Counsellor (Southwest London & Surrey)

Job responsibilities

Job Title:West London Counsellor

Team/Directorate:Family Support Services

Salary range/pay band:Family Support Band 6

Reports to:Head ofLead for Counselling and Family Support Service

Hours:37.5 hours

Location:Across both hospice sites Shooting Star House (base)

Job holder:Vacant

Part 1: Job Profile

a) Main purpose of job

The post holder will provide high quality counselling and psychological support to families accessing Shooting Star Childrens Hospices (SSCH) through the provision of group and individual interventions. This work addresses the psychological challenges associated with life-limiting conditions, and issues of loss and grief, including the sudden and unexpected death of a child.

The postholder will need to be comfortable with providing psychological care in a variety of therapeutic ways to provide evidence-based interventions in anticipatory grief, acute grief and 0-3 years post-death, using an adaptable approach to counselling.

Acute, time sensitive, trauma-informed psychological care is provided immediately post-death to minimise longer term experience of trauma, and to safety plan expertly, collaborating with partner agencies including GPs. The purpose of the counsellor is to assess, safeguard, advocate and in this immediate work, to provide individualised strategies to manage acute symptoms.

The post holder will provide risk assessment, and series of counselling sessions to parents predominantly, but also other family members and friends including children, young people and siblings (where qualified) and grandparents.

As part of the dedicated West London team, the individual in this role will be focused on understanding the needs of families in our community, seeking ways to engage those from diverse backgrounds in culturally appropriate care. This will include working with our Care Events team to design and provide formal and informal therapeutic groups and events.

b) Work relationships

The post holder is a member of the Counselling Team that works across our sites. The post holder is also part of a dedicated West London team of counsellors, therapists and family support workers, developing our work in this area of our catchment.

Our counsellors work closely with the other multi-disciplinary members of the hospice including therapists, social workers and family support workers, our symptom nursing team, in-house team, community nursing team, care administrators and fundraisers.

Counsellors, therapists and family support workers work closely with our Care Events Team, to provide a full and varied programme of events for families known to SSCH.

The individual in this role will work in partnership with external professionals involved in the care of children and families. The role involves networking with other local services, to enhance knowledge and understanding, and to support the quality improvement of SSCH services in North West London.

c) Decision making authority

The post holder will be required to risk-assess referrals and provide professional opinion concerning appropriate psychological interventions, and the ongoing provision of these. Safeguarding concerns should be escalated in line with SSCH policy.

The post holder will be responsible for scoping, designing, planning, leading and supporting therapeutic groups/events for parents and families.

The post holder will help achieve key objectives in line with SSCH strategy, updating the leadership team appropriately.

d) Scope of job

As part of our Psychosocial Services, specialist psychological care is offered to individual parents, couples, grandparents and families of life-limited children and bereaved families (including those who have experienced the sudden and unexpected death of a child). Depending on the outcome of the assessment, an appropriate intervention is put in place. This may be community-based urgent psychological support, a series of individual sessions (virtual or face-to-face), a therapeutic group hosted at one of the hospice sites, online or a community-based initiative.

The post-holder will contribute professional expertise to the initial and continual multi-disciplinary work around families, including reviewing initial assessments in an MDT, the provision of short and long-term interventions, signposting, information sharing, and developing resources and groups and events for children and families. The post holder will help engage the client in local support where appropriate, and help families build a peer network of support, enabling good bereavement outcomes.

As a member of SSCH Psychosocial Services, the post holder is involved in the holistic assessment of families, including those referred to the specialist bereavement service. Through a model of evidence-based, holistic care, the post holder will use assessment measures as part of their assessment considering the specific symptoms and needs of the client.

The postholder is responsible for ensuring and enhancing the quality, safety and effectiveness of psychological care offered to SSCH children and families. This involves seeking innovative, flexible, group and individualised approaches that meet the psychological needs of families, and continually developing professional knowledge and skills to respond to evolving needs within childrens palliative care. The scope of this role will include the use of multi-modal approaches to counselling; working strictly with a one discipline approach e.g. person-centred counselling, will not likely provide the breadth of intervention necessary for this client group. An openness to education and continued professional development and training opportunities are provided.

This care and support will predominantly be provided at Shooting Star House in Hampton and across North West London. Meetings may take place at Christophers in Guildford. Risk assessments, consultations, assessments and sessions for individuals, couples and families may take place virtually or in-person. Events and groups take place on all our sites and in the community. Hospice Care is provided 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, therefore the post holder is likely to be asked to work in the evening and weekends (pre-agreed).

General attributes

Essential

• Flexible and willing to undertake varied responsibilities as part of a team.
• Open to change, development, innovation and enhancement of care services.
• Empathetic and sensitive to others needs.
• Able to build good relationships with others (including staff, students, volunteers, supporters, children and families known to SSCH.
• Organised, methodical and able to multi-task.
• A good health record.
• Evidence of non-discriminatory non-judgemental practice.

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• A strong, psychotherapeutic underpinning of counselling practice.
• Ability to risk-assess referrals and make primary assessments of children with life-limiting conditions and their family members, utilising safeguarding knowledge and understanding.
• Flexibility, utilising multiple approaches and skills across clients to address the presenting need at that time.
• Ability to be responsive to urgent referrals, drawing on specialist knowledge to provide immediate support or advice.
• Understanding of the needs of the wider family experiencing child bereavement, with ability to advise families and professionals concerning appropriate support.
• Ability to utilise screening and wider assessment to identify where other psychological interventions may be beneficial for a family and refer internally/externally as appropriate.
• Awareness of relevant research concerning counselling and research concerning childrens palliative care, in order to ensure quality of care. Ability to work as an autonomous practitioner and member of a team.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Experience of using client databases.
• IT skills including use of Microsoft 365 applications.
• Car owner/driver with full UK drivers licence, with appropriate personal and business use insurance.

Desirable

• Fluent in an additional language
• Training/qualification in couples counselling
• Training/qualification in trauma-informed cognitive behavioural therapy
• Training/qualification in dialectical behaviour therapy
• Qualification in EMDR
• Training/qualification in family therapy
• Training/qualification in counselling for children and young people
• Training/qualification in coaching
• Understanding and experience of supporting families accessing neonatal care
• Knowledge of child death review process
• Knowledge of relevant local and national services that support children with life-limiting conditions and their families.

Qualifications

Essential

• Recognised counselling qualification.
• Accredited counsellor with BACP/UKCP.
• A minimum of two years post qualification experience as a counsellor.

Experience

Essential

• A strong, psychotherapeutic underpinning of counselling practice.
• Ability to risk-assess referrals and make primary assessments of children with life-limiting conditions and their family members, utilising safeguarding knowledge and understanding.
• Flexibility, utilising multiple approaches and skills across clients to address the presenting need at that time.
• Ability to be responsive to urgent referrals, drawing on specialist knowledge to provide immediate support or advice.
• Understanding of the needs of the wider family experiencing child bereavement, with ability to advise families and professionals concerning appropriate support.
• Ability to utilise screening and wider assessment to identify where other psychological interventions may be beneficial for a family and refer internally/externally as appropriate.
• Awareness of relevant research concerning counselling and research concerning childrens palliative care, in order to ensure quality of care. Ability to work as an autonomous practitioner and member of a team.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Experience of using client databases.
• IT skills including use of Microsoft 365 applications

Desirable

• Car owner/driver with full UK drivers licence, with appropriate personal and business use insurance.
• Fluent in an additional language
• Training/qualification in couples counselling
• Training/qualification in trauma-informed cognitive behavioural therapy
• Training/qualification in dialectical behaviour therapy
• Qualification in EMDR
• Training/qualification in family therapy
• Training/qualification in counselling for children and young people
• Training/qualification in coaching
• Experience of events management/therapeutic groups
• Understanding and experience of supporting families accessing neonatal care
• Knowledge of child death review process
• Knowledge of relevant local and national services that support children with life-limiting conditions and their families.
• .

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).