Job summary
Hours of work: 18.75 hours (2.5 days pw, one of which must be Thursday)
An exciting opportunity has arisen as a Psychological Therapist at St Josephs. You will work as part of committed and creative team, which offers innovative, holistic and person-aligned care and support to people with palliative and end life care needs, and to their families and care givers.
The post is part of the Patient and Family Counselling team, which contributes to the provision of palliative and end of life care services. The post holder will work across inpatient, day care and community services providing psychological support services to people with complex emotional needs; in the context of being a patient with a terminal illness, a relative/carer for the patient or as a family member.
The post holder will be expected to work in a flexible way, adapting the service provided to meet the differing and changing needs of service users from a wide range of social and cultural backgrounds. They will also provide training, consultation and supervision.
Main duties of the job
Youwill need:
- Recognised qualification in a psychological therapy at Masters level or equivalent.
- Significant experience of providing counselling and working therapeutically with adults, children and families in a palliative care or aligned care setting.
- Experience of working within a multi-disciplinary setting alongside health and social care colleagues.
About us
St Joseph's Hospice was founded in 1905 by the Religious Sisters of Charity and as such it has a rich, Catholic heritage which informs our work today: to support and welcome those in need, from all different cultures, religions and backgrounds.
We provide high quality specialist palliative care for patients with cancer and other life-threatening conditions across East and North London. We have a large team of clinical staff who work across community, in-patient and out-patient services delivering individualised, responsive and holistic support to patients and their families/carers
Why work for us?
-
27 days holiday plus public holidays, increasing up to 33 days with service
- Subsidised cafeand early access to retail sale events
- Season Ticket/Welfare loans
- Continuation of NHS Pension Scheme or an excellent salary-exchange pension scheme
- Santander cycles discount and cycle to work scheme
- Health Cash Plan and access to the EAP services
We are an equal opportunities and a disability confident employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age.
Job description
Job responsibilities
CLINICAL
- Carry out assessment of adult, couple and family referrals taking into account the psychological needs of the individual, couple, child or family group.
- On the basis of the above, develop in conjunction with the client and other professionals, a psychological treatment plan.
- Review and, if necessary, alter treatment plans to take into account changing client needs.
- Work jointly with colleagues from own and other disciplines both directly with clients and in a consultative capacity.
- Maintain an ongoing awareness of risks to clients, and their families, including harm to self and others, taking appropriate action as required.
- Refer clients on to other professionals/agencies if/when needs are identified which are beyond the scope of the service.
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
- Maintain own professional development in line with the expectations of relevant accrediting bodies e.g. British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists, United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy, Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice, or the Health and Care Professions Council.
- Provide specialist consultation, advice and guidance to other colleagues working with and alongside patients and families
- Attend line management meetings and clinical supervision in line with hospice policy and professional guidelines.
- Attend appropriate training courses and professional meetings to ensure that practice takes into account new developments in service provision.
- Maintain an awareness of research findings regarding area of expertise.
- Deliver training to internal and external staff within specialist palliative care as part of the hospices education service.
- Work collaboratively with other relevant hospice staff to identify and address unmet training needs in relation to taking therapies and psychological wellbeing.
- Provide consultation to own and other disciplines regarding psychological care of patients and their families.
COMMUNICATION
- Attend team and MDT meetings in relation to the care of complex clients and the development of services /training, providing verbal reports as required.
- Liaise with professional colleagues regarding clinical work in line with hospice and professional ethical guidelines.
- Provide reports regarding clinical activity as required by management/contract specifications.
MANAGEMENT
- Contribute to the day-to-day management of the team workload as defined by the Psychological Therapies Manager. This may include monitoring of workflow, evaluating the impact of services, contributing to team audits and reviews, and the development and implementation of policies and procedures
- Make initial safeguarding assessments and referrals in line with hospice policies and procedures.
- Contribute to the recruitment, development and supervision of volunteers within the team having direct responsibility for a volunteer counsellor/trainee depending upon the needs of the service.
- Take a lead role in relation to new developments within the service/hospice where required and appropriate.
ADMINISTRATION
- Maintain confidential records of all counselling/therapy activities in line with hospice policy
- Enter details of client contact in a timely way to electronic multidisciplinary records balancing the need to respect confidentiality of sensitive personal information and the need to share information which will enhance the understanding and working of other key professionals.
- Word process letters, reports and minutes of informal meetings.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- Abide by the rules of professional conduct laid down by the appropriate professional body.
- Act as a representative for psychological therapies professionals, both within St Joseph's Hospice and in the wider health community.
- Identify own learning and development needs in order to meet the key requirements of the post.
- Take responsibility for own continuing professional development receiving regular line management and supervision. Actively seek to develop skills and knowledge through a process of reflection with peers inside and outside the department.
- In agreement with the Psychological Therapies Manager, identify appropriate training and development opportunities appropriate to the post.
Job description
Job responsibilities
CLINICAL
- Carry out assessment of adult, couple and family referrals taking into account the psychological needs of the individual, couple, child or family group.
- On the basis of the above, develop in conjunction with the client and other professionals, a psychological treatment plan.
- Review and, if necessary, alter treatment plans to take into account changing client needs.
- Work jointly with colleagues from own and other disciplines both directly with clients and in a consultative capacity.
- Maintain an ongoing awareness of risks to clients, and their families, including harm to self and others, taking appropriate action as required.
- Refer clients on to other professionals/agencies if/when needs are identified which are beyond the scope of the service.
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
- Maintain own professional development in line with the expectations of relevant accrediting bodies e.g. British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists, United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy, Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice, or the Health and Care Professions Council.
- Provide specialist consultation, advice and guidance to other colleagues working with and alongside patients and families
- Attend line management meetings and clinical supervision in line with hospice policy and professional guidelines.
- Attend appropriate training courses and professional meetings to ensure that practice takes into account new developments in service provision.
- Maintain an awareness of research findings regarding area of expertise.
- Deliver training to internal and external staff within specialist palliative care as part of the hospices education service.
- Work collaboratively with other relevant hospice staff to identify and address unmet training needs in relation to taking therapies and psychological wellbeing.
- Provide consultation to own and other disciplines regarding psychological care of patients and their families.
COMMUNICATION
- Attend team and MDT meetings in relation to the care of complex clients and the development of services /training, providing verbal reports as required.
- Liaise with professional colleagues regarding clinical work in line with hospice and professional ethical guidelines.
- Provide reports regarding clinical activity as required by management/contract specifications.
MANAGEMENT
- Contribute to the day-to-day management of the team workload as defined by the Psychological Therapies Manager. This may include monitoring of workflow, evaluating the impact of services, contributing to team audits and reviews, and the development and implementation of policies and procedures
- Make initial safeguarding assessments and referrals in line with hospice policies and procedures.
- Contribute to the recruitment, development and supervision of volunteers within the team having direct responsibility for a volunteer counsellor/trainee depending upon the needs of the service.
- Take a lead role in relation to new developments within the service/hospice where required and appropriate.
ADMINISTRATION
- Maintain confidential records of all counselling/therapy activities in line with hospice policy
- Enter details of client contact in a timely way to electronic multidisciplinary records balancing the need to respect confidentiality of sensitive personal information and the need to share information which will enhance the understanding and working of other key professionals.
- Word process letters, reports and minutes of informal meetings.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- Abide by the rules of professional conduct laid down by the appropriate professional body.
- Act as a representative for psychological therapies professionals, both within St Joseph's Hospice and in the wider health community.
- Identify own learning and development needs in order to meet the key requirements of the post.
- Take responsibility for own continuing professional development receiving regular line management and supervision. Actively seek to develop skills and knowledge through a process of reflection with peers inside and outside the department.
- In agreement with the Psychological Therapies Manager, identify appropriate training and development opportunities appropriate to the post.
Person Specification
General Requirements
Essential
- Please refer to job description above
Desirable
- Please refer to job description above
Person Specification
General Requirements
Essential
- Please refer to job description above
Desirable
- Please refer to job description above
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.
