Adult Counsellor

**Job title**: Adult Counsellor

**Accountable to (Title)**:Clinical Director

**Hours**:40 hours FTE

**Location/Site**: Harrow Road GP Practice

**Contract**:Fixed Term contract - 12 Months**

**Remuneration**:Band 7 ( Up to 7.2)

**Job Summary**

The role of the Adult Counsellor falls into the following key areas:
Ø **To Improve the mental health**

To ensure that the adults are provided with 1-1 counselling adults within the service and to manage a caseload of clients.

Ø **To manage appointments with the service users.**

Appointments will include in-person community-based appointments within the service. The role will include the delivery of remote sessions, online or over the phone and may include some evening appointments.

Ø **To prepare files and documentation**

To comply with other administrative requirements of the project, including the completion of monitoring forms, other data and case studies as required.

Ø **To establish and maintain good working relationships with relevant staff, liaising, as appropriate.**

Ø **To participate in discussion relating to service reporting as required.**

Making appropriate referrals and discussions to assess the needs of the adults helps to develop the counselling service.

Ø **To contribute to the development of the counselling service.**

Assisting the adults, referred to the service and managing the waiting lists to ensure that all clients are supported.

Ø **Providing individual therapy and therapeutic group programmes**

Ø **To take responsibility for organising caseload taking professional responsibility and exercising autonomous judgement with regard to professional practice.**

Ø **To ensure ethical, patient confidentiality and legal standards are maintained**

Ø **To safeguard the health and safety of the adults and staff members**

Able to undertake the mental, physical and emotional demands of the role, whilst at the same time taking care to safeguard own health and safety as well as fellow core team members, and their families.

Ø **Liaising and working within a Multi-Disciplinary Team of GPs, Physicians Associates, Pharmacists, Social Prescribers & Nurses**

**Confidentiality**

Ø While seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately.

Ø In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential.

Ø Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data.

**Personal/Professional Development**

The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, such training to include:
Ø Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development

Ø Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work

**PERSON SPECIFICATION**

**Education/ Qualifications**
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in psychology, clinical mental health counselling, therapy
- On the BACP Register of Accredited members
- Licenced and regulated to perform counselling

**Knowledge & Experience**
- Experience working for a minimum of three years post qualification experience.
- Experience of working in the mental health setting.
- Experience in working with a wide variety of patients over the age of 16 years old, with mild to moderate severity of common mental health problems.
- Experience in exercising clinical responsibility for patients emotional care and treatment including maintaining
- Experience of working as an accredited counsellor in Primary care in the NHS
- Experience in managing an independent and specialist caseload

**Skills**

**Personal **Attributes**
- Able to demonstrate commitment to high quality counselling and service provision.
- Ability to draw on an evidence-base in choice of interventions
- Skills in psychological assessment for councelling intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
- Planning and organising skills for caseload management. Skills in self-management, including time management
- Excellent communication skills. Able to communicate verbally and in writing, complex, highly technical and