Counsellor

Job summary

We have an exciting opportunity for a Band 6 Counsellor to join our mental health team working at HMP Elmley to cover maternity leave on a fixed term contract for 12months.

This position will be responsible for the autonomous provision of counselling 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 communicate outcomes and suggestions for alternative care back to GP's, mental health and criminal justice professionals. This work to be undertaken in line with the policies and procedures and service standards of Oxleas NHS Trust.

You will be expected to contribute to the development of the service by giving feedback to managers and clinical leads about your own areas of work.

Please visit the link below for more information

Working in offender healthcare

Main duties of the job

As a counsellor in the prison environment you will be providing specialist care to offenders and working as part of the Mental Health In-Reach Team, plus wider mental health services. You will be required to work in a psychologically minded way with offenders in achieving their agreed goals and quality health outcomes.

Our Mental Health Team provide specialist interventions at primary and secondary care level including; referral management, screening assessment, triage, evidence-based interventions, care planning and risk assessing, plus one-to-one and group-work facilitation.

Our Mental Health team manage a mixed and challenging caseload and are required to perform robust assessment, screening and interventions to offenders with learning disabilities and mental health conditions. You will contribute to alternatives to inpatient admission and assisting with early discharge through the implementation of high intensity interventions and complex case management arrangements.

About us

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children's centres, schools and people's homes.We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

• We're Kind
• We're Fair
• We Listen
• We Care

Job responsibilities

ClinicalContribute to the provision of the forensic mental health service, Specialties Directorate, by undertaking counselling/therapy with individual clients, or when appropriate, in groups. Using communication and relationship skills to undertake assessment of clients referred to the service by GPs, 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 professionalsTo 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 clientsincluding: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 groupTo keep adequate clinical records in accordance with Trust guidelines, the BABCP/UKCP/BACP or BPS Division of Counselling Psychology and DoH guidanceTo frequently sit in a restricted position for substantial proportion of working time during clinical sessions and meetings, requiring long periods of concentrationDealing 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.

Management responsibilities1.To provide information and guidance to other primary care and mental health staff on the issues of psychological therapy.2.To attend meetings when required, within the working times of your post.3.To maintain statistical data.4.To liaise, collaborate and communicate with GPs and other criminal justice practitioners in the care and treatment of clients. This may also include the communication of sensitive information requiring knowledge and skills of data protection issues.

LeadershipTo provide courses/seminars/workshops/presentations relevant to counselling.To sit on relevant working groups of the service as required.

GovernanceTo implement and maintain the principles of Clinical Governance, including risk management.To implement and maintain good information governance in respect of British Psychological Societys (or other relevant professional bodies) and Department of Healths codes and guidances on the proper management of client information, the Caldicott principles and the Data Protection Act.To maintain up to date clear client records and case notes in line with the policies and procedures and service standards of the Trust, using the electronic clinical record system.To abide by the postholders appropriate Code of Professional Conduct and to follow guidance from NICE and the Department of Health.To engage in ongoing personal professional development.To maintain professional accreditation with relevant professional body eg the BPS, BACP, keep an updated CPD log and attend training to maintain therapy skills and competencies as appropriate.To collect session by session outcome measures.

Teaching, Training and Supervision.To provide when appropriate, induction and clinical supervision to counsellors on trainee clinical placement.Attend for regular supervision as agreed within the locality counseling service and professional ethical framework.To keep abreast of current developments in the professional field of psychological therapy through reading and attendance at appropriate training courses and CPD in accordance with the requirements of your own professional accrediting body.

CommunicationClinicians within forensic psychological therapies and clinicians within Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust; mental health practitioners within inarch servicesSenior Trust Officials, when indicated or appropriate i.e. service developmentGeneral Practitioners and GPs with special interest.Service providers from both statutory and voluntary organisations e.g. Adult Mental Health Services, CAMHS, Social Services, criminal justice system

Custodial ResponsibilitiesAssume personal responsibility for the security of issued keys.Understand and comply with prison orders, procedures, and instructions in your area of work.Comply with all security requirements.Respond to any situation or circumstance that might indicate a threat to security of the establishment or to the safety of an individual, completing Incident, Security, Injury, or other reports as appropriate.Report breaches of order and discipline including reporting and recording untoward incidents according to local protocol.Contribute to effective risk assessment and management procedures.

IMPORTANT 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 photographicID

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).

Person specification

Education/Qualifications

Essential

• Recognised professional counselling qualification at Diploma level or above. Accredited or registered with CPC, UKCP, BACP or other appropriate accrediting body.
• If Counselling Psychology qualification, registration with HCPC is essential

Experience

Essential

• oMinimum of 2 years post qualification experience

Desirable

• oExperience of working in forensic settings.

Skills/Abilities/Knowledge

Essential

• oProfessional knowledge and skills acquired through counselling training.
• oTo work effectively with a wide range of clients with complex needs and presenting concerns.
• oEffective communication skills both oral and written.
• oAnalytic and judgmental skills including the ability to assess risk and make appropriate referrals.