Counsellor

Job responsibilities

JOB SUMMARY

To provide an emotional support and counselling service for patients and their families requiring specialist palliative care. To work alongside a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) for the community, community care units, outpatients and those using in-patient specialist palliative care beds, within the Great Yarmouth and Waveney area.

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PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

To work jointly within the MDT to provide emotional support and counselling to patients, relatives and carers of all ages in various settings outpatients, community, inpatient beds and community care unit locations.

To provide individual counselling support in person, online or by telephone where appropriate.

To provide support in groups where appropriate.

To appropriately manage referrals to the service, prioritising responses against urgency and need.

To work as part of the team staffing the Emotional Wellbeing Enquiry Line providing telephone support, managing telephone enquiries, triaging and organising referrals, providing emotional support to the inpatient unit.

To establish person centered goals and evaluate intervention.

To maintain the standards of professional accountability in practice as determined by the relevant professional bodies.

To hold a caseload for patients and their families. To coordinate ongoing care, where needed and to communicate with the rest of the hospice team and other professionals, as required.

To maintain up to date and comprehensive treatment records.

To maintain an awareness of both individual and corporate needs of patients and their families and participate in family meetings when necessary.

To provide follow-up bereavement support where appropriate.

To participate in regular supervision to meet professional regulations.

To maintain a working knowledge of local bereavement support to ensure adequate follow up care for relatives where appropriate.

To support volunteers and/or students working with the Emotional Wellbeing Team.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

To devise with the Emotional Wellbeing Team leader a personal development plan in line with the Hospice objectives and personal needs.

To maintain and increase personal professional skills.

PERSONNEL RESPONSIBILITIES

To recognise indications of staff stress and to facilitate staff support.

To participate in the induction of all new staff, as required.

As requested, to participate in professional placements.

To participate in the recruitment of staff as requested.

To act as a Link role to volunteers.

EDUCATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

To participate in the Hospice education programmes.

To give feedback from attended education programmes/study days to the MDT.

To maintain awareness of research and relevant findings and in conjunction with the MDT, work towards these being applied to practice.

To promote good practice in palliative care in the community through professional networking and initiating specialist training programmes where appropriate.

ORGANISATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

To work at all times within the policies of the Hospice and national professional guidelines at all times.

To uphold the hospice and individual team values at all times.

To ensure effective use of resources.

To participate in relevant activities which promote the Hospice as requested.

To respect at all times the confidentiality of information covering patients, staff and

Volunteers.

To play an active part in the development and maintenance of good relationships with all those who have business with the Hospice.

To promote the Hospice Philosophy of Care towards patients, relatives and visitors.

Personal Qualities

Essential

• High level of self-awareness and commitment to own continued personal and professional development.
• Confident and mature approach.
• Confident to work in a variety of environments, including patients own homes.
• Flexible and approachable.

Qualifications

Essential

• Counsellor qualification registered with BACP/UKCP (level 5)

Desirable

• Minimum of 2 years post qualification experience
• Proven experience in adult community care or adult palliative care
• Looking at working towards/working towards an advance qualification e.g. MA, PHD

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working within a multi-disciplinary team.
• Good knowledge of attachment and loss theory and current bereavement thinking and research.
• Experienced in providing counselling to a range of people including those with serious life threatening illness and facing loss.
• Experience of planning, delivering, monitoring and evaluating care needs interventions that are complex and subject to change.
• Able to contribute to service development.
• Skilled in use of evaluation tools.

Desirable

• Experience of working in a health or social care setting.
• Previous experience of supervising volunteers.
• Experience in leading groups.
• Experience of working with couples and families.
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Specific Skills

Essential

• Highly developed interpersonal skills, including listening, empathy, and advocacy.
• Excellent written communication skills.
• Good organisational skills.
• IT and computer literate.
• Confidence to work independently and as part of a team.
• Current driving license and access to own transport.

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).