Counsellor

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Main area: Talking Therapies

Grade: NHS AfC: Band 7

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Required to work 10% of hours outside of 9-5)

Salary: £49,387 - £56,515 per annum/pro-rata

Closing: 16/11/2026 23:59

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is situated on the west coast of Lancashire, with services covering the local authority areas of Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre. The Trust is part of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System (ICS) supporting a population of around 1.6 million people. We have three main hospitals providing acute services to around 330,000 local residents. The organisation also provides specialist tertiary care for cardiac and haematology services, delivers community health services to over 445,000 residents including those in North Lancashire and hosts the National Artificial Eye Service across England. Plus, we provide urgent and emergency care services to an estimated 18 million people who visit the seaside resort each year. We employ over 7000 people from 68 different countries. We welcome and encourage applications from anyone with protected characteristics, as well as supporting reservists and Veterans who are looking for a rewarding and challenging career within the NHS. Blackpool Teaching Hospitals encourages flexible working in all our roles to support staff in maintaining a healthy home-life balance.

Job overview: Do you want to be part of an innovative and dynamic NHS Talking Therapies service? Are you an experienced counsellor who is passionate about providing high quality psychological therapy to people with common mental health problems? The successful candidate will have completed a diploma level qualification in counselling from a BACP accredited course, hold BACP or equivalent accreditation, and training in a Talking Therapies Modality (If you do not hold a Talking Therapies Modality Qualification a Band 6 position may be offered until the relevant training is completed). The service is focused on delivering high quality therapy and our patient feedback is excellent. Investing in our team is important to us and we pride ourselves on the support we offer to staff. You’ll have the opportunity to be part of a fantastic team of staff who are genuinely committed to improving the lives of our service users. The team includes CBT therapists, Counsellors and Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners, providing psychological assessment and brief therapies to people with mild to moderate anxiety and depression. The service also offers EMDR, "Mastering Stress" courses, MCBT courses as well as a range of webinars to support health and wellbeing.

Main duties of the job: The successful candidate will be a flexible and highly motivated qualified Counsellor. They will be part of the NHS Blackpool Talking Therapies service and will provide high intensity Counselling to clients who have a range of complex anxiety and depression related problems. The successful candidate will be experienced in delivering counselling interventions face to face, online and over the telephone. The post holder will also work with people with different cultural backgrounds and ages, using interpreters when necessary and should be committed to equal opportunities. The successful candidate will also be required to work a proportion of their working hours after before 9am and/or after 5pm in order to improve access to the service.

• Assessing clients for suitability for NHS Talking Therapies and providing evidence based counselling interventions.
• To undertake risk assessments with clients and respond to these in line with service policies and procedures.
• Adhere to an agreed activity contract relating to the number of client contacts offered, and clinical sessions carried out per week in order to minimise waiting times and ensure treatment delivery remains accessible and convenient.
• Engage in regular case management and clinical supervision.
• Complete all requirements relating to data collection within the service.
• Keep coherent detailed records of all clinical activity in line with service protocols.
• Assess and integrate issues surrounding work and employment into the overall therapy process.

Working for our organisation: As one of the United Kingdom’s largest coastal resorts, Blackpool has plenty to offer its residents – it’s not just a good place to work; it’s a great place to live. In addition to its bustling centre and historic seafront, the town is world famous for its many attractions, including the famous Blackpool Tower. Blackpool also offers a number of scenic cycling routes round our local parks and across the surrounding countryside, as well as boasting panoramic views of the coast on its picturesque Promenade. Further afield, Blackpool also benefits from less than three-hour connections via rail to Edinburgh in the north and London in the south.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities: NHS Blackpool Talking Therapies operates from a number of community bases within the Blackpool area. We offer Talking Therapies interventions and psychological therapies across Step 2 and 3, and over the past 3 years have developed pathways with physical health services in line with the National Talking Therapies Long Term Conditions programme, in order to expand and increase the offer of psychological therapies to the Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde population.

• Assessing clients for suitability for NHS Talking Therapies and providing evidence based counselling interventions.
• To undertake risk assessments with clients and respond to these in line with service policies and procedures.
• Adhere to an agreed activity contract relating to the number of client contacts offered, and clinical sessions carried out per week in order to minimise waiting times and ensure treatment delivery remains accessible and convenient.
• Engage in regular case management and clinical supervision.
• Complete all requirements relating to data collection within the service.
• Keep coherent detailed records of all clinical activity in line with service protocols.
• Assess and integrate issues surrounding work and employment into the overall therapy process.

Person specification:

Education and Qualification:

• Master’s level qualification or equivalent, to include a minimum two-year post-graduate (or equivalent) qualification in Psychotherapeutic Counselling, Psychotherapy, Counselling, or Counselling Psychology, comprising no less than 450 hours programme contact and no less than 450 hours supervised counselling or psychotherapy practice (including hours gained after core training).
• One or more NHS Talking Therapies specified counselling or psychotherapy accreditations (as detailed in the NHS Talking Therapies Manual): British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Accredited; United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) Registered as a Psychotherapist or Psychotherapeutic Counsellor; Association of Christian Counsellors (ACC) Accreditation; National Counselling Society (NCS) Accredited Professional registrants, British Psychoanalytic Council Registered.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.
• Have received training in delivering counselling face to face, via video call or via the telephone.

Experience and Knowledge:

• Worked with a wide range of clients presenting with multiple and complex issues.
• Experience and ability to manage own caseload and time.
• Received regular supervised practice according to service provision and professional body requirements.
• Experience in primary care or Talking Therapies.
• Experience of and ability to meet agreed/specified service targets for clinical work with agreed targets to demonstrate clinical outcomes.
• Have conducted assessments for suitability for treatment or received training in conducting assessments according to service criteria and providing triage assessment with recommendations for onward referral.
• Have provided time limited counselling interventions or received training in time limited interventions.
• Experience of working therapeutically with patients who have Long Term Conditions and/or medically unexplained symptoms.

Skills and Ability:

• Ability to utilise a range of counselling interventions to respond flexibly to different client needs.
• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
• Ability to develop appropriate therapeutic relationships with clients.
• Ability to demonstrate use of robust risk assessment and risk management skills.
• Demonstrates high standard of record keeping, with due regard for NHS Confidentiality, Data Protection and Information governance, abiding by codes of ethics and guidance for good practice of professional body.
• Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, and where relevant their families, carers, and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
• Has full understanding and practical application of the Ethical Principles and Codes of Practice for own professional body.
• High level of enthusiasm and motivation.
• Ability to work with a team and foster good working relationships.
• Is computer literate and experienced at using Email, Outlook, Word, Internet.
• Self-motivated, able to work autonomously and independently with confidence.
• Regard for others and respect for individual rights of autonomy and confidentiality.
• Ability to be self-reflective, whilst working with patients, & in own personal and professional development and in supervision.
• The ability and skills to act as an advocate for the service, to engage and foster good professional relationships with all health professionals in promoting the good integration of this service with the wider health care system.
• Car driver and/or ability and willingness to travel to locations throughout the organisation (public transport is not available to all destinations).
• Ability to deliver PCE-CfD, IPT, DIT or CTfD interventions in order to respond flexibly to different client needs.
• Has used IAPTus or equivalent computerised health record system for keeping patient records.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
• Ability to work from home where home working is required.

Any invitation to interview will be sent to the email account stated on your application form. If the role you have applied for requires a Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS) check we will administer this as part of your pre-employment checks. Please note, you will be required to repay the cost on appointment. This will be collected via a salary deduction. You can choose whether to pay this over 1-3 months from your salary or as a one-off payment on commencement in post. The level of check required depends on the role that you have been offered. Currently the charges are - Basic DBS check £24, Standard DBS check £24 and Enhanced DBS check £45. You are encouraged where possible, to register for the DBS update service. This is an annual registration fee of £15. By registering for the update service you will not have the additional cost of repeated disclosures. Should you withdraw your application, you may be required to reimburse the cost of the DBS check. DBS checks remain free of charge for volunteer positions. By submitting an application for this vacancy you are confirming your agreement to the above in the event you are successfully appointed. The DBS Code of Practice can be accessed here. Please ensure that you read the Person Specification attached below as your application will be judged against this.

Please note that every effort will be made to keep the vacancy live until published closing date, though there may be instances where such interest is generated, that for administrative reasons the post may close earlier. Please note that in line with national NHS guidelines this Trust operates a strict non-smoking policy. Members of staff are not permitted to smoke on Trust premises or grounds at any time nor take breaks during working hours for the purposes of smoking. The Trust does not offer interview expenses to shortlisted candidates unless indicated in the advert.