Volunteer Adult Creative or Talk Based Counsellor or Therapist (or similar)

What will you be doing?

We’re urgently looking for an Adult Creative or Talk Based Counsellor or Therapist for our Community Interest Company.  We need help to:

Meet the continued increases in demand for our therapeutic service.  Realise our ambition of being a service for our community and beyond. Develop our provision for our parents and carers, as well as adult siblings and wider family members. Offer therapy and counselling for our volunteers and interns. Offer therapy and counselling to the adults who work with our children, young people and families.

  We’d love a therapist or counsellor volunteer who has experience of remote working and face to face work with adults and families.  Alongside us, you’ll:

Offer confidential Counselling or Therapy for parents and carers, adult siblings and the wider family, the adults who work alongside the children and young people who use our service, as well as our interns and volunteers. Work in a holistic person-centred, humanistic or similar way. Have experience of working effectively with, and understand the barriers that children, young people and adults who are from Priority and socio-economically under-resourced and under-served backgrounds may face. Build strong therapeutic relationships with individuals who use the sessions. Have a good depth of knowledge of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and may have lived-experience of ACEs, and use Attachment and Trauma Informed practice. Use creative interventions, such as, play, art, drama, movement, dance, music, sand as appropriate, as well as talk-based approaches as preferred by the individual using the sessions. Be committed to supporting individuals re duration of their work

  Work with us us to make this role your own - we're a responsive organisation, we'll be glad to listen to your great ideas

What are we looking for?

Why apply? Join us, and you’ll be part of our small, friendly team. You’ll be able to organise your time around your own schedule, whilst making a real and immediate difference to adult individuals in difficult times. What are we looking for in a volunteer? We would love a volunteer who:

Keeps Priority children, young people and their families central in counselling/therapy. Believes in people are the expert of their experiences. Has the ability to quickly understand the needs and challenges faced by individuals and our organisation. Believes that there’s no such thing as ‘hard to reach’ communities, and uses our user-informed procedures to make sure that our service is accessible, and asks and feedback ways that we can further improve.  Is aware of/is willing to inform themself of the latest research, thinking and approaches around Trauma Informed approaches and the impact of multiple Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and personalised therapy and personalised care approaches.

  Skills

BACP, BAPT, PTUK, BAAT or other membership/registration. Received own Therapy/Counselling as part of training. Accurate and up to date knowledge, experience and therapeutic practice skills set, including Safeguarding and Child Protection. Self-motivated and able to work on your own initiative, with clear communication skills.

  Specific skills and experience  We expect all of our team to have knowledge and experience in the following areas: 

Mental health and wellbeing challenges and its impact. Living with or have experience of socio-economic deprivation and/or marginalised communities. Understanding of the impact that housing insecurity may bring to a child, young person and their family’s mental health and wellbeing.

What difference will you make?

You’ll have the opportunity to make a real and tangible difference to the lives of individuals who use our sessions, including adults from Priority families. You’ll make sure adults can access fully-funded and appropriate one-off, brief, or longer-term sessions - for as long as is therapeutically right for them, providing long-term positive mental health equity and outcomes and improved social mobility. Ultimately, you'll be ensuring our long-term sustainability beyond the challenges of Covid-19 and the cost of living crisis, growing our service from local, to regional and beyond.