Perinatal Counsellor

The Vacancy

Before applying for this role, please read through the Job Description and Person Specification (available at the bottom of this page).

Hours Per Week: 12

Building on SEL Mind’s comprehensive Mindful Mums and Being Dad (MMBD) programmes, we are seeking to appoint a Perinatal Counsellor to provide one-to-one talking therapy to expectant and new parents in Lewisham.

The focus will be reducing the anxiety of expectant parents during pregnancy and in the immediate postnatal period. The service will offer structured counselling sessions to parents, tailored to individual needs, cultural context and preferences.

The Counsellor will draw upon the wealth of experience within the wider MMBD team and strong links with local professional networks including Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Team, Maternity Steering Group and Lewisham Perinatal Mental Health and Parent-Infant Relationship Network.

You will have experience of working with clients within the perinatal period as a counsellor post qualification, including conducting clinical assessments and risk assessments. You will be confident in managing a caseload, regularly reviewing and monitoring clients and working with people from diverse communities. Successful candidates must provide evidence of their registration with a professional counselling body e.g. BACP.

Responsibilities:

• Support a minimum of 20 clients within the first year.
• Deliver confidential client work within Family Hubs across Lewisham Borough.
• Provide one full day of support per week, supporting an average of 5 clients.
• Work on Tuesday mornings to attend team meetings and training.

Qualifications:

• Registration with a professional counselling body e.g. BACP.
• Experience of working with clients in the perinatal period, including clinical and risk assessments.
• Confidence in managing a caseload and working with people from diverse communities.
• Successful applicants will be expected to undergo an Enhanced Level Disclosure and Barring Service check.

Closing date:
Sunday 18th January (11:59pm)

Likely interview date:
Thursday 5th February

We encourage early applications as we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if we receive a high number of applications.

SEL Mind supports people with mental health problems and dementia in the boroughs of Bromley, Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark. We are proud of our diverse workforce and know that our organisation is made stronger by the variety of backgrounds, experience, and ideas within it. We promote a culture of inclusion and representation
, and are working hard to build a workforce that even better reflects the communities we support.

SEL Mind is somewhere that you can be your authentic self without fear of discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, neurodivergence, gender, age, lived experience of mental health problems or anything else that’s part of who you are.

Read more about staff benefits and why staff love working here.

Job Description
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Person Specification
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Candidate Instructions
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Location:

London Borough of Lewisham

Salary: £11,552 per year (based on a full-time salary of £36,100)

Work Pattern:
Hybrid (1 Office Day)