Hillingdon NHS Talking Therapies service is looking to attract experienced, accredited counsellors / psychotherapists who wish to work in the NHS, have or want to train in one of the brief relational modality therapies: Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy, Person Centred Experiential Counselling for Depression, Couple Therapy for Depression or Behavioural Couples Therapy and who may want to train further as modality supervisors. We are a supportive, friendly and experience group of clinicians with core training in psychodynamic or integrative counselling training, working within a busy and creative service.

As NHS workers, we value highly the opportunity to offer a range of free, short-term therapies to adults presenting with emotional and relational difficulties and to staff in the health and social care sectors living and working in our borough. Our staff also work in specialist perinatal and long-term conditions areas of the service.

Applicants must be on the Accredited register of the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). This covers Accredited Counsellors / Counselling Psychologists registered with the UKCP, BPC, HCPC or an equivalent professional bodies and/or Accredited with the BACP. Please ensure your application provides correct details of your registration to confirm Accreditation by search of number and not name, on the PSA or BACP 'Find an Accredited Therapist', in order to be shortlisted.

Main duties of the job

Our counselling service works to a brief model, offering around 8 sessions of generic counselling or around 16 sessions for therapy within one of the specialist relational modalities. Clinicians offer 5 sessions within each working day of 7.5 hours, with adjustments to accommodate service meetings, paid CPD and training and generous paid holiday leave. Our post-holders work between 3 days (22.5hrs) and 5 days (37.5hrs) a week, one day of which must be a Tuesday.Individual supervision of provided fortnightly with additional supervision for modality clinical work.

Staff currently work to a mix of home- and site-working in order to meet the demand for face to face work and for team cohesion and wellbeing. Clinicians currently offer a blend of telephone, video and face to face sessions, dependent on patient choice and clinical need. Service hours are between 8am and 6pm and clinicians are expected to provide some later working hours within their week. Our primary hub is at Beaufort House in central Uxbridge. CNWL offers flexible working to meet staff wellbeing for a health work-life balance.

You will join a friendly, highly experienced and diverse team of clinicians and have opportunities to work in innovative areas of the service including our perinatal and post-Covid provisions.

About us

The Hillingdon Talking Therapies Service is an innovative and progressive Talking Therapies (formerly IAPT) service working with Healthcare and Perinatal services, as part of Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust. We work in close partnership with our local GP Confederation within North West London, with other mental health services, with CNWL Community physical healthcare teams and with voluntary sector and other specialist services delivering primary care support and treatment, including the primary care eating disorders team STRIDES, services for Young Adults, outreach initiatives supporting those suffering healthcare and economic inequalities and building relationships with community connectors.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Accredited Counsellors without modality training enter preceptorship positions at band 6 including outer London weighting, to undertake funded training for a further year in one of the relational modality trainings with advancement to band 7. Those qualified as practitioners in an IAPT modality join at band 7 with outer London weighting.

The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.

Person Specification

Education and qualifications

Essential

• A Counselling Diploma approved by the BACP or equivalent.
• Accredited with the UKCP, BACP, BPC, HCPC or PSA equivalent professional accreditation

Desirable

• Qualified practitioner in one modality DIT, PCE-CfD, IPT, couples therapy, CBT
• Formal post-qualification supervision training on an accredited course of at least one year's duration.

Previous Experience

Essential

• Experience of working as a qualified counsellor with specialist post-qualification experience in the NHS, including substantial post-qualification experience within primary care.
• Experience of professional management and supervision of qualified and pre-qualified counsellors in the NHS in a primary care setting.
• Experience of working with a wide range of clients over the age of 18 years and including older adults presenting with mild to moderate degrees of severity of mental illness.

Desirable

• Experience of working within an NHS Talking Therapies service or similar

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

• Qualification as practitioner in a specialist brief model of psychotherapy a Talking Therapies modality
• Ability to work independently and manage a caseload, with freedom to act and take decisions about patient care, under supervision.
• Skills in providing professional and clinical supervision, management and training to qualified and pre-qualified counsellors.

Desirable

• Experience of carrying a high patient caseload

Other

Essential

• To demonstrate emotional resilience and stability. Ability to establish and maintain working relationships under pressure

Employer details

Employer name

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Beaufort House, Uxbridge

Cricket Field Road

Uxbridge

UB8 1QG

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

333-G-HM-0614