Join Our Team as a Counsellor
Location: HMP Haverigg, Cumbria
Role: Part-time – 18.75 hours per week
ADVERT CLOSING DATE - 8th July
Rethink Mental Illness works in partnership with Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust to deliver Step 1 and 2 talking therapies within integrated prison mental health teams. At HMP Haverigg—a Category D open male prison supporting many individuals convicted of sexual offences—the service provides high quality, face to face interventions that help people prepare for release. The role is mainly Monday–Friday, 08:00–16:00, with some flexibility and occasional reimbursed travel.
What I will do and achieve:
I deliver brief 1:1 and group counselling for depression related to recent life events, following Step 2 IAPT guidance. Working within the integrated mental health team, I support wellbeing initiatives and collaborate with Rethink colleagues across clinical and care navigation services, with supervision provided in line with BACP standards.
Clinical Assessment & Intervention
- Manage referrals in line with service protocols, assessing suitability and stepping clients up or down as appropriate.
- Conduct person centred assessments, including risk assessment, goal setting, and identifying areas for change.
- Deliver Step 2 counselling interventions, developing, implementing, and evaluating therapy plans.
- Use recognised outcome measures (PHQ 9, GAD 7) to monitor progress throughout treatment.
Collaboration & Continuity of Care
- Work closely within the multidisciplinary team to support a stepped care approach.
- Attend MDT meetings and maintain strong links with statutory and non statutory agencies to support continuity of care on release.
- Communicate effectively with clients, colleagues, and external professionals in both written and verbal form.
Record Keeping & Data Quality
- Maintain accurate, high quality clinical records and enter data onto agreed systems.
- Contribute to monthly performance reporting to support service monitoring and improvement.
Professional Standards & Development
- Protect client confidentiality and uphold Rethink Mental Illness values at all times.
- Engage openly in supervision and adopt a flexible, pragmatic approach to ensure excellent service delivery.
- Work to agreed activity levels to maintain accessibility and minimise waiting times.
Essential Experience and Skills:
- Diploma in therapeutic counselling (or equivalent) enabling BACP or similar professional accreditation.
- Post qualification counselling experience within an IAPT or stepped care service, delivering evidence based brief interventions.
- Strong knowledge of assessment, screening, referral pathways, risk assessment, record keeping and outcome based practice (e.g., PHQ 9, GAD 7).
- Ability to build effective therapeutic relationships and work in an inclusive, culturally sensitive, non discriminatory manner.
- Clear understanding of IAPT counselling models and their application in clinical practice.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with confidence using IT systems, Microsoft Office, and clinical databases.
- Ability to prioritise workload, manage challenging situations calmly, and adapt positively to changing demands.
- Commitment to personal and professional development, using supervision constructively and maintaining reflective practice.
If you’re passionate about empowering individuals, reducing stigma, and improving mental health outcomes, we’d love to hear from you.
IND1
Why Work With Rethink Mental Illness?
At Rethink Mental Illness, we believe that when you feel supported, you can make the biggest difference. That’s why we offer a range of benefits to help you thrive:
- Inclusive Culture: Join staff networks that champion diversity and inclusion.
- Wellbeing Support: Access our Wellbeing Hub, Employee Assistance Programme, and the Unmind mental health app.
- Recognition & Rewards: Enjoy discounts, cashback offers, and celebrate achievements through our PULSE platform.
- Flexible Working & Generous Leave: Starting at 25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays and your birthday off), with options to buy or sell extra days.
- Learning & Development: Grow your career with structured onboarding and training opportunities.
- Financial & Family Support: Contributory pension scheme, enhanced family leave, and travel benefits like season ticket loans and cycle-to-work schemes.
- Referral Bonus: Earn up to £300 for introducing someone to our team.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
Diversity is important to us, and we appreciate difference through difference, inclusiveness and belonging. It gives us a deeper understanding of the world, our society and the diverse communities we’re working with. By including everyone, we are able to draw on the unique experiences and expertise of our people to help shape and enrich our workplace and improve our services. One way we are doing is through our valued staff networks which play a critical and highly valued role in keeping us focused on creating a diverse, inclusive and engaged employer. We recognise and support staff networks and support groups for our ethnically diverse and LGBTQIA+ colleagues. We are also proud to have been awarded Disability Confident Employer status and are a signatory to the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter.
We aim for our workforce to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve; for those who work for us to feel heard, valued and feel they belong; and for our work to help tackle wider mental health inequalities. We therefore actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including applicants with lived experience of mental illness, those who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and any other gender identity not expressed here (LGBTQIA+); people who are neurodiverse, have a health condition, or a disability or hidden disability and people from an ethnically diverse background - regardless of your age, religious or spiritual belief, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, political view or socio-economic status.
Becoming a truly anti-racist organisation
We have an ambition of become a truly anti-racist employer, campaigning organisation and service provider - and in our efforts to influence policy and wider societal factors impacting on mental health set out in our anti-racist statement . We have designed a multi-year anti-racist programme of work contained in our Race Equality Action Plan which demonstrates our intention to hold ourselves accountable and be judged on our progress on becoming a truly anti-racist organisation.
