Job Description Counsellor

Salary Range : £32,073 to £39,043 (pro rata) depending on experience

Reporting to: Lead Counsellor

Hours of work: 8 hours per week over 1 or 2 days

Location: Blythe House Hospice & the community

Purpose :

To work with the lead counsellor to provide high -quality counselling to adults, children and young people in accordance with Hospice criteria, working as part of a multidisciplinary clinical team and promoting the ethos and values of the Hospice.

The post holder wi ll be confident and competent in working therapeutically across both adult and children and young people's services and will bring a structured, organised and proactive approach to their clinical, administrative and practical responsibilities within the Counselling and Family Support Service.

Key Tasks :

Working within the Hospice team to provide a high -quality counselling service that is responsive, ethical, safe and effective .

Able to provide counselling from the hospice base or in people’s own homes/plac e they call home /school environment

Work with the person at the centre and form effective therapeutic alliances whilst maintaining professional boundaries .

Carry out needs assessments and provide an appropriate service to clients with varying presenting issues and levels of distress .

Appropriately use different therapeutic tools, depending upon the needs of individual clients to help clients cope and recover accordingly.

Maintain confidential, up -to-date and accurate records of all counselling sessions usin g the hospice’s patient recording system , carefully considering the sensitive nature of this work and taking account of the potential for access to health records, statutory investigations and court proceedings .

Work within the hospice’s Counselling Framework and a dhere to the ethical framework for g ood practice in counselling and psychotherapy of the relevant governing body e.g. BACP, UKCP, BABCP, BAPT .

Continuously work towards and support the development of best practice in therapeutic interventions wi th clients in a Hospice environment .

Able to deliver training to staff and/or external agencies as required in relation to counselling and/or bereavement support

Regularly review the counselling work and incorporate BHH outcome monitoring tools for all who use the service .

Facilitate the contribution of service user feedback ensuring that service users’ voices are heard within BHH .

Positively promote the service in the wider community and represent BHH in an appropriate way, consistent with the organisation’s values .

• Liaise with referrers, other professionals and agencies as appropriate .

Ensure that BHH policies and procedures are always adhered to including working within Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults , Data Protection guidelines and Equality and Diversity.

Maintain safe spaces and working practices , and at no time acting in a way which might jeopardise the health and safety of any client, employee or visitor to any BHH premises .

Undertake all mandatory training as deemed relevant to the role by t he Hospice

• Maintain own clinical supervision in line with BACP Guidelines

This job description describes the main duties of the post holder and is not exhaustive. It will be reviewed with the post holder as part of the regular performance review and development procedure. This job d escription does not form part of the Service Contract .

Person Specification Counsellor

The criteria below reflect the realistic requirements in terms of skills, abilities, qualifications and personal attributes necessary f or effective performance in this post

	Essential	Desirable
Qualifications/ Experience	Counselling/psychotherapy/play therapy training minimum level 4 BACP/UKCP/BABCP/BAPT registration Evidence of accreditation of relevant body or at least 450 hours of post-qualification experience Experience of working with adults, children and young people affected by life limiting illness or	Training, teaching or facilitation qualification Experience of working in a hospice environment Additional training or experience in creative, play- based or developmentally appropriate therapeutic approaches with children and young people.
Skills and Knowledge	Able to work therapeutically with both adults and children/young people affected by bereavement or life-limiting illness and their associated difficulties. Able to provide time-limited and boundaried psychological/play therapy Able to build positive and empathetic relationships with clients Able to undertake comprehensive assessments and understanding referral pathways. Knowledge and understanding of safeguarding principles relating to both children and vulnerable adults. Able to work effectively within a multidisciplinary team whilst also working independently when required. Good IT skills and ability to use web-based databases.

	Able to manage a varied and complex caseload demonstrating good organisational, planning and prioritising skills Able to work in a structured and methodical way, using effective systems to plan workload, monitor tasks and ensure agreed actions are completed.
Personal	therapeutic resources, including creative materials and play therapy equipment. Able to adapt therapeutic interventions appropriately according to age, developmental stage, presenting need and individual circumstances. Able to deliver or facilitate training Clear and effective verbal and written communication skills. Ability to work alone in the community

BLVTHE HOUSE HOSPICE

	approach to their work. Enthusiasm and passion for this type of work in a hospice environment. A sensitive and compassionate approach. Awareness of the possible impact of the work on self and commitment to looking after own personal wellbeing.
Other	Commitment to Continuing Professional Development Full current driving licence with ability and willingness to use own vehicle Commitment to the work and values of Blythe House Hospice