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Placement Information

About Mindspace Adult Counselling Service

Mindspace Counselling Service is unique in Perth and Kinross. We are the only professional, trusted voluntary organisation that offers a generic counselling service to adults (18 + years) from a broad range of backgrounds who are experiencing emotional distress.

Mindspace is well known and respected, being part of Perth Association for Mental Health. We are a recognised organisation by COSCA, the professional body for counselling and psychotherapy in Scotland and, as such, offer a professional, ethical and effective approach to our work with clients. We are experienced at working in partnership with other organisations to set up and provide counselling services in a variety of settings, such as medical practices, youth projects, schools and colleges. However, we see most of our clients in our dedicated counselling rooms at our office near the centre of Perth.

Our team is made up of qualified counsellors and psychotherapists, and trainees on placement, who have trained in a range of different theoretical backgrounds e.g. Person Centred, Gestalt, Psychodynamic, Transactional Analysis. This brings a richness and diversity to our team which is further added to by the variety of backgrounds of our staff.

We encourage self referral to our service though many clients are signposted in by other professionals such as: GPs, Social workers, Psychiatrists, Psychologists and Health care workers. Many people also find out about the service through word of mouth or from picking up one of our leaflets.

People access counselling for a variety of reasons: They may be feeling depressed or anxious; having difficulties in intimate or family relationships; be self harming or having thoughts about suicide; have been abused or traumatised; suffering loss, separation or bereavement; have low self esteem; or, be experiencing long-term illness or physical problems. Mostly they come looking for a space to explore these issues in a confidential setting with someone who is trained to listen and offer emotional/therapeutic support without judging or offering advice.

We monitor and evaluate our service through CORE, a national clinical outcome routine measure which audits uptake of service, client profile and charts improvements in well-being, functioning and a lessening of perceived problems and risk of harm to self and others. This tool is a collaborative measure in which client and counsellor chart progress together. The service uses a qualitative evaluation tool with a feedback questionnaire to improve delivery of service and we undertake audits of client groups to check we are reaching our targeted population.

Counsellor/Psychotherapist Specification for Placement

To be considered for a placement you will:

• be in your second year of a Counselling Diploma.

• Gained some counselling experience ideally within the mental health field.

• Ideally already have experienced your own personal therapy and be able to demonstrate a high level of personal awareness and commitment to ongoing personal development.
  

Details of Placement

We recognise counsellors on placement bring valuable expertise to our service. In return, we offer:

• A placement of at least one year offering a minimum of 3 client hours per week

• Managerial supervision to discuss practice issues and support your professional development

• Payment for a minimum of one hour of counselling/psychotherapy supervision each month with an external supervisor

• Group supervision monthly with other Mindspace counsellors

• Opportunities for personal and professional development

• Access to our library and resources

• References for future work
  

We also encourage you, as a member of the counselling team, to suggest improvements to the counselling service.

Placement Description

The purpose:

To contribute towards Mindspace therapeutic work with individuals experiencing emotional distress.

The tasks:

To provide therapeutic face to face counselling to individuals who have been accepted by the service for therapy

To manage the “therapeutic hour” of fifty minutes to accommodate demands in counselling spaces

To direct all out of session contact with clients through Mindspace

To ensure all clients sign copies of the Mindspace contracts and are aware of the Mindspace donation policy

To maintain up to date contact details of ongoing clients be held in the counselling office

To support the monitoring and evaluation of the service through data collection

To arrange for counselling sessions only to be conducted in accommodation approved by Mindspace

To monitor, through regular external supervision with an approved supervisor, the appropriateness of the work and the working relationship with all clients

To be willing to work with a range of clients, and presenting issues

To be prepared to commit a minimum of 3 sessions a week and offer weekly appointments at least initially with clients

To attend regular meetings with the Senior Counsellor to monitor your case load

To be prepared to attend counsellor meetings on a regular basis

To promote the work of Mindspace counselling service and be clear about information for referral

To protect client confidentiality

Attend relevant CPD training sessions

To apply for a Counselling/Psychotherapy Placement:

fill in our confidential application form online or download, print, and post an application form

If you have any questions, contact us on
01738 631639
or info@mindspacepk.com

Mindspace Counselling Services
51 York Place
Perth, PH2 8EH
Telephone: 01738 631639
Email: info@mindspacepk.com