Counsellor/Psychotherapist

Job description

Job responsibilities

Clinical and Client Care

. To provide specialist psychotherapeutic assessments, formulations and interventions for clients within Lewisham IAPT presenting depression, anxiety and other common mental health difficulties; within limits expected at Band 7.

.To provide culturally appropriate psychotherapeutic interventions with carers or families of referred clients when required.

To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans.

Contributing to team or service clinical functioning

To contribute to the effective working of the service and to a psychotherapeutically informed framework for the service.

To contribute to the team or services delivery of accessible and acceptable services to diverse local communities.

To be proactive in challenging discrimination and support the development of culturally competent services.

To liaise with referrers, GPs and other professionals concerned with clients in order to develop and review care plans.

Policy and service development

To implement policies and procedures in own area of work, and to propose improvements or beneficial changes.

To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities.

To contribute to service development through undertaking and participating in appropriate projects.

Care or management of resources

To take care of, and use carefully, the Trusts equipment and physical resources.

To have sufficient resources by estimating future needs and requesting or ordering supplies as needed.

Management and supervision

To supervise trainee psychotherapists within own area of specialism after completion of the relevant Supervision Training.

Teaching and Training

To provide occasional specialist training in psychotherapeutic approaches to care to other professions as appropriate.

To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and reports.

Record-keeping and Information Governance

To ensure that all information generated by own work is recorded as required by Trust policies and local procedures.

To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry.

Research and development

To undertake regular complex service evaluation, audits or research relevant to service needs.

Maintaining professional standards and continuing professional development

To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more senior psychotherapist according to (professional body) and Trust guidelines.

To ensure own Continuing Professional Development in line with BACP/UKCP/or HCPC and Trust Personal Development Plan requirements.

To maintain an up-to-date knowledge of current developments in professional and clinical practice and of relevant legislation and policies.

To comply with the BACP/ULCP/or HCPC standards or Code of Conduct, and ensure professional development in line with these.

To adhere to Trust policies and procedures.

General

To travel to different sites as appropriate and across the Trust when required.

To be aware of risk relating to aggressive and challenging behaviour amongst the client group, and follow trust policies relating to its management.

To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations and to support others involved in such situations.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• o To provide specialist psychotherapeutic assessments, formulations and interventions for clients with presenting depression, anxiety and other common mental health difficulties.
• o To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans.
• o Experience in receiving supervision and to supervise trainee psychotherapists within own area of specialism after completion of the relevant Supervision Training.
• o To provide culturally appropriate psychotherapeutic interventions with carers or families of referred clients when required.

Desirable

• oHaving completed the NICE recommended training of PCE-CfD and/or IPT.

Knowledge

Essential

• oTheoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatment of clients managed by Primary Care Mental Health Services.
• oKnowledge of psychological assessment and clinical psychometrics.
• oKnowledge of risk and safeguarding management.
• o Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health issues, child and adult protection, and equalities.

Skills

Essential

• oTo deliver psychological therapy across cultural and other differences.
• oTo select and administer specialist psychological assessments, interpreting and integrating complex data that require analysis, interpretation and comparison, drawn from several sources.
• oTo communicate skilfully and sensitively complex and sensitive information with clients, carers and colleagues overcoming barriers to communication including sensory, and emotional difficulties, cultural differences and hostility to or rejection of information.
• oTo plan and schedule assessment and interventions for individual clients and groups and carers, and for meetings such as CPA and case reviews.
• oAbility to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles.
• oAbility to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate.
• oAbility to manage emotionally stressful situations such as working with victims of abuse or trauma, or with people who engage in severe self-harming or aggressive behaviour.

Qualifications

Essential

• o MSc plus/or PG Diploma level additional training that has been accepted by the BACP and /or UKCP for purposes of professional registration. (A/I).
• oAccredited/close to obtaining accreditation with BACP and/or UKCP. (A/I)

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).

Employer details

Employer name

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Lind Clinic

James Lind House, Grove Street,

London

SE8 3RA

Employer's website

https://www.slam.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)