Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner

Job responsibilities

The salary for this post is NHS comparable, and the successful applicant will be employed on Sunderland Counselling Service (SCS) terms and conditions, working within Sunderland Talking Therapies as a sub-contractor. The successful candidate will be entitled to SCS benefits such as access to our 24/7 employee assistance programme to support wellbeing and will be within a probationary period for 12 months. Sunderland Talking Therapies consists of a large multidisciplinary team including PWPs, Community Practitioners, High Intensity Therapies (of multiple modalities) and a counsellor. A Senior Management Team including Team Managers, Clinical Leads, Senior PWPs, Low Intensity Service Leads and a Clinical Manager oversee the service and support staff. Sunderland Talking Therapies also works as a single point of access for patients entering Talking Therapies or Counselling via Sunderland Counselling Service, Sunderland Mind and Washington Mind.

Our PWP workforce is a valuable and highly respected element of the service. The PWP role in our service is varied and will allow you to gain a wide range of experience and skills. As a service we are committed to developing the skills and knowledge of our PWPs through providing opportunities to participate in service development projects and complete further training e.g. PWP supervisors course, LTC training and leadership training. We are also committed to enhancing and maintaining the wellbeing of our PWP workforce.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working effectively as a PWP within a high-pressured setting (primary care or equivalent).
• Experience of managing own PWP clinical caseload.

Desirable

• Evidence of communicating with people from diverse backgrounds and using an interpreter.
• Experience of adapting Low Intensity CBT approaches to work with neurodiversity.
• Experience of adapting Low Intensity CBT approaches to work with individuals with long-term conditions and/or medically unexplained symptoms.

Other requirements

Essential

• Willingness and ability to work clinically on an evening where required by the service.
• Willingness and ability to travel to various locations for patient appointments.

Qualifications

Essential

• Qualification from an accredited PWP Training Course.
• PWP registration with BPS or BABCP or being able and eligible to apply for this immediately once in post.

Desirable

• Psychology or other health and care related undergraduate degree
• Completion of an accredited course relating to working with long-term conditions within Low Intensity therapy.

Knowledge

Essential

• An understanding of NICE guidelines for the treatment of anxiety disorders and depression and how these are applied in practice.
• An understanding of the importance of building good working relationships within a multidisciplinary team.
• An understanding of the role of clinical risk assessments within PWP work.

Desirable

• An understanding of the role and benefits of both clinical skills and case management supervision.

Skills and Competencies

Essential

• High quality and timely clinical note recording (e.g. session notes and care plans) and ability to write reports and letters
• Ability to build a rapport with service users.

Desirable

• Experience of using different modalities to deliver Low Intensity CBT, including face-to-face, and telephone guided self-help, online support and psychoeducational classes.

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).