Counsellor/Psychotherapist (NHS AfC: Band 6) - Clinical Health Psychology - Calderdale and Hudd[...]

Calderdale and Huddersfield Solutions Ltd; West Yorkshire; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 47,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a growing Cancer Psychological Service team within Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust as a Band 6 accredited counsellor or psychotherapist. In this role, you'll provide compassionate counseling to patients, manage a caseload, and work collaboratively with cancer care teams. Opportunities for professional development and flexible working arrangements are encouraged.

Qualifications

• Accredited Diploma in Counselling/Psychotherapy is required.
• Experience in delivering short-term time-limited work is essential.
• Continuous professional development evidence is necessary.

Responsibilities

• Deliver high-quality, time-limited counselling/psychotherapy to adult patients.
• Manage a caseload and maintain patient records.
• Contribute to referral triage and support multidisciplinary teams.

Skills

Communication Skills

Counselling Procedures

Psychological Therapy

Education

Diploma from British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy

Accredited status with UKCP or similar

Additional training in psychological therapy

Job description

Employer Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Huddersfield Royal Infirmary/Calderdale Royal Hospital Town Huddersfield/ Halifax Salary £38,682 - £46,580 pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 15/06/2025 23:59 Interview date 02/07/2025

Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust (CHFT) are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics.

We are committed to recruiting to our values. Leading One Culture of Care underpins our values by creating an environment, tone and behaviours across all parts of the Trust that are fundamentally rooted in compassionate care.

We are open to considering a wide range of flexible working arrangements. There are opportunities to flex the days of the week, hours and times of work and place of work including: part-time, job-share, flexible working hours and the possibility to work from home when appropriate. Please talk to us during the interview process to discuss any flexibility that you may require.

We received our Silver Award from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme which is helping actively promote SaBRE - Supporting Britain’s Reservists and Employers. This means that we provided its statement of intent to support all Defence personnel and we welcome application to work for us. Find out more - Why Choose CHFT?

Our Future Plans

The Department of Health and Social Care has awarded capital funding to invest in local health services at both Calderdale Royal Hospital and Huddersfield Royal Infirmary. This is a significant investment and an opportunity to enhance services for our populations in Calderdale and Huddersfield and West Yorkshire for generations to come. To find out more, please visithttps://future.cht.nhs.uk/

Job overview

We are delighted to offer an opportunity to become part of our Cancer Psychological Service team as a Band 6 accredited counsellor or psychotherapist. We are a friendly team of Clinical Psychologists and a secretary, and the service was established in 2017. The successful candidate will join a rapidly expanding Clinical Health Psychology Department within Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust (CHFT).

We are recruiting to a 0.8 WTE post on a 12-month fixed-term contract. We strongly encourage interested candidates to contact us to discuss the role.

An interest in working with patients with physical health difficulties is essential, however we appreciate that cancer is a specialist area in which candidates may not have experience. Most importantly we require a willingness and enthusiasm to learn condition specific information, which we will support you with.

Main duties of the job

As a counsellor or psychotherapist in the Cancer Psychological Services team you will deliver a compassionate, high quality, time limited counselling/psychotherapy service to adult patients referred to Cancer Psychological Services in Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust. You will manage a caseload and maintain patient records. The role involves contributing to referral triage alongside others and working closely with the cancer multidisciplinary teams to support them in their psychological work with patients.

Working for our organisation

We are a growing Clinical Health Psychology Department that has good relationships across CHFT. We are committed to developing excellent quality care that aims to meet psychological needs of patients who are treated within CHFT. We develop services in a patient focused way and compassionate care is at the heart of our department. We actively encourage and support CPD, supervision, service-related audit and research. As a newly established department, there is significant scope to work creatively in the continuation of new trust wide developments and be part of shaping our culture.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To assess, plan, implement and evaluate care and treatments using advanced clinical knowledge and clinical skills.

· To provide counselling/psychological therapy to adult patients in line with NICE guidelines and other relevant guidance, within agreed activity levels under appropriate supervision.

· To offer advice and consultation on patients’ psychological care to non-psychology colleagues.

· To work autonomously within professional guidelines taking full responsibility for their professional practice under the ethical framework of their accrediting organisation. Working in line with the policies and procedures of the Clinical Health Psychology department and CHFT organisational policies.

· To contribute to audit, policy, department meetings and service development as required.

· To support Cancer Psychological Service professionals with the development, delivery and co-ordination of groups, workshops and psycho education sessions as required.

· To assist in the development and facilitation of psychological supervision/reflective practice and peer support groups within the trust where needed.

· To work flexibly in response to service demands

Person specification

Qualifications/Training

• British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (or equivalent) accredited Diploma
• Accredited status with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (or equivalent, e.g. full clinical membership UKCP).
• Additional training in models of psychological therapy

Knowledge, experience & expertise

• Specialist knowledge of a range of counselling procedures and techniques
• Experience of delivering counselling interventions within a formal setting
• Experience of delivering short term time limited work
• Experience of regular supervised practice
• Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the appropriate professional registration body
• Diploma level knowledge of counselling practice, highly developed communication skills essential in performance of the role of counsellor
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of assessment and counselling interventions
• Awareness of own limitations
• Experience of delivering counselling interventions in a range of settings with a diverse range of patients
• Experience of delivering group work
• Experience of delivering counselling interventions within an NHS setting

Communication & Relationships

• The ability to communicate effectively in both written and oral formats, complex and highly sensitive information e.g regarding risk and treatment to patients, their wider system, and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
• The ability to plan, organise and flexibly manage own caseload, and adapting to the changing priorities of a complex organisational environment
• The ability to administer, score, and feedback psychometric outcome measures as an integrated part of patient work
• The ability to offer assessment and intervention with consent sometimes in highly sensitive and distressing situations and manage challenging behaviours, sometimes using interpreters
• Utilise appropriate clinical governance mechanisms within own work
• The ability to engage in reflective practice and make appropriate use of clinical supervision
• The ability to maintain appropriate patient records
• The ability to reassure and empathise with the patient and engage them in consenting to a plan for therapy
• The ability to use own initiative and make decisions independently
• The ability to work flexibly and with clinical autonomy as part of a team in a multi-professional context and in an acute healthcare context
• The ability to contain and work with organisational stress and the ability to contain the stress of others
• IT literacy skills for the purpose of writing reports, letters, as well as clinical programmes, which form part of treatment

Our vision is to provide One Culture of Care for one another in order that we can provide compassionate care for the people who use our services. We are passionate about creating a workplace where we work together to get results, encouraging colleagues to have their say, in order to co create the change we want to see. We take pride in the diversity of our workforce that’s why we encourage applications from all.Reasonable adjustments will be made for disabled applicants.

Please ensure your application is submitted with referees who can verify your employment/education history over the last three years and include valid email addresses for them. We will request electronic Factual Employment References from your previous employers. These references will be requested before you are issued with an unconditional offer of employment letter.

Candidates who require a Skilled Worker visa to work in the United Kingdom can determine the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for this position by assessing their circumstances against the criteria specified on theCheck if you need a UK visa - GOV.UK website. We encourage all applicants to review these criteria carefully to understand their eligibility for sponsorship.

If you are appointed to a post, information will also be transferred into the NHS Electronic Staff Records system. The Inter-Authority Transfer (IAT) process is a critical and beneficial component of ESR and following interview your previous NHS employment data, if applicable will be transferred from your current / most recent employer.

You may be required to undertake a DBS. The Trust will administer the DBS check on your behalf and will recover the cost (Enhanced £54.40, Standard £26.40 or Basic £26.40) from your salary when you commence in post (including Internal staff). You will also be required to participate in the DBS Update Service and pay the £16 cost per year. This is a condition of your employment.

CHFT is part of the West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts (WYAAT), a collaborative of the NHS hospital trusts from across West Yorkshire and Harrogate working together to provide the best possible care for our patients.

If you have any questions please contact [e-mail] for assistance.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name Dr Jaime Wood Job title Principal Clinical Psychologist Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 01484 343490

If you have problems applying, contact

Address Workforce and Organisational Development
Acre Mill
Acre Street
Lindley
Huddersfield
HD3 3EB
Telephone [phone]