Job summary
- Main area
- Psychotherapy
- Grade
- Band 5
- Contract
- 36 months (Fixed Term)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 222-HOU-040
- Employer
- West London NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Hounslow Talking Therapies. West London NHS Trust
- Town
- Hounslow
- Salary
- £35,763 - £43,466 per annum inclusive
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 04/08/2025 23:59
- Interview date
- 15/08/2025
Employer heading
Psychotherapeutic counsellor Trainee
Band 5
West London NHS Trust provides a full range of mental health, community and physical healthcare services for children, adults and older people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow.
We also provide some specialist services that are commissioned regionally, such as our medium secure services; and nationally, such as the Cassel Hospital for people with complex and severe personality disorder and our high secure services at Broadmoor Hospital.
Job overview
This is a training role within the NHS Talking Therapies Hounslow service.
NHS TTad service delivery is predicated on a stepped care model, delivering interventions recommended by NICE and set out in the NHS TTad Manual.
Trainees will work in NHS commissioned NHS TTad services, complete the NHS TTad national curriculum for High Intensity Psychotherapeutic Counsellors and provide a portion of the high intensity interventions of the service, delivering one of the following NHS TTad-approved modalities, based on the specific training pathway of the that they undertake within the national curriculum: Couple Therapy for Depression (CTfD), Brief Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy for Depression (DIT), Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depression (IPT) or Person-Centred Experiential - Counselling for Depression (PCE-CfD).
Main duties of the job
The NHS TTad Psychotherapeutic Counselling national curriculum will provide a Foundation level, followed by a Postgraduate Diploma (Level 7) training in Psychotherapeutic Counselling, leading to a qualification to practise as a High Intensity Therapist in NHS TTad services delivering NICE-recommended evidence based psychological therapy for adults with depression. This position is for trainees undertaking the foundation stage of the training. Recruitment for the courses will be aimed at graduates (and those who can demonstrate professional and academic equivalence) with a commitment to the NHS TTad model. Trainees will be jointly recruited by NHS TTad services and training providers and will be employed within NHS TTad services. On completion of the foundation training, trainees will be eligible to apply to continue on to the Level 7 Postgraduate Diploma.
The training and service experience will equip the post holder with the necessary knowledge, attitude and capabilities to operate effectively in an inclusive, value driven service.
The post holder will attend all taught and self-study days required by the education provider, as specified within the agreed national curriculum and work in the service for the remaining days of the week using their newly developed skills
Working for our organisation
West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.
Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ over 5,000 staff, of whom 59% are BME. Our turnover for 2024-25 is over £500m.
The Trust is rated as ‘Good’ overall by the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as ‘Outstanding’.
The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached.
The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.
Person specification
Training
Essential criteria
- Able to meet all the requirements of the NHS TTad Psychotherapeutic Counsellor training
- Able to complete academic components of the full training programme including Foundation course, and postgraduate diploma.
Skills
Essential criteria
- Ability to integrate training into practice
- Demonstrates warmth, kindness, compassion, empathy
- Demonstrates authenticity, self-awareness, maturity and stability
- Ability to listen, be present and attentive
- Ability to come alongside people experiencing emotional and psychological distress
- Capacity for reflexivity
- Ability to be vulnerable and make use of and reflect upon own life experience
- Capacity to cope with the emotional demands of the course
- Ability to cope with the intellectual and academic requirement
- Ability to be self-critical and use both positive and negative feedback
- Awareness of and ability to explore issues of difference and equality and the nature of prejudice and oppression
- Ability to recognise the need for personal and professional support and self-care
- Able to develop good therapeutic relationships and maintain professional boundaries
- Excellent organisational and time management skills including ability to manage conflicting demands and work under pressure
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including telephone skills
- Computer literate - with skills required to manage electronic patient records
Desirable criteria
- Received training in and carried out risk assessments within scope of practice
- Ability to use clinical supervision and personal development activity positively and effectively
Other Requirement
Essential criteria
- High level of motivation to work within NHS TTad services and complete the psychotherapeutic counselling training
- Ability to foster good working relationships
- Ability to be self-reflective, whilst working with service users, in own personal and professional development and in supervision
- Regard for others and respect for individual rights of autonomy and confidentiality
- Willingness and ability to travel to locations throughout the organisation
- Willingness and ability to work through interpreters
Desirable criteria
- Fluent in languages other than English
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Recognised degree at 2:2 or above in any relevant subject, or equivalent, or Demonstrates competency via a portfolio of evidence, which meets specified academic equivalence requirements
- Completed a Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills, (minimum of 10 days or 60 hours of face-to-face tuition at level 2 or level 3).
Experience
Essential criteria
- Show a commitment to working with people with common mental health problems
- Demonstrable interpersonal skills and values consistent with providing hopeful, person-centred care within the NHS TTad stepped model of care
- Evidence of working within a team environment
- Evidence of communicating with individuals from diverse backgrounds
- Demonstrates high standards in written communication
- Able to write clear reports and letters
Desirable criteria
- Evidence of working with people who have experienced a common mental health problem.
- Previous clinical or professional expertise in mental health
- Worked in a setting where agreed targets in place demonstrating clinical outcomes
- Experience managing own caseload and time
- Evidence of working in the local community
- Experience of working in partnership with other services
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Demonstrates an understanding of and commitment to evidence based practice (as outlined in NICE guidance) and the NHS TTad stepped care model.
- Demonstrates an understanding of anxiety and depression including the wider impact for the whole person
- Demonstrates a knowledge of the issues surrounding work and meaningful occupation and the impact it can have on mental health
- Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence based psychological therapies and how it relates to this post
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge of medication used in anxiety and depression and other common mental health problems
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Dr Annabelle Norman
- Job title
- Clinical Lead & Consultant Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 0300 123 0739
If you have problems applying, contact
- Address
-
Human Resources – Trust Headquarters
West London NHS Trust
1 Armstrong Way - Southall
UB2 4SA
- Telephone
- Mob: 07483968676
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