Lead Counsellor/Supervisor

Mind in Brent Wandsworth and Westminster Are you an experienced clinician looking for a new opportunity to grow your clinical and leadership skills?

West Central London Minds Psychological Therapies Services has an established track record of delivering Talking Therapies across the boroughs in which it operates.

As part of growing and realizing our ambitions within Psychological Therapies, we have created a new role to help support and manage the clinical teams and bolster our clinical leadership team.

The post holder will work alongside the Clinical Lead and Deputy Clinical Lead for the department to ensure quality and performance are met and will provide line management and supervision capacity across the teams.

Main duties of the job The post holder will work within an integrated Psychological Therapies Stepped model delivered in partnership with the Lead Provider in the local NHS Trust (CNWL), who will provide the Step 2 and Step 3 delivery within the integrated Psychological Therapies Service.

• The post holder will provide line management and clinical supervision to a range of clinicians and teams within the Psychological Therapies Services.
• The successful candidate will hold a small clinical caseload within the Psychological Therapies service as required.
• They will also provide weekly clinical supervision and regular line management to Psychological Therapies Step 3 Counsellors.
• Provide regular clinical group supervision to Honorary Counsellors in RISE.
• Provide regular clinical fortnightly group supervision to Suicide Postvention Liaison Officers.
• Provide regularly fortnightly clinical supervision for the Suicide Bereavement service.
• Provide other supervision arrangements according to clinical service needs.
• Provide reflective practice across the organisation as needed.

About us We are a leading community-based organization dedicated to providing outstanding mental health support and clinical interventions across London. Our experienced clinically led teams are focused on directly addressing a range of mental health needs in our communities. We combine innovative solutions with decades of local community knowledge to empower people to live the life they choose. We partner with the NHS and local authorities to deliver clinically driven frontline services with fantastic outcomes. We focus on early intervention and prevention, targeting mental health conditions at the most cost-effective stage, while also supporting people with moderate to severe mental health needs across our communities.

Job responsibilities

• CLINICAL
• Accept referrals via agreed protocols within the service.
• Assess clients for suitability for Step 3 Psychological Therapies Counselling interventions where appropriate.
• Provide clinical leadership, oversight, support, supervision, and management to Counsellors across the Psychological Therapies Services through a variety of communication methods and formats.
• Clinical supervision and line management of RISE Counselling for our private counselling service.
• Clinical supervision for the suicide bereavement service.
• Carry a clinical caseload providing appropriate compliant interventions to patients to meet wider service needs.
• Conduct risk assessments, preparing risk management plans, and initiating appropriate action where indicated.
• Adhere to an agreed activity contract relating to the number of client contacts offered and clinical sessions conducted per week to minimize waiting times and ensure treatment delivery remains accessible and convenient, in line with both National and Service targets.
• Elicit, record, collate and communicate outcome data of your clinical activity and all those you supervise to both the Service Manager and Clinical Lead.
• Keep coherent records of all clinical activity in line with service protocols.
• Collaborate closely with other wider teams and staff ensuring appropriate step-up and step-down arrangements are in place to maintain a stepped care approach.

MANAGEMENT

• Ensuring the systematic provision of high-quality counselling to individuals within a wide range of settings (including GP surgeries, community settings).
• Provide regular 1-1 or group clinical supervision and line management and case management to Counsellors in line with service requirements.
• Actively support the Deputy Clinical Lead / Clinical Lead and Administrators in collation, dissemination, analysis, and reporting of clinical patient data including outcomes, outputs related to KPIs and SLAs both internal, local, and national where appropriate.
• Provide escalation, summaries and key regular updates on RISE Counselling service quality and issues to Clinical Leads obtained through clinical supervision role and responsibilities of Honorary Counsellors.
• Conduct assessments and annual appraisals of Counsellors against objectives, KPIs and other related targets.
• Contribute to the wider management team across all Psychological Therapies Services within the Organisation as required.
• Where counselling is not an indicated treatment, lead on the liaison with appropriate other professional groups to effectively communicate your assessment and facilitate signposting, transfer of care to an appropriate professional based on presenting needs, as part of discharge or onboarding through the treatment pathway.
• Lead on the discharge planning and crisis management of all Patients in the treatment pathway with individual counsellors, such as signposting and referrals, ensuring wider support needs are met where possible.
• Actively contribute to and support the integration of clinical governance in West Central London Mind Psychological Therapies Service leading on an area of work as directed.
• Actively contribute and support with training development and delivery.

PROFESSIONAL

• Provide consultation to and communicate as appropriate with external agencies (including housing, police, local authority, employers etc.).
• Proactively develop robust professional relationships with General Practice staff, Psychological Therapies, RISE and Suicide Support teams, peers, and colleagues, supporting the active integration of psychological therapy provision into primary care.
• Direct & signpost volunteer counsellors to additional resources & support, maintaining appropriate boundaries between professional & personal matters.
• Alert the Clinical Leads to any client(s) whose risk and need profile requires additional resources & support.
• Agree any treatment offer or treatment programme extension outside of the agreed parameters, in advance with the Clinical Lead or Deputy Clinical Lead.
• Complete any tasks and administration in relation to Supervisees requirements for completing University Course forms and attend meetings with course tutors.
• Develop and maintain good professional relationships with mental health workers in primary and secondary care.
• Promote and contribute to the development and maintenance of a healthy therapeutic culture within the West Central London Minds Psychological Therapies Service amongst colleagues and Service Users.
• Develop and engage in your own CPD, including active engagement in and use of clinical supervision.
• To fulfill the requisite code of conduct and follow ethical guidelines in your professional work.
• Work closely and effectively as part of a clinical leadership team with other clinical leads both within Psychological Therapies and cross departmentally.
• Any other duties necessary to the smooth running of the service and falling within what might be considered the duties of a Lead Counsellor / Supervisor.

GENERAL

• Be aware of, and comply with the policies, procedures, and standards of service particularly the service operations manual, Psychological Therapies manual and NICE guidelines, recommending updates for this as indicated.
• Exercise personal responsibility for the systematic clinical governance of professional practice in your own practice and of your supervisees.
• Ensure the maintenance of standards of practice according to the employer and any regulating, professional and accrediting bodies (e.g. BACP, BPS, UKCP, BABCP), and keep up to date on new recommendations/guidelines set by the department of health (e.g. NHS plan, National Service Framework, National Institute for Clinical Excellence).
• To adhere to West Central London Minds Policies and Procedures, including Psychological Therapies clinical risk, safeguarding and other.
• Ensure volunteer counsellors operate within the agreed clinical, ethical & quality framework, reporting under performance; any breach of the agreed framework & any safeguarding matters to the Clinical Lead, or Service Manager in their absence within 12 hours for an urgent matter and within 48 hours for a non-urgent matter.
• All employees have a duty and responsibility for their own health and safety and the health of safety of colleagues, patients, and the general public.
• All employees have a responsibility and a legal obligation to ensure that information processed for both patients and staff is kept accurate, confidential, secure and in line with the GDPR and Security and Confidentiality Policies.
• It is the responsibility of all staff that they do not abuse their official position for personal gain, to seek advantage of further private business or other interests in the course of their official duties.
• In line with meeting the needs of the service, be able to work flexibly e.g . click apply for full job details