High Intensity Psychotherapeutic Counselling Trainee (DIT pathway)

Integrated Care System; Islington; On-site; GBP 37,000 - 46,000; Full time

Job summary

A local healthcare trust is seeking a High Intensity Psychotherapeutic Counselling Trainee. This role offers a three-year training program integrated with work in mental health services, requiring a relevant degree and experience with clients. Successful candidates will balance their studies at Roehampton University with practical client work in Islington. An excellent opportunity for those aiming to qualify as High Intensity Psychotherapeutic Counsellors.

Benefits

NHS Discounts

Generous annual leave

NHS pension scheme

Supportive working environment

Qualifications

• Must have experience working or volunteering with clients with mental health difficulties.
• Needs a degree at 2:2 or above or a portfolio demonstrating competency.

Responsibilities

• Complete a three-year NHS Talking Therapies training role.
• Attend university training and work as a counsellor in-service.
• Balance work and study effectively.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Team working skills

Ability to listen and reflect

IT proficiency

Ability to meet academic demands

Education

Recognised degree at 2:2 or above in relevant subject

Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills

Job description

High Intensity Psychotherapeutic Counselling Trainee (DIT pathway)

This post is part of NHS funded three-year Talking Therapies High Intensity Psychotherapeutic Counselling training programme in Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT)delivered by Roehampton University. Trainees will be attending their university course alongside their duties within Islington NHS Talking therapies (TT).

Main duties of the job

This is a three-year NHS Talking Therapies training role working towards a qualification as a High Intensity Psychotherapeutic Counsellor. Year one is a Band 5 foundation course. Upon successful completion, the candidate progresses to a two-year fixed-term Band 6 position in High-Intensity Psychotherapeutic Counselling.

Training involves 3 days per week with the training organisation (Roehampton University) and 2 days per week in-service working with clients, initially offering high intensity psychodynamic counselling and later Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT). The course will be a mixture of in person training and online live input via the zoom platform. As this is a Postgraduate level diploma, you will also be required to be able to study and write academic material at this level. Applicants must be prepared to study and write assignments outside of protected study time (such as on weekends and after work).

This role will be best suited for applicants that are able to balance a busy work and study schedule.

Successful applicants will need to be in a position to begin their training at the end of September 2025.

About us

North London NHS Foundation Trust (NLFT) is committed to improving mental health care across North London to deliver excellent services to our local people.

• We will provide consistently high-quality care closer to home.
• With our partners in North London and each borough we will ensure equity of outcome for all
• We will offer great places to work, providing staff with supportive environment to deliver outstanding care

Why NLFT?

• We develop and retain our staff through leadership behaviours and managers programme and many more opportunities.
• We promote flexible working and support staff with a range of health and wellbeing initiatives.
• NHS Discounts, generous annual leave and NHS pension scheme
• Excellent internal staff networ

In order to meet the needs of the Trust you may be required from time to time to work at different locations to your normal place of work. This may mean that you are required to work at any location that fall under Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey or Islington. The Trust reserves the right to require staff to work at such other places or locations as it considers reasonable and necessary on a temporary or permanent basis.

Job responsibilities

As this is a training position, please be aware that this is a dual application process where you must be employed in a Recruit to Train funded job to also receive a place on the course, and vice-versa. If you are ineligible for the University Course, you will be unable to be offered the role. If you withdraw from an employment offer but you have accepted a university offer, you will be unable to join the course. Trainee selection processes including shortlisting and interviews will be carried out jointly by recruiting IAPT services and Roehampton University. Successful applicants will need to meet both the requirements of the employing services job description and person specification and Roehampton University's entry requirements.

Please note that when you apply to this role, your name will be shared with Roehampton University. The service will usually be the Course Teams main way of contacting you until you have been sent an Offer, and so the Course Team at Roehampton Universitymay ask for information if it is missing but relevant to deciding eligibility.

Other information that might be shared includes:

Reason behind ineligibility for the course.

Queries regarding application (such as if you claim to have a professional registration without submitting certificates, the course may ask service to pursue more information)

Name change if you may have registered with a different name than HEI was given, they will confirm with service to ensure that they are reviewing the correct candidate.

If you apply to this job, you are giving permission for information to be shared between the Course Team at Roehampton University and the Recruitment team at the Service. The only information that is shared will be relevant to establishing eligibility for the job/course. No irrelevant information will be disclosed or discussed in relation to your application.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• oRecognised degree at 2:2 or above in any relevant subject, or equivalent, or Demonstrates competency via a portfolio of evidence, which meets specified academic equivalence requirements.
• oCompleted a Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills, (minimum of 10 days or 60 hours of face-to-face tuition at level 2 or level 3). Note: Online courses are not acceptable. L2 Award, Helping Skills and Introductory courses are not acceptable.

Experience

• Experience of having worked or volunteered with clients with mental health difficulties

Skills

• Excellent communication skills (written and spoken) with a range of audiences (e.g. patients, clients, colleagues)
• Demonstrate excellent team working skills
• Ability to listen to others, understand their perspective and reflect on your own responses, both your emotional ones as well as your actions
• Ability to use IT in the workplace, to communicate, keep notes & collect data.
• Ability to integrate training into practice
• Ability to meet the academic and intellectual demands of the course

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.

10 Manor Gardens, N7 6JS and/or Finsbury Health Centre EC1R 0LP and/or Islington GP surgeries

Clinical Co-ordinator, Relational Therapies

£37,259 to £45,356 a yearPer annum including Inner London HCAS

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

3 years

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

455-NLFT-0305

Job locations

Islington

10 Manor Gardens, N7 6JS and/or Finsbury Health Centre EC1R 0LP and/or Islington GP surgeries