Specialist behavioural support worker jobs

We are seeking a compassionate and skilled CBT Therapist or Psychologist to join Gordon Moody, supporting individuals experiencing gambling-related harms through specialist psychological assessment and evidence-based treatment.

This role involves delivering structured Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) interventions across both individual and group settings within residential and remote treatment programmes. You will work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team to provide psychologically informed, trauma-informed care that supports long-term recovery and wellbeing.

The successful candidate will work autonomously within professional guidelines and within the overall framework of Gordon Moody’s clinical governance, policies and procedures.

Key Responsibilities

Clinical Responsibilities:

• Provide specialist psychological assessment and treatment for individuals experiencing gambling-related harms.
• Deliver evidence-based CBT interventions within individual and group treatment settings.
• Develop collaborative treatment and risk management plans tailored to service user needs.
• Facilitate psychoeducational, relapse prevention and therapeutic group programmes.
• Support individuals presenting with co-occurring mental health difficulties, including anxiety, depression and trauma-related symptoms.
• Maintain accurate, timely and confidential clinical records in line with organisational, professional and GDPR standards.
• Monitor and manage clinical risk, safeguarding concerns and service user wellbeing appropriately.
• Work within professional and ethical guidelines relevant to CBT and psychological therapies.
• Support service users to engage with onward recovery and community support services where appropriate.

Multidisciplinary & Partnership Working:

• Work collaboratively with therapists, recovery workers, support staff and external professionals.
• Liaise with GPs, mental health services, social care teams and partner agencies to ensure continuity of care.
• Participate in multidisciplinary team meetings, clinical reviews and case discussions.
• Contribute to maintaining effective referral pathways and integrated recovery support.
• Promote psychologically informed and trauma-informed approaches across services.

Clinical Governance & Service Development:

• Participate in regular clinical supervision, reflective practice and continuing professional development.
• Contribute to audit, service evaluation and quality improvement initiatives.
• Support the development and implementation of evidence-based practice within gambling harm treatment.
• Maintain awareness of emerging developments within behavioural addiction and CBT practice.
• Adhere to all clinical governance, safeguarding and information governance policies.
• Contribute to the ongoing development of therapeutic programmes and interventions.

Person Specification

Essential Qualifications:

• BABCP accredited CBT Therapist or actively working towards accreditation.
• Postgraduate qualification in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or equivalent recognised qualification.
• Relevant professional registration or core profession qualification (e.g. mental health nursing, psychology, social work, counselling or psychotherapy).

Desirable Qualifications:

• Additional training in motivational interviewing, trauma-informed care or addiction treatment.
• Further training in group facilitation or behavioural addictions.

Essential Experience:

• Experience delivering CBT interventions within a mental health or addiction setting.
• Experience undertaking specialist psychological and risk assessments.
• Experience facilitating therapeutic groups.
• Experience supporting individuals experiencing complex emotional or psychological difficulties, including trauma.
• Ability to work autonomously while contributing effectively within multidisciplinary teams.

Desirable Experience:

• Experience working within gambling harms or behavioural addiction services.
• Experience within residential treatment settings.
• Experience supporting individuals with co-occurring mental health and addiction needs.
• Experience delivering remote or online therapeutic interventions.
• Training or qualification in other NHS-recognised therapeutic modalities such as EMDR, CAT, DIT, IPT, DBT, MBCT or ACT.

Knowledge & Skills

Essential:

• Strong knowledge of CBT theory and evidence-based interventions.
• Knowledge and experience of treating PTSD and trauma.
• Understanding of gambling-related harms and addiction recovery models.
• Understanding of relapse prevention approaches and motivational interviewing.
• Strong safeguarding and risk assessment knowledge.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to manage emotionally distressing situations professionally and sensitively.
• Strong organisational and time management skills.
• Ability to maintain accurate clinical documentation and outcome measures.

Desirable:

• Awareness of current developments in behavioural addiction treatment.

Please note that we may close this vacancy at any time should we receive a high volume of suitable applications. Interviews may be conducted throughout the advertising period.

Applicants must have the right to work in the UK, as we are unable to provide sponsorship for this role.

Our specialist children's practitioners provide child-led play therapy sessions on a weekly basis, usually for 6-16 weeks. Sessions give children the opportunity to process what has happened to them and make sense of the complicated and confusing emotions they may be experiencing.  Our practitioners work from our purpose-designed therapeutic playroom in Colchester or from some of our outreach premises in other areas, using a range of techniques including sand tray, art and imaginative play.

What we expect from our Sessional Counsellors/Play Therapists:

· Support up to eight CARA clients each week

· Maintain and update accurate database records of clients

· Diploma in Counselling or equivalent, with a minimum of 400 counselling hours.

· Certificate in Counselling Children, Play Therapy qualification or equivalent

· Experience of working therapeutically with children with psychological and behavioural problems.

· An understanding of how trauma affects children both physically and emotionally.

· An ability to work creatively to enable children to process their conscious and unconscious emotions.

· An ability to work collaboratively with parents, while protecting children’s confidentiality.

· To liaise with other agencies including social care, Children and Adolescent Mental Health service (CAMHS) and schools, and attend meetings and provide reports, where required.

· Attendance of one CARA Meeting per month and attendance of monthly point of contact meetings.

· Attendance of clinical supervision, provided by a CARA-approved supervisor.

· Attend annual safeguarding training and other relevant training

· An open and non-judgemental attitude.

· Demonstrable understanding of safeguarding, both in relation to children and to vulnerable adults;

· Sessional Counsellors/Play Therapists will be working with clients on behalf of CARA and not on a private basis.  As such, they will be bound by CARA’s processes, policies and procedures.

· Commitment to the feminist ethos of CARA

· Willingness to commit the necessary time to supporting vulnerable clients

· Membership of BACP, UKCP or equivalent professional body

· Abide by BACP’s Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy

· Owing to the nature of the role, we are only able to take on female candidates

What the Sessional Counsellor/Play Therapist can expect from us:

·Training and support

·Ongoing training opportunities

We welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds and those with additional language skills, including BSL.

About CARA

CARA (Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse) works with victims and survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse, providing independent, specialist support and promoting and representing their rights and needs. 

CARA is a registered charity working with adults of all genders, young people and children from across mid and north Essex.  We have a head office in Colchester and outreach premises in Braintree, Chelmsford, Clacton-on-Sea, Great Dunmow and Harwich.  We also provide remote services.

CARA seeks to be an inclusive organisation that actively encourages, supports and values diversity amongst both our service-users and our workers.  We wish to create a culture in which discrimination, in all its forms, is recognised and addressed.

You can read more about CARA’s commitment to diversity and inclusion on our website.  We encourage and welcome applications from candidates from diverse backgrounds.

About Synergy East

CARA is part of Synergy East. We work closely with SERICC Rape and Sexual Abuse Specialist Service and Southend-on-Sea Rape Crisis (SOS Rape Crisis) to deliver the contract for the Office for the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex for services for victims and survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse across Essex.