Senior IPT Counsellor

Job responsibilities

Clinical Work:

To assessand treat people stepped toCounsellingasappropriate.

To complete all mandated session by session outcome measures.

To have autonomous professional responsibility for clients referred.

To formulate and implement a counselling contract, based onan appropriate conceptualframework, of thepersonspresenting issues within the protocols and proceduresestablishedby Talking Therapies(in line with NICE guidance, the Talking Therapies manual and suitability for an Talking Therapies service).

Torecognise and assessrisk(including child and vulnerable adult protection)and raise matters in line with Talking Therapies/SHSC policy.

To manage all aspects of arranging and working with interpreters whenassessed as necessaryfor the Counselling contract.

Tosensitivelycommunicate complex information to clients to encourage therapeutic engagement.

To ensure record keeping in line with Sheffield Talking Therapies Standard Operating Procedures. This includescontemporaneousnotes completed within 24 hours on the agreed patient record system. Checking SHSC patientadministrationsystems prior to taking on new patients. To check any risk or suitability issues and to send a discharge summary to GP practices once completed treatment.

Tomaintaina high levelof clinical practice by attending your own Individual and GroupSupervision.

Leadership role as Senior Counsellor:

Toprovideevidence-base modalityindividual and groupsupervision.

To provide an overview of Counselling supervision in the evidence-based modality. Including working collaboratively with other Senior Counsellors and Professional Lead Counsellor to ensure four live supervisions per year in line with service policy and the National Talking Therapies manual.

Toprovide leadership to those providingcounsellingconsultation to Talking Therapies colleagues to ensure suitability for the evidence-based modality offer in Talking Therapies.

To have an overview of the evidence-based modality waiting list, suitability decision making and recovery rate taking action to improve waiting times, suitability decisions and ensuring an evidence-based modality recovery rate of at least 50%

To support the achievement of a 50% recovery rate for the evidence-based modality, highlighting areas of best practice to share from other Counsellors and undertaking a monthly review of non-recovered Talking Therapies cases within the evidence-based modality to identify themes for ongoing development and improvement.

To participate in and contribute to theTalking TherapiesCPD Events, to develop and co-facilitate counsellor forums, supervision forums as appropriate alongside the Professional Lead Counsellor.

To meet key objectives for this role outlined in individual performance reviews and respond to agreed individual objectives aligned with meeting the service objectives of achieving all three National Talking Therapies standards.

To continue to gain professional training and experience making a commitment tocontinual professional development.Including responding toadditionaltraining request by NHS England in line with Talking Therapiesprovidingevidence-based interventions.

Ensure all mandatory training is up to date in line with service protocol.

Attend Leadership meetings as required.

Service development

To be research aware and able to contribute to the research program supported by the Talking Therapies service where appropriate.

To act in an informedproactivemanner to support improvedaccessto the Talking Therapies service for people who use the service.

To contribute through the Talking Therapiesdata set and other evaluation tools to improvethe quality and effectiveness of evidence-based counselling modalities.

To be able to use all the required electronic systems used by SHSC and Talking Therapies.

The post holder should be comfortable in the use of computer technology, have basic keyboard skills andhave the ability touse email. In addition to this the ability to conduct videoconferencing as a treatment option.

To attend and support others in attending clinical and practice meetings as part of the Talking Therapiesteam and work closely with the Primary Health Careteamwhereappropriate.

To support ongoing development of Counsellors practicing in evidence-based modalities, highlighting CPD needs and developing a yearly CPD plan. To collaborate with other Senior Counsellors and Professional Lead Counsellor to the development of best practice in Counselling in Sheffield Talking Therapies by developing and delivering ongoing quality improvement.

Tomaintainup to date knowledge and an active involvement with current developmentsin the area ofTalking Therapiesand counselling.

To maintain annual accreditation with a professional accrediting body relevant to providing individual psychological therapy / Counselling / psychotherapy and the required registrations for the Talking Therapies evidence-based competency-based trainings.

Knowledge & Skills

Essential

• Knowledge of the role of Talking Therapies counsellor and skills to deliver evidence-based modalities in the treatment of depression in line with the National Talking Therapies manual
• Skilled at achieving required standards through delivering agreed job plan in line with 20 clinical hours per week pro rata and ability to meet the minimum required 50% clinical recovery rate for Talking Therapies services
• Ability to use session by session outcome measures to monitor practice
• Knowledge and skills in the use of methods of Counselling appropriate in Talking Therapies e.g., contracting; assessment; implementing clinically appropriate interventions for depression; caseload management to achieve clinical contact hours required and managing endings
• Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively (verbally and written), communicating complex, highly technical or clinically sensitive information to clients, organisations and to other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
• Able to establish and maintain therapeutic relationships and alliances as well work within the Talking Therapies model and hold firm boundaries when necessary
• Skilled in providing advice on suitability of evidence-based counselling interventions to other professions in Talking Therapies, GPs and other stakeholders as appropriate
• Skilled at working across different teams
• Skilled at providing supervision within the evidence-based modality
• Skilled in supporting others to improve their practice
• Able to contribute effectively to service development and service improvement

Desirable

• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and Mental health

Training & Qualifications

Essential

• Qualified in a BACP approved Diploma in Counselling
• Registered and accredited with United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) or British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP or equivalent accrediting body). It is essential that registration and accreditation must be maintained throughout employment
• Qualified as a Counsellor and Supervisor in Person Centred Experiential Counselling for Depression (PCE CfD)
• Qualified in Interpersonal Therapy (IPT)

Desirable

• Further formal and relevant post accreditation training (relevant to the Talking Therapies counsellor role)
• Training in healthcare leadership
• Willing to take IPT supervision training & PCE-CfD supervision training

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working in a Talking Therapies service delivering counselling for people with depression
• Experience of Counselling in Primary Care settings working collaboratively with GPs and the wider Primary Care Team
• Experience of delivering brief focus Counselling interventions with good patient outcomes
• Experience of working with adults, presenting with mild to severe symptoms of depression in line with suitability for a Talking Therapies service
• Maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotional and distressing problems
• Demonstrate clinical leadership
• Experienced evidence-based modality supervisor in 1-1 and group work
• Experience of supporting others to improve their clinical practice and patient outcomes
• Experience of leading meetings such as forums and CPD sessions

Desirable

• Experience of the application of evidence-based counselling modalities in different cultural contexts
• Experience of delivering evidence-based modality supervision

Other

Essential

• Ability to work 18.75 hours per week in order to meet the requirements of the role
• Ability to be flexible and work across Sheffield depending on need
• Ability to be flexible with appointment times to meet patient need (where needed to offer one early appointment and one late appointment per week outside 9-5 working hours and to work Saturdays if required, on occasion)
• Documented evidence throughout employment in line with requirements from professional body to maintain accreditation and professional registration, supporting others to maintain accreditation
• Strong evidence of commitment to personal development to maintain and deepen the capacity to withstand the emotional and ethical conflicts of the post and the capacity to maintain therapeutic focussed concentration for long periods of time. This can be demonstrated through different forms of continuing personal development and effective use of supervision.
• All clinical work undertaken in the service can be 100% face to face depending on service need and patient need. Any virtual clinics can be delivered at home or base providing aspects of the Agile working policy are followed.

Desirable

• Experience of working within a multicultural framework

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).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).