Senior Suicide Prevention Therapist

James’ Place Newcastle, Senior Suicide Prevention Therapist

Job Title: Senior Suicide Prevention Therapist

Hours: 22.5 hours per week over 3 days – must be available to work Monday and Thursday, third day negotiable, 09:30 to 17:30

Contract Type:Permanent

Location: Newcastle

Reports to
:
Head of Centre

Suicide is the leading cause of death of men under 35 and three quarters of those who die by suicide are men. James’ Place exists to save the lives of men in suicidal crisis through delivering clinical services. We are a charity currently offering free, life-saving therapy to suicidal men at our centres in Liverpool, London, Newcastle and Birmingham.

James’ Place was set up by Clare Milford Haven and Nick Wentworth-Stanley after their twenty-one-year-old son, James, died by suicide ten days after a minor operation. James had no history of mental illness or depression and had sought urgent help for anxiety and suicidal thoughts but didn’t find it.

James' Place was set up to make the experience of finding help as easy as possible. We offer men who are experiencing a suicidal crisis a brief, intensive, therapeutic intervention in a safe environment. Men who walk through the door at James’ Place will be in a space where they feel valued and respected. We provide a calm and peaceful environment both inside the centres and in our outside spaces, accessible to men who visit us as well as their friends and families.

We have so far treated over 6,000 men who might otherwise have been unable to access the support they desperately need.

We are recruiting Senior Suicide Prevention Therapists to deliver our clinically proven, life-saving intervention at our James’ Place centre in Newcastle.

As a Senior Suicide Prevention Therapist, you will work closely with the Head of Centre to provide strong clinical leadership and oversight while also delivering direct therapeutic work with men experiencing suicidal crisis and their supporter(s). You will play a key role in supporting the clinical team to deliver our unique intervention and to co-produce effective, individualised safety plans to help men remain safe.

You will work closely with the Head of Centre in Newcastle and the wider James’ Place leadership team to ensure strong integration between the pilot service and our established centres.

This role requires an experienced mental health professional or therapist with a strong background in suicide prevention, excellent risk assessment and formulation skills, and demonstrable experience of clinical supervision, line management, and leadership. Training, induction, and ongoing support will be provided by the Head of Centre in Newcastle and the wider James’ Place team.

• Work as a duty therapist to triage and assess suitability of James’ Place referrals daily
• Take full clinical responsibility of the men under James’ Place care, as a co-leader of the clinical team and in consultation with Head of Centre
• Lead and support peer support sessions, caseload discussions and reflective practice with the team
• Create an environment in which confidentiality, privacy and dignity are respected and be clear with clients about limits of confidentiality
• Deputise for the Head of Centre when required

• Conduct initial Welcome Assessments with men in a suicidal crisis, assessing risk and the suitability of the James’ Place intervention and co-producing effective safety plans
• Deliver our therapeutic intervention, building trust and exploring the reasons for crisis
• Use the Lay Your Cards on the Table intervention to encourage men to talk about and explore their feelings, attitudes and behaviours and develop positive coping strategies
• Escalate care to appropriate services…