To provide counselling and support for women in the gynaecology and maternity services. The role of counselling within women's health is to provide a confidential service to clients and their partners in respect of their pregnancy loss. This will include supporting couples through a subsequent pregnancy. The post holder will be required to provide support to staff when required.
Main duties of the job
* To work within British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) standards and guidelines.
* Provide one-on-one counselling to women and couples referred by the Bereavement Support Midwife or other health professionals. Deliver individualised counselling sessions to patients and family members coping with loss and grief, adjusting approaches based on the unique needs of each individual.
* To carry out assessments to determine the most appropriate interventions and refer clients to suitable internal or external services if necessary.
* Providing resources and strategies for coping with loss.
* To establish and facilitate support groups for individuals experiencing similar losses, fostering a sense of community and mutual understanding.
* To collaborate closely with the bereavement support midwife, other midwifery team members, obstetric and medical professionals to ensure holistic care is provided.
* Provide training to healthcare staff on how to communicate with and support grieving patients and to update staff regarding counselling issues relevant to their services.
* To attend regular counselling supervision and keep up to date with developments in the field of counselling. To keep professional counselling skills appropriately updated.
About us
Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. We aim to employ a workforce that is as representative as possible of this population, valuing differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion, and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences.
Job responsibilities
To provide counselling and support for women in the gynaecology and maternity services. The role of counselling within women's health is to provide a confidential service to clients and their partners in respect of their pregnancy loss. This will include supporting couples through a subsequent pregnancy. The post holder will be required to provide support to staff when required.
To work within British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) standards and guidelines.
Provide one-on-one counselling to women and couples referred by the Bereavement Support Midwife or other health professionals. Deliver individualised counselling sessions to patients and family members coping with loss and grief, adjusting approaches based on the unique needs of each individual.
To carry out assessments to determine the most appropriate interventions and refer clients to suitable internal or external services if necessary.
Conduct follow-ups: Carry out follow-up appointments with patients after they leave the hospital, ensuring continuity of care and emotional support.
Intervention: Offer immediate counselling and support during critical incidents or when a patient exhibits severe emotional distress.
Providing resources and strategies for coping with loss.
To communicate with other health professionals to ensure a holistic care approach including psychology and psychiatry, ensuring good working relationships are maintained and standards of counselling and referral criteria are regularly reviewed and audited.
Facilitate support groups: Establish and facilitate support groups for individuals experiencing similar losses, fostering a sense of community and mutual understanding.
Liaise with the healthcare team: Collaborate closely with the bereavement support midwife, other midwifery team members, obstetric and medical professionals to ensure holistic care is provided.
Train staff: Provide training to healthcare staff, particularly midwives, on how to communicate with and support grieving patients and to update staff regarding counselling issues relevant to their services.
To be involved in developing an appropriate debriefing facility for staff involved in difficult situations at work. To offer direct counselling to such staff and bereavement support midwives as required.
To attend regular counselling supervision and to keep up to date with developments in the field of counselling. Time and funding will be provided by the service for this.
Administrative duties: Maintain accurate and confidential patient records, document treatment plans and progress notes, and carry out other administrative tasks as required, according to BACP standards.
Develop treatment plans: Develop tailored treatment plans for bereaved patients, setting therapeutic goals and tracking progress over time.
To take responsibility for monitoring and auditing counselling activity. To present this information yearly to the line manager and appropriate staff within the services.
To record all counselling sessions on appropriate Trust systems to ensure the patient experience of the counselling service is accurately accounted for and auditable on a regular basis.
Person Specification
Education/Qualification
* Accredited as a counsellor with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).
* Minimum of a diploma in counselling.
* Evidence of ongoing professional development and additional qualifications.
* MA in counselling or equivalent.
Knowledge & Experience
* Two years post-qualifying experience in supervised one-on-one counselling.
* Knowledge of mental health.
* Experience of working within a healthcare setting.
* Experience of working with a diverse client group.
* Experience of working with issues created by and related to pregnancy loss.
* Experience of working in a multidisciplinary team.
* Experience of working with bereavement issues.
Skills & Abilities
* A flexible counselling approach incorporating a range of skills.
* Ability to work within a multidisciplinary team.
* Ability to communicate confidently with a large range of health professionals.
* Ability to provide effective counselling.
* Ability to work independently.
* Excellent communication and listening skills.
* To work face to face in Trust arranged venues, either community or hospital-based.
* To be able to work remotely if required in specific situations.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
£44,806 to £53,134 a year (pro rata) inclusive of HCAs.
#J-18808-Ljbffr