Counsellor/Counselling Psychologist

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust; Wembley; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare organization in the UK is looking for a qualified Counsellor/Psychotherapist to provide assessment and psychological therapy within primary care settings. Candidates must be registered on the Accredited Register with the Professional Standards Authority and have substantial post-qualification experience. The position involves working at multiple locations and requires flexible hours including evenings. Competitive benefits include 27 days of annual leave plus bank holidays, with opportunities for further professional development.

Benefits

27 days of annual leave plus bank holidays

Opportunities for career progression

Support for further training

Qualifications

• Qualified Counsellor/Psychotherapist registered on Accredited Register.
• Minimum 450 hours of client contact post-qualification experience.
• Experience in primary care settings using time-limited counselling.

Responsibilities

• Provide assessment and counselling for common mental health difficulties.
• Exercise responsibility for treatment and discharge of patients.
• Consult with GPs about psychological therapy aspects of care.

Skills

Psychological assessment

Clinical decision making

Multi-cultural competence

Independent working

Counselling in local languages

Education

Accredited Counsellor/Psychotherapist registration

Post-qualification training in IAPT modality

Training in additional specialty areas

Job description

Overview

NHS Talking Therapies services require all counsellors/psychotherapists to be registrants on the Accredited Register of Counsellors with the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). To be shortlisted, recruiters search the PSA Accredited Register for Counsellors of your professional organisation's register (BACP, BPC, COSCA, NCS, UK AHPP, UKCP, HCPC). Please ensure you provide the correct Registration Number in your application for us to confirm you are an Accredited Counsellor or Psychotherapist with your registering association. Counselling Psychologists are checked against the HCPC Register and would need experience of working within a counselling role. We would consider applicants who have not yet obtained accreditation but have submitted their applications and are awaiting a decision. This needs to be clearly noted in your supporting statement. This is within the London borough of Brent. The main hub is at Fairfields House in Kingsbury and a satellite hub at Bell House in Willesden Green. You will be required to work across both hubs and in other parts of the borough, e.g. GP surgeries/community settings. We operate an agile working policy. Staff combine remote working and being on-site to deliver face‑to‑face appointments and other service commitments that require a hub‑based presence. The post‑holder may be required to work at any times between 8am and 8pm on weekdays including an evening clinic as required by the service.

Responsibilities

• Provide a systematic time‑limited assessment and counselling / psychological therapy service to people with defined common mental health difficulties within the Primary Care setting.
• Exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of patients whose problems are managed by psychologically based care plans.
• Provide consultation to referring GPs and the primary and community care teams about psychological therapy aspects of patient care and a range of mental health issues; attend primary care meetings where appropriate.
• When necessary, arrange onward referral of patients to other NHS and non‑NHS teams and organisations in consultation with the referring GP.
• Work as part of local mental and physical health services to provide a clear patient pathway for patients receiving a range of psychological therapies and interventions.
• Provide comprehensive and timely clinical information when referring within and between these teams and services.
• Liaise with voluntary organisations and other mental and physical health agencies over patient care and provide advice around primary care issues; have extensive local knowledge of associated services.
• Use analytical and judgement skills across complex presenting facts or situations in devising an appropriate response and intervention.
• Responsible for keeping clinical records and maintaining patient records in secure locations across sites; ensure any patient‑identifiable data is not carried outside of these NHS premises or between sites.
• Provide brief focused counselling using an evidence‑based approach e.g. focal psychodynamic, client‑centred, solution focused, humanistic. Ability to deliver therapy in local languages is desirable.

Qualifications & Experience

• Qualified Counsellor / Psychotherapist, current registrant on the Professional Standards Authority Accredited Register of Counsellors (BACP, BPC, UKCP, NCS [Accredited Professional], COSCA, UKAHPP) OR Qualified Counselling Psychologist, current registrant with the HCPC.
• Substantial post‑qualification experience of generic counselling (minimum of 450hrs client contact), demonstrable through an additional supervisory reference.
• Continued professional development that includes learning/knowledge of other clinical modalities and theoretical models.
• Post‑qualification training in one or more IAPT modality e.g. DIT, IPT, CfD, Couples Counselling for Depression.
• Post‑qualification training in additional specialist mental health areas e.g. CBT principles, ACT.
• Recent experience of working with adults with common mental health problems.
• Recent experience of working in a primary care setting using brief, time‑limited counselling interventions.
• Assessed experience of undertaking assessments for brief therapy / counselling, including risk management.
• Experience of working with a wide variety of clients over the age of 16 years presenting with common mental health problems.
• Maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
• Experience of exercising clinical responsibility for clients' emotional care and treatment including maintaining confidentiality.
• Experience of assessing clinical risk in the context of common mental health problems.
• Experience of working in a multicultural setting and with diversity.
• Experience of working with adults with Serious Mental Illness.
• Experience of working therapeutically with people presenting with Long Term Health Conditions.
• Experience of working with interpreters.
• Experience of managing an independent and specialist caseload.

Skills

• Skills in psychological assessment for counselling, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
• Competency in working within a recognised theoretical framework.
• Ability to draw on an evidence‑base in choice of interventions in line with NICE Guidelines.
• Competency in working with a clinical model in brief counselling that includes working with a focus and goals for therapy.
• Ability to work independently and manage a caseload, with freedom to act and take decisions about patient care, within professional discretion.
• Ability to provide support to colleagues, GPs and other members of the Primary Care Team with knowledge of mental health issues as appropriate.
• Ability to offer mentoring to counsellors on placement within the team.
• Knowledge of more than one model of intervention and the ability to choose and apply different interventions.
• Familiarity with mental health issues in the field of primary care counselling.
• Familiarity with issues around clinical governance.
• Ability to provide counselling in mother tongue within the Brent population.

Benefits

• 27 days of annual leave, plus bank holidays, with an increase to 33 days with continuous service.
• NHS discount.
• Opportunities for career progression.
• Professional development, support for further training in a specialist IAPT modality, e.g. Brief Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy, Counselling for Depression and Couples Counselling for Depression. This will enable you to progress to a Band 7 IAPT High Intensity Counsellor with the service on completion of the training.