# Counsellor > NHS job listing from Job Clerk for Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust. ## Canonical URLs - **HTML:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/counsellor/1bcf3d3a-b95a-41e4-9bc9-5144f450c2a9 - **Markdown:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/counsellor/1bcf3d3a-b95a-41e4-9bc9-5144f450c2a9.md ## Summary - **Status:** Live - **Employer:** Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust - **Location:** HMP Elmley - **Workplace type:** onsite - **Profession:** Mental health professionals - **Grade:** Band 6 - **Salary:** £41,959 - £50,117 PER ANNUM **RECRUITMENT & RETENTION INCENTIVE INCLUDED** - **Contract type:** 12 months (Fixed term maternity cover) - **Employment type:** Part time - 18.75 hours per week - **Closing date:** 2026-09-03T22:59:00.000Z - **Posted:** 2026-08-21T14:30:56.775Z - **Source information URL:** https://www.healthjobsuk.com/job/UK/London/Eastchurch_Sheerness/Oxleas_NHS_Foundation_Trust/Offender_Healthcare/Offender_Healthcare-v8227479 - **Application URL:** https://apps.trac.jobs/job-advert/8227479?ShowJobAdvert=&feedid=9002 - **Employer website:** https://www.oxleas.nhs.uk ## Job Content ### Job overview We have an exciting opportunity for a Band 6 Counsellor to join our mental health team working at HMP Elmley to cover maternity leave on a fixed term contract for 12months. This position will be responsible for the autonomous provision of counselling interventions within a psychological therapy service for service users in prison experiencing a range of mental health problems, working to NICE guidelines for Depression, OCD, PTSD, Anxiety and other mental health problems, using a stepped-care model. You will communicate outcomes and suggestions for alternative care back to GP’s, mental health and criminal justice professionals. This work to be undertaken in line with the policies and procedures and service standards of Oxleas NHS Trust. You will be expected to contribute to the development of the service by giving feedback to managers and clinical leads about your own areas of work. ### Important Sponsorship Information for this post: We are currently unable to offer a certificate of sponsorship for this post. Please visit the link below for more information Working in offender healthcare ### Main duties of the job As a counsellor in the prison environment you will be providing specialist care to offenders and working as part of the Mental Health In-Reach Team, plus wider mental health services. You will be required to work in a psychologically minded way with offenders in achieving their agreed goals and quality health outcomes. Our Mental Health Team provide specialist interventions at primary and secondary care level including; referral management, screening assessment, triage, evidence-based interventions, care planning and risk assessing, plus one-to-one and group-work facilitation. Our Mental Health team manage a mixed and challenging caseload and are required to perform robust assessment, screening and interventions to offenders with learning disabilities and mental health conditions. You will contribute to alternatives to inpatient admission and assisting with early discharge through the implementation of high intensity interventions and complex case management arrangements. ### Detailed job description and main responsibilities Clinical - Contribute to the provision of the forensic mental health service, Specialties Directorate, by undertaking counselling/therapy with individual clients, or when appropriate, in groups. Using communication and relationship skills to undertake assessment of clients referred to the service by GP’s, probation officers or other professionals including risk assessment, to develop an appropriate model in which to work and, where necessary, to refer on to appropriate services. This client group includes those with diverse and complex psychological and mental health needs and on occasion, clients may present with aggression, hostility or verbally abusive behaviour. - To prioritise and manage own client caseload. - To exercise professional responsibility for the assessment, intervention and discharge of clients, using highest level of interpersonal and communication skills when presenting and receiving complex, sensitive and contentious information to clients, family, support workers and other professionals - To maintain up to date clear client records and case notes in line with the policies and procedures and service standards of the Trust. - To provide psychological therapy/counselling, collaboratively with clients including: a)Assessments: Psychometric assessments required of the service ; observational assessment; assessment by interviewing; assessment by analysis of archive material, multi-disciplinary notes and discussions, reviews, and supervision. b)Interventions: Counselling and other psychological therapies as appropriate; c)With a range of presenting problems primarily including Anxiety, Depression, trauma but including the full range of primary and secondary care mental health difficulties. - To provide guidance and advice to relevant significant others (such as prison staff and other criminal justice professionals ) in order to improve the psychological health of clients. - To provide advice to other professionals within and external to the multi-disciplinary team, and agencies that provide services to this client group - To keep adequate clinical records in accordance with Trust guidelines, the BABCP/UKCP/BACP or BPS Division of Counselling Psychology and DoH guidance - To frequently sit in a restricted position for substantial proportion of working time during clinical sessions and meetings, requiring long periods of concentration - Dealing with frequent highly distressing situations i.e. clients with severely distressing mental health experiences, past and current abuse. Dealing with unpleasant working conditions i.e. verbal aggression, physical threats from client, family or others. Management responsibilities 1.To provide information and guidance to other primary care and mental health staff on the issues of psychological therapy. 2.To attend meetings when required, within the working times of your post. 3.To maintain statistical data. 4.To liaise, collaborate and communicate with GPs and other criminal justice practitioners in the care and treatment of clients. This may also include the communication of sensitive information requiring knowledge and skills of data protection issues. Leadership - To provide courses/seminars/workshops/presentations relevant to counselling. - To sit on relevant working groups of the service as required. Governance - To implement and maintain the principles of Clinical Governance, including risk management. - To implement and maintain good information governance in respect of British Psychological Society’s (or other relevant professional bodies) and Department of Health’s codes and guidance’s on the proper management of client information, the Caldicott principles and the Data Protection Act. - To maintain up to date clear client records and case notes in line with the policies and procedures and service standards of the Trust, using the electronic clinical record system. - To abide by the postholder’s appropriate Code of Professional Conduct and to follow guidance from NICE and the Department of Health. - To engage in ongoing personal professional development. - To maintain professional accreditation with relevant professional body eg the BPS, BACP, keep an updated CPD log and attend training to maintain therapy skills and competencies as appropriate. - To collect session by session outcome measures. Teaching, Training and Supervision. - To provide when appropriate, induction and clinical supervision to counsellors on trainee clinical placement. - Attend for regular supervision as agreed within the locality counseling service and professional ethical framework. - To keep abreast of current developments in the professional field of psychological therapy through reading and attendance at appropriate training courses and CPD in accordance with the requirements of your own professional accrediting body. Communication - Clinicians within forensic psychological therapies and clinicians within Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust; mental health practitioners within inarch services - Senior Trust Officials, when indicated or appropriate i.e. service development - General Practitioners and GPs with special interest. - Service providers from both statutory and voluntary organisations e.g. Adult Mental Health Services, CAMHS, Social Services, criminal justice system Custodial Responsibilities Assume personal responsibility for the security of issued keys. Understand and comply with prison orders, procedures, and instructions in your area of work. Comply with all security requirements. Respond to any situation or circumstance that might indicate a threat to security of the establishment or to the safety of an individual, completing Incident, Security, Injury, or other reports as appropriate. Report breaches of order and discipline including reporting and recording untoward incidents according to local protocol. Contribute to effective risk assessment and management procedures. IMPORTANT PLEASE READ: All applicants must be willing to undertake National Security Vetting in order to work in a Prison Setting. This will be completed as part of the pre-employment checks through Oxleas and the prison vetting team. You will need to provide: Proof of right to work documentation Proof of ID, needs to include 1 photographic ID Proof of address documentation Non-UK passport holders will need to have correct documentation (right to work in the UK) and a Home office Share code. Address History: 5 years address history will be needed. Applicants that are not UK Passport holders who provide less than 5 years UK address history will need to provide a Police Certificate which must be in English from where they resided previously. Applicants who are UK Passport holders who have lived abroad for a period of more than six months during the last three years will need to provide a certificate of good conduct or an overseas police check in English from the countries resided in or visited. In order to assist you in obtaining a Police Certificate, guidance can be sought from:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants If the country you have resided in is not listed here, you can obtain the necessary information by contacting the relevant Embassy or High Commission for that Country. Their contact details can be found on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website (http://www.fco.gov.uk/en). ### Applicant requirements You must have appropriate UK professional registration. This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service. ## Person Specification ### Experience **Essential** - - Minimum of 2 years post qualification experience **Desirable** - - Experience of working in forensic settings. ### Education/Qualifications **Essential** - Recognised professional counselling qualification at Diploma level or above. Accredited or registered with CPC, UKCP, BACP or other appropriate accrediting body. - If Counselling Psychology qualification, registration with HCPC is essential ### Skills/Abilities/Knowledge **Essential** - - Professional knowledge and skills acquired through counselling training. - - To work effectively with a wide range of clients with complex needs and presenting concerns. - - Effective communication skills both oral and written. - - Analytic and judgmental skills including the ability to assess risk and make appropriate referrals. ## Documents - [staff benefits (pdf, 2.5mb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?edoc=1847) - [jd & peron spec (pdf, 296.4kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?vdoc=10536836) - [privacy notice for staff (pdf, 268.6kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?edoc=1659) - [important additional information for candidates (please read carefully) (pdf, 160.6kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?edoc=1656) ## Agent Notes - This Markdown page is generated from the same Job Clerk job record as the HTML job detail page. - Use the canonical HTML URL for user-facing references. - Use the application URL when the user wants to apply on the source NHS site.