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Job description

Main function: The Counsellor will deliver time-limited, evidence-based counselling interventions as part of the Right Support Right Time (RSRT) project, supporting people experiencing mild to moderate mental health and psychosocial difficulties. These may include substance misuse and self-harm. The role operates within a stepped-care, trauma-informed model aimed at promoting resilience and preventing deterioration. The post holder will work within agreed integrated care pathways, deliver high fidelity, evidence informed interventions in line with service specifications, maintain accurate and up to date clinical records, and contribute to the delivery of a high quality, safe, effective, and compassionate service.

Responsibilities

• Deliver individual counselling interventions to service users impacted by mild to moderate mental health and psychosocial difficulties, applying high fidelity, evidence informed therapeutic modalities in line with service specifications.
• Support clients experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties. This could include anxiety, low mood, trauma related presentations, substance misuse and self harming behaviours.
• Promote behaviours that increase resilience and prevent deterioration.
• Support service users to identify goals, enhance motivation for change, and develop practical coping strategies using evidence-based approaches (e.g. solution-focused and CBT-informed interventions)
• Complete brief standardised psychosocial assessments and work collaboratively with service users to agree appropriate counselling goals.

Skills and Qualifications

Essential Skills

• To be flexible as the role may involve travelling and working at various locations and times.
• Possess a full current driving licence and access to a car. Business Insurance is a requirement for this post.
• A professional Diploma in Counselling, covering psycho-dynamic, CBT and humanistic models of intervention or a person centred approach.
• Accreditation with voluntary assured professional standards governing bodies (e.g., BACP (Category B), BABCP, NCPS Professional Registrant Accreditation, UKCP or equivalent)
• Experience providing counselling (either paid or in a voluntary capacity), with a minimum of 300 post qualified supervised counselling hours.
• Experience of working with adults presenting with mild to moderate mental health difficulties.
• Demonstrates a strong understanding of the presentations of substance misuse and self-harming behaviours.
• Demonstrable knowledge and confident application of evidence based therapeutic approaches, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and Motivational Interviewing (MI), within complex and diverse clinical presentations.
• Experience or demonstrable understanding of non-abstinence, recovery-oriented approaches to substance misuse and self-harming behaviours.
• Understanding of counselling ethics, confidentiality, and professional boundaries.
• Ability to establish and maintain a therapeutic relationship with clients with substance related needs.
• Understanding of risk management and safeguarding in a substance misuse context.
• Good written, verbal, and IT skills to enable accurate clinical documentation and reporting.