Psychological Practitioner / Counsellor

Job overview

Are you ready to unlock your potential within a challenging, creative and fast paced work environment? Do you want to work with people to build positive and productive lives, whatever their past?

This is an excellent opportunity for an Accredited Psychological Practitioner/Counsellor to join our team of diverse, talented healthcare professionals to deliver care that is not only efficient but deeply centred on the patient.

Our healthcare team have a real impact on promoting health and well-being to those in prison and we pride ourselves on using skills and strategies that instil hope for patient’s future resettlement back into the community. We directly deliver Mental Health, Physical Health, Pharmacy and Clinical Substance Misuse in an integrated healthcare delivery model to provide effective and responsive care to improve wellbeing and support better outcomes in the future.

This position isn't just a job; it's a chance to blend your clinical knowledge, personal skills and a commitment to delivering the highest standards of care in an environment that is as rewarding as it is challenging.

Important Sponsorship Information for this post: We are currently unable to offer a certificate of sponsorship for this post.

Main duties of the job

In this role you will be responsible for the autonomous provision of counselling/psychological 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 be required to communicate outcomes and suggestions for alternative care back to GP’s, mental health and criminal justice professionals. This work is to be undertaken in line with the policies and procedures and service standards of Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust.

12 Month FTC covering maternity leave

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Contribute to the provision of the forensic mental health service, Specialties Directorate, by undertaking counselling/psychological interventions 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/psychological practitioner 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.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION, 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).