Ability to cope with the intellectual and academic requirement
- Awareness of and ability to explore issues of difference and equality and the nature of prejudice and oppression
- Good IT skills, organisation and time management
- Ability to listen, be present and attentive
- Ability to come alongside people experiencing emotional and psychological distress
- Ability to be self-critical and use both positive and negative feedback
- Ability to recognise the need for personal and professional support and self-care
- Able to develop good therapeutic relationships and maintain professional boundaries
- Excellent organisational and time management skills including ability to manage conflicting demands and work under pressure
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including telephone skills
- Computer literate - with skills required to manage electronic patient records
Desirable
- Received training in and carried out risk assessments within scope of practice
- Ability to use clinical supervision and personal development activity positively and effectively
Knowledge
Essential
- Demonstrates an understanding of and commitment to evidence based practice (as outlined in NICE guidance) for anxiety and depression and the IAPT stepped care model.
- Demonstrates a knowledge of the issues surrounding work and meaningful occupation and the impact it can have on mental health
- Demonstrates an understanding of anxiety and depression including the wider impact for the whole person
- Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence based psychological therapies and how it relates to this post
Desirable
- Knowledge of medication used in anxiety and depression and other common mental health problems
Training
Essential
- Able to meet all the requirements of the IAPT Psychotherapeutic Counsellor training
- Able to complete academic components of the full training programme including Foundation course, and postgraduate diploma.
Other
Essential
- High level of motivation to work within IAPT services and complete the psychotherapeutic counselling training
- Willingness and ability to travel to locations throughout the organisation
- Willingness and ability to work through interpreters
- Ability to be self-reflective, whilst working with service users, in own personal and professional development and in supervision
- Ability to foster good working relationships
- Regard for others and respect for individual rights of autonomy and confidentiality
Desirable
- Fluent in languages other than English
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.
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).
Additional information
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.
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
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Brent IAPT Service, Fairfields House,
Fairfields Crescent, Roe Green
Kingsbury, London
NW9 0PS
Employer's website
https://www.cnwl.nhs.uk/work (Opens in a new tab)
