As a Counsellor & Complex Need Team Leader, you will support prison based integrated substance misuse services to cooridnate and deliver counselling provision across 3 x womens prisons within Surrey. You will join and manage a small team of therapeutic counsellors across 3x womens priosn within the Surrey region.
This is an exciting time to join the team as our counselling services continue to grow following recent charitable investment we are expanding the team with this key role. A key deliverable will be strengthening our offer of trainee counselling opportunities and delivery of therapeutic and counselling services across the region. You will take on line management of Counsellors and lead in implementing the strategic vision for this role to build effective joint working protocols and pathways with mental health teams and other counselling agencies operating at each prison, with a focus on improving the overall outcomes for Forward Trust therapeutic programmes.
This role will be based mostly on site at HMP Downview, however will work specifically across women’s prions within Surrey region including HMP/YOI Bronzefield and HMP Send. Therefore, travel between these sites will be required.
What to expect:
- You will work closely with Service Managers and the Regional Manager to co-ordinate regular counsellor meetings to create a positive culture amongst our team of therapeutic counsellors and trainee counsellors ensuring the effective delivery and standards.
- You will be a key point of contact for our counselling services, helping build stakeholder understanding of services.
- You will report to the Service Manager/Regional Manager.
- Using your experience and qualifications, you will help ensure best practice across the counselling services, looking at all elements of service user journey with us, and supporting our counsellors to deliver person centred support.
- Utilise skills and experience to contribute to the monitoring, review and ongoing improvement of the counselling services.
- Liaising with relevant Safeguarding and Clinical Leads, you will the main be the main point of contact for counsellors around day-to-day clinical advice or guidance. You will also support our Safeguarding and Clinical Lead with any safeguarding issues that are raised by counsellors and help ensure any issues or complaints are dealt with appropriately.
- You will manage the counsellor allocations matching needs of support to the counsellors who are most suitable in line with proficiency and level of practice.
- Work alongside Service Managers to manage recruitment, onboarding and induction of appropriately qualified and experienced counsellors as needed.
- You will also support Service Managers to ensure effective policies and procedures are in place and adhered to throughout the region. This will include ensuring case notes are logged appropriately and all standards required are being met across required information systems.
- You will ensure appropriate level of supervision maintained across all counsellors in post and operational within standards of practice set out by national frameworks e.g. BACP/UKCP/BPS.
Day-to-day:
- To oversee and conduct appropriate triage and assessment of referrals for counselling services.
- Coordinating allocations to therapeutic counsellors and trainee counsellors on placements across the region
- Providing line management for all therapeutic counsellors including sickness and performance monitoring, supervision and quarterly line management reviews where needed.
- Formulate and implement cohesive counselling treatment and/or management plans for clients.
- To provide counselling advice and consultation to clients when required.
- To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the Integrated Wellbeing and Recovery service and agencies serving the client group.
- To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress, taking into account professional requirements on ethics and confidentiality.
Other key responsibilities:
- Prepare narrative examples of best practice and successful case studies to support our funding bids as required.
- Attending meetings with partners and funders as required to represent the counselling service
- Contribute to development of content and materials for counselling services to ensure effective promotion and communications.
- Take on any other duties as required to enable effective delivery of counselling services across Surrey region.
