Clinical Assistant

About Help 

Help Counselling is well-established mental health charity. We believe everyone deserves access to quality mental health support, and have been providing affordable, short- and long-term talking therapies for over 50 years.   

Whether clients are seeking relief from anxiety, stress, depression or other challenges, we are here to help. We offer counselling services to those over 18, both face-to-face in central and west London and online. Our approach is client-led and holistic with no reliance on algorithms for client allocation. Instead, we take care to achieve the best match possible between client and counsellor. 

We are a placement provider: providing training placements for clinical supervisors, counsellors and psychotherapists who need to gain clinical experience to qualify (or further qualify) and be registered with one of the industry professional bodies such as, BACP or UKCP.  

The work undertaken by trainee counsellors and psychotherapists is unpaid - they volunteer their time. This volunteer-driven model enables Help Counselling to fulfil its mission of offering affordable counselling services to those in need. 

We also cater for clients who prefer to engage with a qualified counsellor through our Help Counselling Plus service for quality therapy at a fraction of the cost of private practice fees. This service is typically delivered by newly qualified counsellors and provides a supported transition into private practice. 

We have a small, friendly staff team of 5, a diverse team of circa 100 trainee and qualified counsellors and a team of supervisors and assessors. We support around 200 clients at any time with weekly sessions. 

About the role 

The Clinical Assistant will support the Clinical Manager in the running of our counselling service. The role will primarily involve managing our trainee counsellor placements but extends to all aspects of the clinical service as required.  The role is advertised as 2-3 days per week, to be discussed. The role is primarily remote with requirement to attend occasional meetings and events in west and central London.

Role Responsibilities: 

• Manage the recruitment, onboarding and offboarding of suitable trainee counsellors for volunteer placements in accordance with agreed standards and controls and Help policies and procedures. To include candidate selection, interview, onboarding, induction and training. 

• Manage forecasting to ensure counsellor numbers satisfy client demand and consulting room availability.  

• With support from the Administrator, ensure all records and reports are managed appropriately throughout the counsellor placement.  

• Keep the Counsellors Online Hub up to date, liaising with Administrator and Clinical Manager as necessary. 

• In conjunction with Clinical Manager, provide clinical support and expertise to the Help CEO and team as required. 

• In conjunction with Clinical Manager, provide support to trainee counsellors throughout their placement as required. 

• Support Clinical Manager with client/counsellor allocations and reallocations as necessary. 

• Support Clinical Manager in managing consulting room bookings and sourcing alternative consulting rooms when required. 

• Support Clinical Manager in relation to client queries arising from assessments or generally. 

• Be the main point of contact for training organisations. Proactively develop and maintain relationships in conjunction with CEO. 

• Support CEO in developing and maintaining relationships with community networks and partners to include attendance at networking events and presentations as required. 

The above is not an exhaustive and you will be expected to perform different tasks in line with the overall business objectives and your skills/experience. 

Candidate profile: 

Essential:  

• Counselling or Psychotherapy Qualification. 

• BACP or UKCP professional membership. 

• 3-5 years' post-qualification experience. 

• Excellent facilitation skills. 

• Strong task and time management.  

• High standard of verbal and written communication skills. 

• Highly organised.  

• Ability to provide challenging feedback to others, managing and responding professionally and appropriately to conflict and risk.  

• Interpersonal and influencing skills, especially the ability to engage with counsellors.  

• Stakeholder management. 

• Adaptability. 

• Analytical and problem-solving skills 

• Good IT skills including knowledge of MS Office suite, CRM systems and common IT platforms. Ability to learn new systems quickly.  

Desirable: 

• Experience of working within a training environment within the same industry. 

• Prior experience of working in the charity sector. 

• Working understanding of HR-related policies and procedures including EDI and working with competency frameworks. 

• Location in or around West or Central London would be highly advantageous.