Job Description
Leo’s Freelance Counsellor Posts
Flexible working 4-8 hours per week
Reporting to: The Chief Executive Officer, Psychological Services Lead and The Board of Trustees
Purpose:
Leo’s mission and core values are to provide trauma-informed, lived-experience care to families who are currently, or have experienced neonatal care, to reduce the long-term mental health complications which can arise from neonatal trauma. This can include, families who are pregnant and at risk of a neonatal stay, those who are pregnant and have had a previous neonatal stay or loss, those who are currently in neonatal care or have been discharged from neonatal care, those who have lost a baby or babies on a neonatal unit, or those with a palliative care diagnosis.
Leo’s works through a lived-experience lens, combining the lived experience of the Trustee Board and peer mentors, whilst working seamlessly with our current counselling team who bring a wealth of knowledge and experience. This ensures all families in our care are able to access timely, person-centered support.
Leo’s works with a ‘wrap around’ care model, allowing counsellors and peer mentors to work collaboratively t rough client consent*, ensuring the needs of the family are met at every opportunity.
The team works together not only internally, but externally with wider NHS and Local Authority teams and pathways to provide a robust model of care.
We are looking for a new deeply compassionate and empathic BACP registered therapist to join our team to work across our neonatal trauma service, and our newly commissioned perinatal baby loss service.
You will have a deep understanding of the importance of trauma informed care, perinatal and infant mental health, maternal and paternal mental health and child mental health. You will understand the prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences and historical trauma and the roles these take within the neonatal infant and the caregivers. You will understand the impact of pregnancy, baby and child loss on different family members and how grief impacts parents differently. You will understand the turbulence of grief and bereavement and how that translates into pregnancy loss, baby loss and palliative care in infancy.
As a mental health professional, your job will involve offering virtual/1:1 counselling and therapy sessions to clients using a variety of digital platforms, supporting and facilitating therapeutic groups and where needed and appropriate providing in person counselling.
You will work independently, but also receive support and training from our wider team to ensure the highest level of service.
The ideal candidate should have relevant counselling qualifications and a minimum of five years experience in counselling, hold a BACP government registration and enhanced DBS certificate.
An NHS background will be advantageous. You will need to be skilled in various counselling techniques, with experience working with a diverse range of clients and presenting issues including grief and loss. Experience of therapeutic working with children is desirable as we expand our provisions into sibling support.
In addition to your qualifications, we are looking for individuals who possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills, empathy, a non-judgmental attitude and good record keeping.
You need to be comfortable working remotely and have access to a secure and reliable internet connection.
As a member of our team, you will have the opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of clients while enjoying the flexibility and autonomy of a freelance position.
You will be passionate about learning new skills, and attending training sessions to enhance the work you deliver, and strive to build on your own personal growth.
We believe in investing in our team members and ensuring that they feel valued and supported. If you're a talented and dedicated professional, we welcome you to apply.
Main Responsibilities
- To provide 1:1 virtual / in person counselling
- To facilitate therapeutic groups
- To work closely with the wider Leo’s mentor team and in house neonatal and perinatal baby loss trauma services
- To provide a full family approach to your care
- To support families to identify their strengths, journey, improvements and milestones
- To provide an empathetic, non-judgemental, caring approach to the families in your care
- To provide specialist neonatal support to families within the North East of England who are experiencing neonatal care or have been discharged from neonatal care within the last eight years
- To provide specialist baby loss support to families within Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland who have experienced pregnancy or baby loss (miscarriage, termination for medical reasons, still birth and neonatal loss) within the perinatal period
- Gather feedback from clients, provide case studies and work with a variety of diagnostic measurement tools to improve service delivery and secure further funding
- To work with families appropriately through the Leo’s assessment framework
- To safely signpost families when required
- Work professionally with partner agencies to provide wrap around services
- To contribute to the development of new projects which can enhance the lives of the community we serve
- Identify mental health risk and ensure appropriate mental health risk assessments are completed, or escalation processes are followed
- Work within Key Performance Indicators
- Ensure all safeguarding processes are adhered to in relation to children and vulnerable adults
- Organisation and Administration: Implementing policies and procedures; completing relevant paperwork, submitting reports to deadlines, managing workload and priorities of self and team
This list is non exhaustive and other duties may be required to be undertaken to support the needs of Leo’s.
To Apply:
Please email your CV, a covering letter and a reflective written or videoed piece about your lived experience to lottie@leosneonatal.orgby the 14.4.23
Your CV must include the names and contact details of two referees and your notice period required from your existing employer (if applicable)
Your covering letter MUST address the qualities and attributes we are looking for, and highlight the ways you are able to contribute to the main responsibilities.
For an informal discussion please contact Lottie on 07824353130 or on lottie@leosneonatal.org
Interviews will be held virtually on April 17th and 19th.
Job Type: Freelance
Salary: £45.00 per hour
Benefits:
Schedule:
Application question(s):
- Are you registered with the BACP or a recognised accredited body?
Work Location: In person
Application deadline: 14/04/2023
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