Salary: £30.00 per session .
Hours: 8 sessions over 2 working days
Holiday: n/a
Base: Primary Care Centre, Plymouth
Area Covered: n/a
Contract: n/a - Self Employed
About the Role
We are looking for a self employed CYP counsellor to provide specialist therapeutic counselling to young people aged 11 - 17 within the context of a non-judgmental and confidential service and in accordance with current service policy and the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) ethical framework.
Key responsibilities:
* To providecounselling services to young people aged 11-18 who are referred appropriatereferral channels in relation to sexual violence or abuse, including pre-trialtherapy where relevant
* Undertake specific administration duties related to the children and young peoples service, including electronic case and note management, client assessments and contracting, user feedback and provide statistical caseload information for quarterly service reports
* To liaise with all referrers, SARC staff, primary health care teams and voluntary and statutory agencies
* To undertake individual assessments and develop creative ways of working therapeutically with young people who have experienced sexual abuse or sexual violence, based on client need
* To assess risk of harm to clients/self/others/property and take action as appropriate and consider sharing of information in respect of Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults; acts of terrorism etc
* Provide assessment and contracting for counselling, referring in particular to the disclosure of notes policy and adhering to current guidance and First Light Policy in relation to the provision of pre-trial therapy
* Provide specialist pre-trial counselling for clients going through the Criminal Justice system and post-trial therapeutic support
* Manage all your own administration, including appointment making, case closures
* To manage own caseload, monitoring and allocation of cases from the counselling waiting list
* To actively mitigate and reduce the number of cancellations and DNAs in the service
* To work autonomously within professional guidelines.
* To practice in accordance with the British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) ethical framework or NCPS professional guidelines.
* Continuously uphold the core values and beliefs set by First Light.
* Use MODUS (electronic Client Management System) to record all activity, keeping all client files up to date at all times to ensure accurate recording of activity and data for monthly performance reports.
* Providing, eliciting and receiving highly sensitive and emotive information where there may be barriers to understanding because of cultural, language or learning difficulties in a non-judgmental and empathic forum.
* High level of therapeutic skills required to provide intentional clinical interventions to specific client group
* Conduct therapeutic sessions through translators, if required
* Identify and assess relevant care, protection and risk issues relating directly or indirectly to clients and take necessary steps in accordance with Safeguarding and ethical guidelines in consultation with their own external clinical supervisor and Team Manager
* Manage clinical risk within own caseload
* Be able to identify symptoms of vicarious trauma and implement self-management/ recovery plan in conjunction with their own external clinical supervisor and Team Manager.
* Independently prioritise and organise own workload alongside administrational tasks, deadlines and other tasks
* Develop and maintain knowledge and skills relevant to this area of work, which meets the needs of the organisation, client group and sexual offences legislation
* Identify own personal and professional development needs and to keep abreast of best practice in relation to sexual assault
* Ensure continued professional development in accordance with professional body framework
* To promote evidence-based practice through audit and research
* To contribute to the research and audit programme of First Light, by data collection and implementation of recommendations
Essential requirements:
* Individual and Registered Member of BACP or NCPS.
* Diploma in Counselling (Min Level 4), Psychotherapy or Clinical Psychology
* Specific professional experience or training with young people
* Experience in therapeutic work with children and young people
* Handling confidential and sensitive information appropriately.
* Evidence of knowledge and skills relevant to this area of work
* Understanding the issues relating to rape and sexual assault
* Understanding of the BACP or NCPS Ethical Framework.
* Understanding of safeguarding practices for children and vulnerable adults
* Knowledge and use of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint)
* Excellent verbal and communication skills
* Ability to manage own workload
* Ability to utilise clinical supervision effectively
* Non-judgmental, treat all clients, visitors and colleagues with dignity and respect
* Exemplary personal standards of conduct and behaviour
* Able to work, and fully commit to our policies on equality and diversity
* Able to maintain personal and professional boundaries
Added benefits:
* Working for an organisation committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. We encourage applications from all sections of the community, and all backgrounds regardless of age, race, faith, disability, neuro-diversities, genders, gender expression or sexuality. First Light are a Disability Confident Committed Employer and have an LGBTQIA+ Staff Network.
Additional Information: The successful applicant will be subject to a Disclosure & Barring check, and a social media check conducted by a third party organisation as part of our Safer Recruitment process. Any future offer of employment is contingent on the satisfactory completion of these checks, as well as the receipt of two satisfactory employment references, with one being from your current or most recent employer. Please note that in some roles staff may be required to work from a home/office base in accordance with our Hybrid Working policy.
Deadline for receipt of applications: 09:00 on 23 February 2025
Expected date for interviews: 5 March 2025
If you do not hear from us within 10 working days of the deadline for receipt of applications, please assume you have been unsuccessful at this time. We reserve the right to withdraw this advert early for the right candidate, so we encourage early applications.
To apply: Due to Safeguarding requirements we are unable to accept CVs as part of your application, or employ any candidate who has been a client of First Light within the last two years.
Please complete the application form on the top right of the advert on our website. Ensure that you outline your relevant experience and evidence suitability for the role against the role profile, which is a combined job description and person specification. Alternatively, you can email