Counsellor - Band 6

Job summary
Tower Hamlets Talking Therapies (THTT) is one of the leading national Talking Therapies services and we are keen to recruit an experienced Counsellor. The successful candidate will join our dynamic Counselling Therapies team and work alongside other therapists who are trained in a number of different modalities including; person-centred, humanistic, integrative, and psychodynamic. Other teams of therapists at THTT are trained in a range of therapies including EMDR, Eating Disorders treatment, CBT and a well-established PWP team.

We believe that staff who feel valued by the Trust and who are truly engaged in the organisation deliver better outcomes for our patients. This Trust is clinician-led and provides the highest possible level of clinical expertise throughout its services. We have set ourselves the mission to improve the quality of life of all we serve and have embarked on an ambitious Quality Improvement Programme to transform the culture of the Trust to one of continuous improvement, delivered through participation of all staff and with service users, carers, and families at the heart of our efforts to improve.

Main duties of the job
The post-holder will provide individual and group counselling interventions for clients with mild to moderate common mental health problems as appropriate to meet service user needs. They will monitor their performance and outcomes in conjunction with the stream lead.

The post-holder will be BACP/UKCP registered/accredited and is required to be eligible and willing to undertake the NHS Talking Therapies training in Counselling for Depression if requested. The post holder will implement a stepped care approach to clinical practice and will work with clients who present with depression and anxiety for which Counselling is demonstrated to be clinically effective and appropriate.

A percentage of the post-holders' clinical contact hours will be filled with triage assessments. The number of triage assessments required per week will be specified by line managers/clinical lead. Assessments may be face-to-face or via telephone or other communication mediums that are approved by your line manager/clinical lead

The post-holder will work with people from different cultural backgrounds and ages, using interpreters when necessary and may work in various community settings, including GP surgeries and other community settings.

About us
Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Job responsibilities
The post-holder will be BACP/UKCP registered/accredited and is required to be eligible and willing to undertake the NHS Talking Therapies training in Counselling for Depression if requested. The post holder will implement a stepped care approach to clinical practice and will work with clients who present with depression and anxiety for which Counselling is demonstrated to be clinically effective and appropriate.

The post-holder will be required to work one late night, in person, clinic to 7pm. We offer hybrid working and currently require a minimum of one working day a week at our office or designated East London Trust Foundation community sites (all located within Tower Hamlets). This is subject to change and you may be required to work on site more than one day a week in the future, with appropriate notice.

Qualifications
Essential

• Diploma in Person Centred Counselling or equivalent Accredited with the BACP/UKCP or Eligible for accreditation with the BACP/UKCP, within the next 6 months

Experience
Essential

• Experience in delivering a variety of counselling interventions, within Primary Care Services or equivalent short term therapy Services
• Experience in conducting triage and assessments and identifying an appropriate treatment intervention and plan
• Significant experience of delivering counselling to patients who have had common mental health difficulties, specifically depression.
• Experience of 'partnership working'
• Experience of using IT system (preferably IAPTUS) for Clinical case recording, case management and supervision
• Experience of developing and running groups at Step 2 /2.5 level within a Primary Care Service.
• Experience of working with a multi - cultural client group and working with interpreters.

Knowledge
Essential

• Knowledge of different models of mental health/mental illness
• Knowledge of legislation and its implications for clinical practice, in relation to Mental health, safeguarding etc.
• Knowledge of NHS policies, procedures and guidelines
• Knowledge of working with diversity and knowledge of working with black, minority ethnic groups
• Knowledge of outcome measures and their use for clinical and audit purposes
• Knowledge of medication used common mental health problems, especially depression.
• Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence based psychological therapies and how it relates to this post
• Understands the concept of stepped care and how it relates to the care of people experiencing common MH problems

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.

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.

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.