Counselling Lead

**Job Title**:Counselling Lead
**Location**: London
**Salary**: up to £50,000 dependant on experience
**Contract Type**: Permanent
**Hours**: Full time - Monday to Friday

**Role Summary**

The primary function of the Counselling Lead in the MPS occupational health is to provide leadership, mentorship and support required to ensure the counselling programme runs efficiently meeting both professional standards of client care and operational KPIs. There is an expectation to both ensure the scheduling of counselling appointments is completed ensuring the most efficient use of time as well as ensuring the provision of Duty on call support Monday - Friday, 9am - 5:30pm.

The counselling team works alongside the Trauma Peer Support and Psychological Screening Leads and there is an expectation to support and assist with the other departments in line with business need. This role therefore encompasses a wide range of responsibilities including: clinical case management, psychological risk management, leadership and line manager responsibilities, designing and implementing an appropriate structure of clinical governance and, critically, supervision for the peer supporters providing interventions, allocations and other administrative process management and as well a need to remain fully compliant with all Optima, Health and Legal requirements that come with development a new framework for interventions.

The post holder should demonstrate the ability to work flexibly and autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the OH team's policies and procedures;
To work effectively with colleagues within OH services. To utilise evidence-based outcome measures and treatment approaches to ensure a consistent and high level of quality is provided to the OHAs

To utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development, service evaluation and research within the area served by the team / service to develop and drive the further improvement of the clinical governance and management structure.

**Main Duties and Responsibilities**
- To provide senior clinical oversight of the in-house Counselling provision within the confines of the MPS contract.
- To provide mentorship to new counsellors
- To provide coverage for the Clinical Lead for Trauma Support and the Clinical Lead for Psychological monitoring where appropriate.
- To work flexibly and independently, as an autonomous clinical practitioner, closely alongside the MH and OH teams. This is especially relevant to the triage function of psychological referrals.
- To actively support reduced waiting for counselling interventions within the MPS MH Team.
- To maintain a clinical inbox and triage incoming referrals alongside holding a small caseload.
- To work closely with the Clinical Lead for Counselling, the Clinical Lead for Psychological Monitoring and team in the OH department, and in this capacity to offer consultation, training and supervision to non-psychology staff when required.
- To work closely with other psychology and non-psychology colleagues in the wider client service (MPS), in order to be able to demonstrate a high standard of clinical skill, multidisciplinary engagement, and flexibility.
- To utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research, including contribution to the annual OHAs audit plan. To enhance the psychological profile of OHWb by attending and contributing to OH meetings and external specialist interest groups.
- To deliver a culturally and ethically sensitive, equitable psychological therapy service to all minority groups regardless of race and ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, culture, religion, and disability; to include service users in the design and delivery of the service.

**Experience, skills and knowledge required for the role**
- Appropriate professional registration as an accredited counsellor, psychotherapist, psychologist or other appropriate MH practitioner.
- Additional specialist training in advanced therapy skills, such as CBT, trauma support, TF-CBT, EMDR
- Further training in mindfulness-based approaches.
- Experience of MH, specifically relating to trauma support and the management of psychological risk.
- Experience of delivering psychological therapy to a wide variety of client groups, ages, contexts and presenting problems, reflecting a range of clinical severity.
- Experience of delivering group/psycho education work. Experience of teaching, training, and / or supervision, especially supervision of non-clinical team members.
- Experience of establishing, implementing and improving processes of clinical governance.
- Knowledge and enthusiasm for working with staff presenting to Occupational Health and Wellbeing Services
- Knowledge and enthusiasm for working within preventative healthcare Knowledge of legislation and national policy in relation to physical and mental health.
- Basic awareness of IT and IT skills
- Ability to maintain a high degree of pro