Job overview
Working with individuals diagnosed with cancer or life limiting illness or the loved ones of the individual.
We require a minimum qualification of diploma level or equivalent Humanistic/person centred counselling and candidates will be have demonstrable counselling experience post qualification. Some experience of working within a palliative care setting would be desirable.
The successful candidate will hold a caseload of clients and manage this autonomously. The successful candidate will be supporting individuals who have been diagnosed with life limiting illness, experiencing complex psychological end of life issues. They will also provide counselling/bereavement counselling to any other person affected by this diagnosis.
Main duties of the job
- To provide counselling intervention with those facing death and their families, including children and young people
- To provide specialist assessment of the needs of bereaved family members and those close to the patient, identifying and implementing appropriate forms of intervention
- To provide, as appropriate, individual, couple and family counselling, and direct work with children and young people
- To work within a high level of autonomy, within professional guidelines and broad organisational policies, exercising responsibility for the systemic governance of counselling practice.
- To provide mentorship and guidance to student and volunteer counsellors and ensure systems are in place to support such counselling staff
- To provide valuable support to the extended Palliative care team
- The post holder will be integral to the Clinical Supervision process and education within St Johns Specialist Palliative care Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT)
- To collate and provide statistical information for audit and evaluation purposes
- To be involved in the selection and training of volunteers and new post- holders
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please view the attached job description and person specification to view the full details about the role
We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if there are a high amount of applications
Person specification
Knowledge
Essential
- Experience in working with different psychological therapies including Person Centred/CBT/Gestalt/TA and Solution Focused based therapies at a specialist level including Children’s Play Therapy
- High level of knowledge of bereavement and Grief Counselling and working with bereaved clients
- Knowledge of the best pathway for the individual client and their care.
- Experience at working with one or more specialist therapies with clients to manage each individual complex situation that arises.
- Knowledge of theory and practice of specific counselling therapies in relation to co-morbidity and complexities of complex loss and bereavement, end of life trauma and anxiety and depression to deliver the correct therapeutic model for the client’s individual needs.
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health and to work within the requirements.
Desirable
- Experience of working with Couples Therapy
- Knowledge of palliative care and end of life issues and managing them within the most suitable theory.
- Knowledge of effective care pathway navigation across primary and secondary care psychological therapy services.
- Knowledge of different research to help provide the appropriate support and best suited to the client’s needs.
Experience
Essential
- Knowledge of a range of counselling procedures and techniques acquired through professional diploma.
- Registered Counsellor
- Awareness of cultural diversity needs
Desirable
- Supervision experience
- Previous experience in direct counselling work with children and families
- Experience of working in a palliative care setting
- Experience of managing conflict
- Understanding of the wider NHS agenda
- Demonstrate an understanding of Clinical Governance
- Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients within this specialist area
- Experience of teaching/training
Qualifications
Essential
- Advanced Diploma level training in Counselling (Post graduate or equivalent in counselling comprising no less than 450 hours programme contact and no less than 450 hours supervised counselling practice (including hours gained after core training).
- Post Grad qualification Counselling Children & Young People (or working towards it)
- Accredited (with relevant professional body) or working towards accreditation
Desirable
- Educated to degree level or evidence of being able to work at this level.
Skills / Abilities
Essential
- Ability to work collaboratively with a wide range of people and organisations.
- Ability to support learning and education for patients and practitioners
- Excellent communication skills being tactful and diplomatic.
- Ability to manage under pressure
- Motivated, self-reliant and approachable.
- Ability to make decisions and judgements using autonomy
- Able to demonstrate resilience.
- Ability to motivate self and others
- Excellent interpersonal skills
- Basic IT skills
- Enthusiastic, dynamic., flexible, tactful
- Personal integrity
- Team worker
- Maintains confidentiality
- Trustworthy and reliable
- Self-belief
- Self-awareness
- Self-Management
- Commitment to continuous improvement of services.
- Flexibility in role to support clients may require working outside normal working hours
- Managing and prioritising own time Use of systems to Input performance data
- Communicate via e-mail and use of internet
- Working within a high level of autonomy
Desirable
- Ability to provide supervisory support to students and volunteer counsellors
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Specialist Counsellor with Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust in Doncaster, North East and Yorkshire, England. It is listed as a Band 6 Mental health professionals role. The advertised salary is £39,959 - £48,117 per annum, pro rata. The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 27 Jul 2026.
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