Counsellor

Job responsibilities

JOB DESCRIPTION Job Details

Job Title:

TALKWORKS Counsellor

Band:

6

Directorate:

Specialist Services

Department:

TALKWORKS

Base:

Devon

Responsible To:

Mid Devon Clinical Team Lead

Job Purpose:

The principal purpose of the job is to improve the psychological health & wellbeing of people within Mid Devon, with some remote work with clients from across Devon.

The post holder will work as a member of a TALKWORKS team working in an integrated stepped care IAPT service. The post holder will contribute to increasing the range of therapy choices available to people with depression by providing Person Centred Experiential Counselling for Depression (PCE-CfD) at step 3 within the stepped care model, following NICE guidelines. If required, the post holder will successfully complete a five day course in NICE-recommended PCE-CfD according to the IAPT national curriculum, provided by the Regional Development Centre, including supervised, assessed, practice.

The post holder will work with people with different cultural backgrounds and ages, using interpreters when necessary and will be committed to equal opportunities. Along with colleagues from TALKWORKS, the post holder will act as a representative of the service to primary care and other interests.

Duties and Responsibilities

Communication and Working Relationships

Clients, family and carers: To communicate in a highly skilled and sensitive manner with clients who may have specific difficulties in understand and/or communicating and who may be hostile, antagonistic or emotionally distressed.

Multidisciplinary team colleagues: To work closely with colleagues in the multiprofessional TALKWORKS service on a day to day basis.

Health, social care and employment staff: To communicate with a wide range of health, social care and employment staff in a highly skilled and sensitive manner, complex and sensitive information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients. To act at all times as a representative of the service to primary care and other interests.

Senior managers & professional staff: To maintain and build good working relationships with senior professional staff and managers.

Planning and Organisation

TALKWORKS: To plan and prioritise own workload within an agreed activity contract relating to the number of client contacts offered, and clinical sessions carried out per week, balancing the demands of patient care, support and guidance of team colleagues and staff from other teams and agencies, in response to supervision from service managers

The multidisciplinary service: Provide information on matters related to the practice and delivery of PCE-CfD to individuals/groups across DPT, Primary Care services and other statutory and voluntary agencies.

Responsibility for Judgement and Analysis

To have significant discretion and work independently within a defined occupational context making use of supervision. The post holder is responsible for their own professional actions, acting within Trust policies and procedures and Professional Practice Guidelines, working within clearly defined occupational procedures.

Responsibility for Patient/Client Care, Treatment and Therapy

1. Accept referrals via agreed protocols within TALKWORKS

2. Assess clients for suitability for PCE-CfD.

3. Make decisions on suitability of new referrals, adhering to the TALKWORKS referral protocols, and refer unsuitable clients on to the relevant service or back to the referral agent as necessary.

4. Formulate, implement and evaluate evidence based PCE-CfD for clients.

5. Adhere to an agreed activity contract relating to the number of client contacts offered, and clinical sessions carried out per week in order to minimise waiting times and ensure treatment delivery remains accessible and convenient.

6. Attend multi-disciplinary meetings relating to referrals or clients in treatment, where appropriate.

7. Work closely with other members of the team ensuring appropriate step-up and step-down arrangements are in place to maintain a stepped care approach.

8. Assess and integrate issues surrounding work and employment into the overall counselling process

Policy, Service, Research, Innovation and Improvement

Policy & service To implement policy led changes to own role and to comment on proposed policy changes. To participate in and propose changes to working practice in TALKWORKS

R & D: To participate in research and development undertaken by the service as required, and to undertake audit and evaluation of clinical activity

Responsibility for Finance, Equipment and Other Resources

Careful use of equipment

Responsibility for Supervision, Leadership and Management

Leadership & supervision: To contribute to the good functioning of the team and local service under the direction of the teams Clinical Team Lead and take on delegated task for the team as required. To supervise counselling trainees and junior counsellors as required

Information Resources and Administrative Duties

To complete the requirements relating to data collection within the service.

Keep accurate, coherent records of all clinical activity in line with service protocols using IAPTus, the digital patient record

To be responsible for using an email account to generate, monitor, and respond to the e-mail traffic by which the Trust conducts much of its internal communication.

Any Other Specific Tasks Required

To ensure all clinical care and treatment is carried out under appropriate supervision and leadership.

To continuously update the skills and techniques relevant to their clinical work.

To ensure the maintenance of standards of practice according to the employer and any regulating, professional and accrediting bodies (eg BACP, HPC), and keep up to date with new recommendations/guidelines set by the Department of Health (e.g National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence).

General Information

Equality & Diversity

Devon Partnership NHS Trust is committed to recruiting and supporting a diverse workforce and so we welcome applications from all sections of the community regardless of age, disability, sex, race, religion or sexual orientation, maternity/pregnancy, marriage/civil partnership or transgender status. The Trust expects all staff to behave in a way which recognises and respects this diversity in line with the appropriate standards.

Recovery

It is a requirement of all employees to have an understanding of the broad principles of the Recovery Approach and to incorporate them into every aspect of their work in support of the Trusts aim to provide services that support peoples recovery through being holistic and promoting social inclusion, self management, personal autonomy and independence.

Risk Management / Health and Safety

Employees must be aware of the responsibilities placed on them under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, ensure that agreed safety procedures are carried out and maintain a safe environment for employees, patients and visitors.

Records Management

The post holder has responsibility for the timely and accurate creation, maintenance and storage of records in accordance with Trust policy, including email documents and with regard to the Data Protection Act, The Freedom of Information Act and any other relevant statutory requirements.

Clinical Governance, Compliance and Performance

The post holder will be responsible for proving that the Care Quality Commission outcome areas have been met in all registered/related activities for which the post holder is responsible. Where outcomes are not met the post holder is expected to put in place/recommend action to improve. The post holder will proactively seek and engage the support of the governance teams in the Compliance and Corporate Development directorate to gather information as required. The post holder will build an understanding of and adhere to the CQC guidelines as well as the Trusts guidelines on the approach to maintaining CQC registration.

Prevention and Control of healthcare Associated Infection

The post holder is expected to comply with Trust Infection Control Policies and conduct themselves at all times in such a manner as to minimise the risk of healthcare associated infection.

Smoking

The Trust operates a non smoking policy. Employees are not permitted to smoke anywhere within the premises of the Trust or when outside on official business. Staff must also be mindful of public perception and must therefore not smoke whilst travelling in Trust identified vehicles or when can be identified as Devon Partnership Mental Health Trust staff.

Policies & Procedures

Trust employees are expected to follow Trust policies, procedures and guidance as well as professional standards and guidelines. It is your responsibility to read and familiarise yourself with all policies relevant to your job role. These are grouped into two sections, HR and Clinical and can be found on the Trust intranet site or via your line manager. You will also be required to comply with any training needs that arise from reviews or variations of policies and procedures.

Qualifications

Essential

• QUALIFICATIONS & TRAINING
• ESSENTIAL:
• Diploma in humanistic &/or person-centred, counselling or psychotherapy (a BACP recognised course or its
• equivalent - ie 450 hours skills and theory, 120 hours of supervised practice, 20 hours of personal therapy) covering knowledge and skill in a range of counselling procedures
• AND
• Registered with a statutory health or social care regulatory body
• (e.g. HSCPC, NMC)
• and/or BACP accredited/UKCP Registered as a Psychotherapeutic Counsellor / Association of Christian Counsellors Accreditation / National Counselling Society Accredited Professional registrant.

Desirable

• DESIRABLE:
• Post-graduate qualification in humanistic or person-centred counselling or psychotherapy.
• Qualification to provide clinical supervision to counsellors and psychotherapists (e.g. Certificate or Diploma in Supervision)

Experience

Essential

• EXPERIENCE
• A minimum of two years post-qualifying experience of providing brief counselling for clients with common mental health problems, particularly depression.
• Experience of providing counselling in organisations (e.g. primary care services).
• Has received training (either formal of through experience) and carried out risk assessments within scope of practice

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• Communication Skills:
• Able to develop good therapeutic relationships with clients to elicit highly sensitive personal information and demonstrate the core conditions of unconditional positive regard, empathic understanding and congruence.
• IT Skills:
• Good verbal and written communication skills with people using the service, primary care practitioners and workers in specialist mental health services
• Analytical & Judgement Skills:
• Able to accurately assess people presenting with depression and possible complex co-morbid conditions in primary care counselling / therapy services, including assessing risk and the appropriateness of the service to meet the persons needs, and personalise the evidence based counselling for depression protocol to meet individual needs.
• Skilled in decision making about the most appropriate evidence-based therapy to meet the persons needs
• Skilled in decision making about referral to specialist mental health services including crisis resolution services
• Planning & Organising Skills:
• Skills to manage own caseload to ensure delivery of an agreed activity contract relating to the number of client contacts offered, and clinical sessions carried out per week.
• Physical Skills:
• Keyboard skills
• Other skills:
• High level of enthusiasm and motivation for development and innovation in the delivery of evidence based therapies for people with common mental health problems.
• Able to attend and successfully complete a five day training in PCE-CfD

Desirable

• Driving licence

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).