Job summary
- Main area
- Counselling
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 6
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Monday-Friday - 8am-8pm.)
- Job ref
- 333-J-BR-0806-A
- Employer
- Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- CNWL Talking Therapies Service Brent
- Town
- Kingsbury
- Salary
- £44,485 - £52,521 per annum inc HCAS (pro rata if P/T)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 24/02/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Counsellor
NHS AfC: Band 6
CNWL (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust) has almost 8,000 staff providing integrated healthcare to a third of London's population, Milton Keynes and areas beyond. We involve service users, carers, the public, staff and partner organisations in the way that we are run.
Our catchment area spans diverse communities, with over 100 first languages spoken. It contains areas of great affluence as well as areas of much deprivation. We are committed to providing services that meet the needs of the people who use them, and we actively encourage involvement from local people who can help make a difference. We’re proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME and people with disabilities to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.
We are recognised locally, nationally and internationally for providing high quality, innovative healthcare. We aim to employ only the best people, and our experts are frequently called upon to contribute to national health strategy and policy, and many models of our care have been adapted for use in other countries.
We offer a generous relocation package (subject to eligibility assessment) and flexible working options, including bank assignments for most roles. For more information on these and other benefits of working for us, see our Benefits, Reward and Wellbeing page
Become part of our team. We care for you as much as you care for others.
CNWL NHS Foundation Trust are committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices to protect children and vulnerable adults.
Job overview
We are looking for an experienced an Accredited Counsellor, Psychotherapist to join our team at Brent Talking Therapies.
We are a large, well established service based in a diverse borough of London. Our service provides low and high intensity therapies at Step 2 and Step 3, alongside our Step 3 counselling service. We are passionate about the work we do and care provided to service users, and work by the trust values of compassion, respect, empowerment and partnership.
You will join a team of Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWP), CBT Therapists and Counsellors, with experienced supervisors and colleagues. Candidates should be competent in providing brief focused counselling using an evidence-based approach e.g. focal psychodynamic, client centred, solution focused, humanistic. Ability to deliver therapy in local languages is desirable.
We welcome applicants who:
- Are passionate about the benefits of short-term focused therapy
- Have worked in the past two years with adults with common mental health problems in a primary care/IAPT or NHS setting
- Have extensive experience of assessments & enjoy working independently
- Enjoy working within a fast paced & busy setting with diverse populations
- Want to develop clinical skills & access further training
- The advertised post is full time however, we welcome part time applicants and also support flexible working patterns as long as core service commitments are covered.
Main duties of the job
NHS Talking Therapies services require all counsellors/psychotherapists to be registrants on the Accredited Register of Counsellors with the Professional Standards Authority.
To be shortlisted, recruiters search the PSA Accredited Register for Counsellors of your professional organisation’s register (BACP, BPC, COSCA, NCS, UK AHPP, UKCP). Please ensure you provide the correct Registration Number in your application for us to confirm you are an Accredited Counsellor or Psychotherapist with your registering association.
This is within London borough of Brent. The main hub is at Fairfields House in Kingsbury and a satellite hub at Bell House in Willesden Green. You will be required to work across both hubs and in other parts of the borough, e.g. GP surgeries/community settings.
We operate an agile working policy. Staff combine remote working and being on-site to deliver face-to-face appointments and other service commitments that require a hub-based presence. The post-holder may be required to work at any times between 8am and 8pm on weekdays including an evening clinic as required by the service.
Working for our organisation
Benefits of working for Brent include:
- Wellbeing is important within our service and we are a collaborative and cohesive team.
- 27 days of annual leave, plus bank holidays, with an increase to 33 days with continuous service
- NHS discount
- Opportunities for career progression
- We are committed to professional development, an support further training in a specialist IAPT modality, i.e. Brief Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy, Counselling for Depression and Couples Counselling for Depression. This will enable you to progress to a Band 7 IAPT High Intensity Counsellor with the service on completion of the training.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
- Provide a systematic time-limited assessment and counselling / psychological therapy service to people with defined common mental health difficulties within the Primary Care setting.
- Exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of patients whose problems are managed by psychologically based care plans.
- Provide consultation to referring GPs and the primary and community care teams about psychological therapy aspects of patient care and a range of mental health issues; attend primary care meetings where appropriate.
- When necessary, arrange onward referral of patients to other NHS and non-NHS teams and organizations in consultation with the referring GP.
- Work as part of local mental and physical health services to provide a clear patient pathway for patients receiving a range of psychological therapies and interventions
- Provide comprehensive and timely clinical information when referring within and between these teams and services.
- Liaise with voluntary organizations and other mental and physical health agencies over patient care and provide advice around primary care issues; have extensive local knowledge of associated services.
- Use analytical and judgement skills across complex presenting facts or situations in devising an appropriate response and intervention.
- Responsible for keeping clinical records and maintaining patient records in secure locations across sites; ensure any patient identifiable data is not carried outside of these NHS premises or between sites.
Person specification
Education and qualifications
Essential criteria
- Qualified Counsellor / Psychotherapist, current Registrant on the Professional Standards Authority Accredited Register of Counsellors (BACP, BPC, UKCP, NCS [Accredited Professional], COSCA, UKAHPP) OR Qualified Counselling Psychologist, current registrant with the HCPC
- Substantial post-qualification experience of generic counselling (minimum of 450hrs client contact), demonstrable through an additional supervisory reference
- Continued professional development that includes learning/knowledge of other clinical modalities and theoretical models
Desirable criteria
- Post-qualification training in one or more IAPT modality eg DIT, IPT, CfD, Couples Counselling for Depression
- Post-qualification training in additional specialist mental health areas eg CBT principles, ACT
Previous Experience
Essential criteria
- Recent experience of working with adults with common mental health problems
- Recent experience of working in a primary care setting using brief, time limited counselling interventions
- Assessed experience of undertaking assessments for brief therapy / counselling, including risk management,
- Experience of working with a wide variety of clients over the age of 16 years presenting with common mental health problems
- Maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
- Experience of exercising clinical responsibility for clients’ emotional care and treatment including maintaining confidentiality
Desirable criteria
- Experience of assessing clinical risk in the context of common mental health problems.
- Experience of working in a multicultural setting and with diversity
- Experience of working with adults with Serious Mental Illness
- Experience of working therapeutically with people presenting with Long Term Health Conditions
- Experience of working with interpreters
- Experience of managing an independent and specialist caseload.
Skills and Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Ability to work independently and manage a caseload, with freedom to act and take decisions about patient care, within professional discretion.
- Competency in working within a recognized theoretical framework.
- Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BACP including fulfilling professional clinical supervision requirements.
Desirable criteria
- Ability to use different languages spoken in Brent in therapeutic sessions.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Tasneem Shikoh
- Job title
- Lead Counsellor (Joint)
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 020 8206 3924
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