Volunteer Support Counsellor / volunteer EMDR therapist

This is an exciting and challenging new role at SurvivorsUK, that combines counselling and
practical support, specifically to the (circa) 300 people who refer themselves for individual
counselling with us each year. It is designed to deliver collaborative assessments and brief
interventions to:

- Understand people's needs and work out the best sources of support for them
- Offer resources, coping strategies, and supported signposting to internal and
external sources of expert help
- Offer 6months of therapy to our clients,

• Provide 6months of counselling and practical support interventions to men, boys and

non-binary people who have been raped, sexually abused or assaulted with high levels
of need and who are most vulnerable.

• Collaborate with clients to discover what their needs are from our service.


• Support the monitoring and reporting to funders on the development and delivery of

the service.

KEY OUTCOMES

• Survivors who are highly vulnerable and distressed will have access to a service that

meets their needs, with improvements in their overall health and wellbeing.

• A reduction in harmful behaviours, such as less suicidal ideation, reduced drug & alcohol

use, reduced incidences of self-harm.

• Survivors who are leading chaotic lifestyles report feeling more stable, better able to

cope and better supported., 1. Service Delivery

• Deliver counselling interventions by phone, video calling and face-to-face


• To offer EMDR if training for this currently


• Maintain accurate and timely client case notes, ensuring adherence to

confidentiality, safeguarding and data protection procedures.

• With clients, develop action plans to help them address emotional and practical

needs and ensure clients can engage with a flexible service.

• Provide regular and timely communications with clients so that they are encouraged

to remain with the service.

• Attend clinical supervision.


2. Liaison and Promotion

• Maintain good working relationships with other support services associated with the

client.,
• Collect and accurately record one-to-one contact data, including presenting issues,

client notes, socio-economic demographics, using SurvivorsUK Salesforce database.

• Monitor individual client's progress through the outcomes monitoring framework.


• Where appropriate, and within safeguarding and data protection policies, collate

qualitative client stories for reporting back to funders, evidencing need and service
user opinion.

• Ensure all clients are aware of and have access to the organisation's complaints

policy.


4. General Duties

• Be responsible for administrative functions associated with the role, including

accurate record keeping and filing.

• Provide input and comment on the development of SurvivorsUK policies and

procedures and ensure you follow established procedures.

• As a member of a small team, contribute to the development of new initiatives and

services in response to client need.

The post-holder will be required to carry out additional duties from time to time. Such
duties will be commensurate with the role.

The people served include those with clinical mental health diagnoses, drug and alcohol
dependencies, at risk of suicide, homelessness or involved in the sex industry. You will need
to be a highly skilled counsellor/practitioner with experience of dealing with very vulnerable
clients, willing to work flexibly and on your own initiative. Importantly, you will be a
compassionate person, able to blend therapeutic work with practical support and care., Experience and qualifications

• A BACP, UKCP or BABCP accredited counsellor or working towards, psychotherapist or

CBT practitioner.

• At least 2-years' experience of working with highly vulnerable clients in a counselling

and/or support service.


• Demonstrable caseload management, with experience of undertaking initial counselling

assessments.

• Proven track record in helping clients who are experiencing high levels of distress and/or

chaotic lifestyles, to improve their health and wellbeing.

• Efficient and accurate use of outcomes monitoring frameworks, such as CORE,

Outcomes Star, or similar

Skills, knowledge and competences


• Strong understanding of the experiences, needs and impact of rape, sexual abuse or

assault on (cis and trans
• ) men and boys, and on non-binary people



• Self-motivated and a self-starter: high level of confidence to develop and deliver a new

service.

• A mature, calm and empathic manner: able to engage with clients who have challenging

needs and deal with highly emotional and stressful situations.


• Strong communication skills: able to build trusting relationships and rapport with clients

and interact and engage effectively with external agencies.


• Adherence to confidentiality and boundary policies and practices.


• High degree of flexibility in approach to working with clients and the wider team.



• Positive attitude and willing to contribute to developments, improvements and changes

more broadly within SurvivorsUK.

• Competent administrator and highly organised: committed to maintaining accurate

client records and reporting on performance.


• Demonstrable commitment to equal opportunities, with a non-judgemental approach

to helping men, non-binary and trans people


• A commitment to pursuing professional excellence, personal development and learning.
  
  An estimated 12,000 men are raped every year and 76,000 sexually abused or assaulted. Yet

just 4% of men will tell someone. Of those who do, it takes on average 26 years to do so.
SurvivorsUK provides specialist support to (cis and trans
• ) men and boys, and to non-binary

people, who have been raped, sexually assaulted or abused. Our aim is to help any man,
boy, or non-binary person, to have the confidence to tell someone what's happened to
them, and to know that it's OK to seek help. When they do, we want to ensure they have
access to the right support so they can deal with the impact of their experiences.
We provide emotional support, information and signposting to survivors and anyone
worried about someone they know, through a national website and webchat service (open
till 8pm most evenings). Last year, 2,600 people contacted us via our webchat services and
social media.
In London, we are the only organisation providing specialist services for men and boys,
including individual counselling and therapeutic groupwork, available till 9pm six days a
week. Across London, we provide the capital's only Independent Sexual Advisor (ISVA)
Service that helps men and boys through the criminal justice system.