About the Role
We are seeking an experienced, highly skilled Senior Therapist to join our multidisciplinary team within a residential substance misuse and mental health treatment service.
This is a senior clinical role requiring an experienced practitioner with significant experience in addiction treatment who is passionate about delivering exceptional therapeutic care to individuals experiencing substance misuse, trauma and co-occurring mental health conditions. As a senior member of the therapeutic team, you will provide outstanding individual and group interventions while contributing to the ongoing development of our therapeutic programme and promoting excellence in clinical practice.
The successful candidate will have substantial experience supporting individuals recovering from substance misuse and addiction, together with the complex trauma and mental health difficulties that commonly accompany it. Working within a trauma-informed framework, you will help clients understand the underlying causes of addiction, strengthen emotional regulation, build resilience and develop the skills needed to sustain long-term recovery.
Alongside direct clinical work, you will contribute to the continued development of the service by supporting reflective practice, sharing specialist knowledge, contributing to case formulation and helping to foster a safe, compassionate and evidence-informed therapeutic culture across the multidisciplinary team. You will also play an important role in maintaining and developing our therapeutic community, helping to create an environment that promotes recovery, mutual respect, accountability and positive peer support.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide therapeutic guidance and share specialist knowledge within the multidisciplinary team.
- Support reflective practice and contribute to a psychologically informed culture across the service.
- Assist in the development, review and continuous improvement of the therapeutic programme.
- Work collaboratively with senior management and the multidisciplinary team to support the ongoing development of the therapeutic programme and evidence-informed practice.
- Offer consultation and therapeutic formulation to support clients with complex presentations.
- Share knowledge and experience to support colleagues' professional development.
- Contribute to the ongoing development of therapeutic practice and the wider therapeutic programme.
- Promote, maintain and continually develop a positive therapeutic community, encouraging mutual respect, accountability, peer support and a recovery-focused culture throughout the service.
- Model therapeutic boundaries and contribute to creating a safe, compassionate and psychologically informed environment where both clients and staff can thrive.
- Manage a therapeutic caseload, providing regular one-to-one therapy sessions.
- Assess clients' psychological needs and contribute to individualised treatment plans.
- Facilitate daily therapeutic and psychoeducational groups covering topics such as:
- Emotional regulation
- Trauma recovery
- Relapse prevention
- Shame and self-compassion
- Boundaries and healthy relationships
- Stress management
- Coping strategies
- Nervous system regulation
- Deliver therapy using trauma-informed principles that promote safety, collaboration and empowerment.
- Incorporate somatic and body-based interventions where appropriate to support nervous system regulation.
- Support clients to develop practical emotional regulation and distress tolerance skills.
- Work collaboratively with nurses, recovery workers, medical professionals and management to deliver holistic care.
- Participate in multidisciplinary meetings and contribute to clinical decision-making.
- Complete accurate clinical documentation, treatment plans, progress notes and discharge summaries.
- Contribute to relapse prevention planning and discharge preparation.
- Maintain professional boundaries and work in accordance with ethical and regulatory standards.
- Participate in clinical supervision, reflective practice and ongoing professional development.
Essential Qualifications & Experience
- Degree or recognised qualification in Counselling, Psychotherapy, Psychology or a related therapeutic discipline.
- Registration or accreditation with an appropriate professional body (BACP, UKCP, HCPC, BABCP or equivalent).
- Significant post-qualification experience working within residential or community substance misuse services, with extensive experience supporting individuals recovering from addiction and managing complex trauma and co-occurring mental health conditions.
- Experience delivering both individual therapy and therapeutic groups.
- Experience working within multidisciplinary teams.
- Experience supporting colleagues and contributing to the development of therapeutic practice within a multidisciplinary setting.
- Ability to formulate and manage highly complex cases.
- Excellent understanding of trauma-informed practice.
- Knowledge of emotional regulation models and stabilisation techniques.
- Strong written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills.
Desirable Skills & Experience
Experience or training in one or more of the following:
- Somatic approaches
- Polyvagal-informed practice
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)
- Internal Family Systems (IFS)
- EMDR (desirable)
- Motivational Interviewing
- Relapse Prevention
- Mindfulness-based interventions
- Group facilitation within residential or community services
- Experience supporting, mentoring or sharing specialist knowledge with colleagues
Experience working within:
- Residential rehabilitation services
- Mental health services
- Community drug and alcohol services
- Private or NHS treatment settings
Person Specification
The successful candidate will demonstrate:
- Compassion, empathy and emotional intelligence.
- A genuine passion for supporting individuals recovering from addiction and co-occurring mental health difficulties.
- Excellent therapeutic relationship-building skills.
- Confidence managing complex emotional presentations.
- Strong organisational and documentation skills.
- Professional integrity and sound clinical judgement.
- Resilience and the ability to remain calm under pressure.
- Commitment to continuous professional development and reflective practice.
- Ability to inspire confidence, share clinical expertise and positively influence the therapeutic culture of the service.
- Commitment to collaborative working and supporting the ongoing development of the therapeutic programme.
- Confidence working autonomously while supporting team decision-making.
- A thorough understanding of therapeutic community principles and the ability to contribute positively to a recovery-focused residential environment.
Pay: £28,000.00-£32,000.00 per year
Benefits:
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Gloucester GL2 7AB: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Experience:
- Addiction: 3 years (required)
Work Location: In person
