Job summary
- Main area
- Counsellor
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 7
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 18.75 hours per week
- Job ref
- 391-RFL-7166386
- Employer
- Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Royal Free Hospital and Barnet Hospital
- Town
- London
- Salary
- £54,320 - £60,981 per annum inclusive of HCAS part time (pro rata)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 03/07/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Band 7 Specialist Counsellor
NHS AfC: Band 7
Our trust has over 17,000 staff serving 2 million patients every year. It comprises Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital, the Royal Free Hospital, North Middlesex University Hospital and more than 30 services in the community. This larger scale organisation provides an unprecedented opportunity for us to continue our pioneering work, particularly in finding ways to deliver even better care to our patients.
Our mission is to deliver world class care and expertise in our clinical services, underpinned by world class teaching and research and we will continue to measure our progress against our five governing objectives: excellent outcomes, excellent patient and staff experience, excellent value for taxpayers’ money, being safe and meeting our external duties, and building a strong organisation.
Everyone is welcome at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. We're proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME, gender equality, staff carers and people with disabilities and lived experiences to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.
Click here to view our video Welcome to the Royal Free
Job overview
We are excited to offer a part-time role (b7 0.5WTE) to join the Women's Health Counselling Service. You will join two other experienced part-time b7 counsellors who use a psychodynamic model complemented by strategy-based approaches as appropriate. The Women's Health Counselling Service offers brief counselling (up to 6 appointments) to RFL women and birth people under the care of Obstetrics and Gynaecology patients. The service supports women and birthing people around pregnancy, post-natal issues, miscarriage and stillbirth, termination, and gynaecological issues. The work can also include partners if appropriate.
Referrals come from a variety of professionals and the service works closely with specialist midwifery teams and liaison with community services.
Your work will be based at Barnet Hospital and Royal Free Hospital. You will also have access to the Trust's psychological professions support structure including access to specialist supervision groups, regular training events and collaboration with colleagues.
The post holder would need to be able to work on Wednesdays (when the rest of the team overlap). It would also be helpful if one of the other working days was a Tuesday.
Main duties of the job
You will be responsible for providing psychological care working with both in-patient and out-patients, face-to-face and virtually. The focus of clinical work can be focused on enabling decision-making, addressing the emotional impact of of a long-term health condition, pregnancy and pregnancy loss. You will be expected to provide guidance to colleagues and engage in joint work as appropriate, facilitate groups as well as attend multi-disciplinary meetings. There are also opportunities for provision of training. You will have access to supervision and training, with a variety of different therapeutic modalities within the Trust to support your development.
Working for our organisation
The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s biggest and most innovative trusts. Across three main hospitals, our dedicated army of staff care for over 1.6million patients, treat more than 200,000 in A&E, deliver over 8,000 babies and carry out more than 17million tests.
Our size, scale and influence offer you unrivalled career opportunities and a forward-thinking approach to working that works around your lifestyle. From flexible hours and generous benefits, to next level training, we make it easier to take your career to the top
For more information please follow link https://www.royalfreelondonjobs.co.uk
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see attached Job Description for more information about this role and working at royal free London NHS foundation Trust
Person specification
Education & Professional Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Postgraduate Diploma/Masters/Doctorate in counselling or psychotherapy which includes a psychodynamic element
- BACP accreditation or with other recognized counselling/psychotherapy body
Desirable criteria
- Training in CBT, mindfulness or working with couples
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of post-qualification provision of short-term counselling
- Experience of post-qualification supervised experience in assessment and psychotherapeutic intervention in the NHS, public or voluntary sector
- Experience of post-qualification work within interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary environments
- Experience of the application of psychotherapeutic interventions in different cultural contexts and/or where there are moral or ethical issues involved
- Experience managing risk and safeguarding issues
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, including individuals and couples, with different presenting problems (e.g. anxiety, bereavement, psychosexual issues, trauma)
- Experience in working with issues related to women’s health
- Experience of post-qualification work in a medical team
- Experience of teaching and training of other disciplines in the psychological care of women and birthing people
Skills and aptitudes
Essential criteria
- Skills in the use of psychological assessment, psychotherapeutic intervention and management
- Knowledge of the complex issues and sensitive needs of those under the care of gynaecology or maternity services, including pregnancy loss
- Skilled in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
- Understanding and completion of audit process and ability to present findings at senior management meetings
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group (e.g. NICE guidance, safeguarding)
- Evidence of continuing professional development
- Ability to work autonomously and appreciating the role of the clinical and professional supervisor
- Ability to form good working relationships with others in a multidisciplinary setting
- Ability to cope with difficult issues and distressed patients presenting with a range of complex and sensitive issues
- Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public and professional settings
- Experience of providing psychotherapeutic interventions via different modalities (e.g. virtual and face-to-face)
- IT skills, including managing online referrals, waiting lists, calendars, patient records, excel spreadsheets and databases
Desirable criteria
- Skills in group facilitation with professional and non-professional groups
Personal qualities and attributes
Essential criteria
- Excellent interpersonal communication skills
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team
- Compassionate and empathic in their approach to their work with staff and those under the care of the respective services
- Resourceful, innovative and flexible
- Recognises their accountability for their work and those they supervise
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
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
- Judith Ellenbogen
- Job title
- Women's Health Counsellor
- Email address
- [email protected]
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