Board Of Trustees Volunteer Roles

Criminal justice charity Belong provides hope, rehabilitation and recovery for victims and perpetrators of crime. We provide mentoring, restorative justice and psychotherapy interventions, in UK prisons and communities.

Me Time is a new service for people with criminal convictions from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, which aims to improve wellbeing and reduce re-offending amongst participants. Me Time offers short-term emotional well-being support and medium-term community and through the gate creative psychotherapy to people who are under probation supervision in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. The programme is open to male, female, gender diverse, and transgender individuals of all ages, from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. Priority will be given to referrals for people facing multiple and complex disadvantages.

This 1 day per week role provides an exciting opportunity for a reliable, organised, resilient trainee-psychotherapist to join Belong's committed, specialist team. The successful applicant will be in their first, second or third year of a Masters qualification in e.g. Art psychotherapy, dance movement psychotherapy or integrative psychotherapy. They will deliver one to one psychotherapy interventions to people accessing Me Time at HMP The Mount, Hertfordshire Probation Units, Bedfordshire Probation Units, and/or remotely.

Applications for this position are particularly welcomed from people from Global Majority Ethnic backgrounds, with lived experience of the criminal justice system, and/or with current enhanced prison security vetting.

The successful applicant will offer people the opportunity to engage in psychotherapy using verbal and non-verbal, creative techniques such as movement, visual arts, creative writing and drama. They will integrate psycho-dynamic and psycho-educational techniques into sessions, tailor support to individuals needs, be responsive to risk and safeguarding issues and use an assets based approach. Working as part of Belong's multidisciplinary team, they will engage proactively in regular reflective practice, clinical supervision and line management sessions. 

Please apply for this position by applying on CharityJobs, with a detailed covering letter outlining how you meet the skills, experience and knowledge requirements outlined in our Job Description and Person Specification document. Please also send us your CV. We are unable to consider applications received without a detailed covering letter. The deadline for applications is 11.30pm on Sunday 8th September. Please submit your application as soon as possible as we will be shortlisting and interviewing applicants on an ongoing basis. Please note that we reserve the right to close this advert if a successful applicant is appointed before the closing date.

Place of work: HMP The Mount, Hertfordshire or Bedfordshire Probation Units, depending on participant locations.

Hours of work: 1 day per week, including occasional evening and weekend work

Pay scale: This is a voluntary role with reimbursed travel expenses to/from community locations.

Contract term: 6-9 months minimum, can be longer if in line with trainee’s placement requirements. Reports to: Lead Psychotherapist National Security and DBS Vetting Required: Enhanced (the successful applicant will be supported to apply for this)

Responsibilities

➢ Provide specialist one to one psychotherapy interventions, over 12 weeks, and tailored well-being support sessions over 3 weeks, as part of the Me Time service to people with criminal convictions from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.

➢ Work flexibly at HMP The Mount and/or Herts/Beds probation units, depending on participant locations, holding a case load of 3 to 5 participants depending on number of days worked.

➢ Support participants to improve their wellbeing and to identify and tackle issues related to their offending behaviour e.g. relationship problems, substance misuse issues, adverse childhood experiences and racial trauma.

➢ Maintain detailed, high quality records of psychotherapy sessions in accordance with Belong, HCPC and UKCP guidelines and standards.

➢ Build excellent working relationships and communicate effectively with other members of Belong’s team, and with members of prison and probation teams.

➢ Model and encourage the use of non – verbal, creative methods e.g. visual arts, music, movement and writing as part of psychotherapy to enable participants to process their thoughts and feelings.

➢ Integrate several approaches to psychotherapy including psychodynamic and psycho-educational models and if appropriate, a mentalization - based approach in order to meet participant's needs.

➢ Manage difficult and demanding clinical situations including exploring complex, sensitive and disturbing personal issues with participants.

➢ Apply evidence based practice in being attune to and assisting participants to process transference and counter-transference feelings, for example in relation to daily experiences, creative work produced, the therapist, and others.

➢ Write progress reports at the end of each participant's engagement with psychotherapy, for reference during participants parole hearings and sentence planning processes.

➢ Share risk and safeguarding information appropriately with other professionals. 

➢ Assess participant's mental state and identify any significant risk and protective factors, collaboratively undertaking and contributing to risk assessments with other professionals.

➢ Actively participate in relevant meetings e.g. team meetings, line management meetings, clinical supervision meetings, service reviews with participants.

➢ Ensure that participant's records and any art work produced are adequately stored and, if necessary, transported in line with Belong, Prison and Probation Service, and HCPC guidelines.

➢ Carry out administrative and evaluation tasks as required for the sustainability and smooth running of the service, actively encouraging participants to participate in evaluation and service development activities.

➢ Exert physical effort in moving equipment and furniture, e.g. when setting up a room for one to one work.

➢ Maintain registration with the Health Care Professionals Council (HCPC) and adhere to and implement the professional standards and policies of Belong, the Prison and Probation Service and the HCPC.

➢ Keep abreast of new developments and research in Psychotherapy and Forensic Psychotherapy.

➢ Undertake any other duties as may be appropriate to the level and nature of the post as determined by Belong’s Management and Trustee Board. Required Qualifications

➢ Good honours degree (2.2 or above) in psychology or equivalent.

➢ Undertaking training at Masters Level in Psychotherapy. Required Experience and Knowledge

➢ At least 1 year experience of working with people with criminal convictions or facing other significant disadvantages.

➢ At least 1 year experience of working within the criminal justice sector, the prison service or a related sector.

➢ Commitment to integrating several approaches to psychotherapy including psychodynamic and psycho-educational models.

➢ Willingness to manage difficult and demanding clinical situations including exploring complex, sensitive and disturbing personal issues with individuals.

➢ Good understanding of the issues faced by people who have committed offences and the specific issues faced by people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Backgrounds in contact with the criminal justice system.

➢ Good knowledge of peoples' emotional and mental health needs.

➢ A strong understanding of the principles of confidentiality and of instances when this should be breached.

➢ Strong awareness of appropriate boundaries to be maintained with service users and of personal safety issues.

Required Skills and abilities

➢ Ability to form therapeutic relationships with people who have committed offences and are serving prison sentences or sentences in the community.

➢ Ability to apply a variety of models and theories to work with individuals.

➢ Ability to work with participants psychological, non-verbal and symbolic expression and consider these as meaningful communications where appropriate.

➢ Ability to maintain appropriate boundaries with participants and to manage personal safety whilst working in prisons and probation units.

➢ Ability to be attune to and process transference feelings and work with emotional projections from people to aid individuals understanding and communication of conscious and unconscious processes.

➢ Ability to work effectively under pressure of the psychological impact of highly charged situations eg. disclosure of sexual or emotional abuse and maintain the capacity to think clearly in these conditions.

➢ Excellent interpersonal, communication and listening skills.

➢ Good organisational skills.

➢ Basic artistic skills in using a variety of art materials and media in a variety of styles. 

➢ Ability to work well with members of Belong’s multi-disciplinary team, members of the Probation and Prison Service and key stakeholders.

➢ Ability to produce and file high quality, detailed records of work completed.

Required Personal attributes

➢ Honest

➢ Resilient

➢ Hard working

➢ Organised

➢ Self-motivated

➢ Confident

➢ Non-judgmental

➢ Flexible

➢ Reliable

➢ Committed to confidentiality and equal opportunities

➢ Willing to learn and develop