Specialist Counsellor in End of Life Care and Bereavement Care

at  Solent NHS Trust

Clinical and Professional Responsibilities of the Role 1.Clinical: 1.1 To provide specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the Psychology & Bereavement Service based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources. 1.2 To develop psychological formulations of presenting problems or situations that integrate complex information from assessments within a coherent framework that draws upon psychological theory and evidence and which incorporates interpersonal, societal, cultural and biological factors. 1.3 To develop and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a client’s mental health problems, utilising humanistic theory and in conjunction with guidance from the Lead Consultant Clinical Psychologist. 1.4 To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account appropriate therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, carers or couple.
1.5 To exercise professional responsibility for the assessment, psychological formulation, treatment and discharge of clients and manage and maintain a caseload in line with service guidelines and with the guidance of the Lead Consultant Clinical Psychologist. 1.6 To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals, contributing directly to clients’ formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan. 1.7 To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group. 1.8 To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management in line with both Trusts, and inter-agency policies and procedures.
To assess clients for referral onto Mental Health Services should their needs be more relevant for management by those teams. 1.9 To monitor and evaluate progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care, and to provide appropriate reports on this. 1.10 To produce reports on clients, in a timely manner, that convey the key findings of psychological assessment and formulation and treatment outcome in a way that does justice to the complexity of the problems described, but that are understandable to the recipients of the reports, including clients and referrers. 1.11 To work in partnership with other disciplines and to maintain links with statutory and non-statutory and primary care agencies as appropriate.
1.12 To deal appropriately with the intense emotional atmosphere surrounding therapy contacts on a daily basis and to work with frequent intense concentration for the clinical sessions of assessment and therapy. 1.13 Will be required to sit in a constrained position for client therapy and extended assessment. 1.14 Will be required to deal with the intense emotional atmosphere surrounding therapy contacts which may be frequently highly distressing on a daily basis, and to work with frequent intense concentration for much of the clinical sessions of assessment and therapy. 2 Professional Standards and Guidelines 2.1 To ensure development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the post holder and service manager.

2.2 To ensure the development and articulation of best practice in psychology across the service, by continuing to develop the skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the field of counselling. 2.3 To ensure and maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of practice of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and Trust policies and procedures. 2.4 To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific client group and mental health. 2.5 Contribute to the development and implementation of Clinical Governance in relation to the profession, the care group and the Trust, as agreed with Head of Speciality and Service Manager.

• Please Note : For a detailed job description for this vacancy, please see attached Job Description*

Please refer the Job description for details