Generalist Counsellor Psychologist

This position requires the provision of a generalist counselling service to women clients of the centre. The counsellor is required to carry out all duties within a wholistic and feminist framework, as a member of the health care team. This position may require some outreach to other services/places and may from time to time include some group work as negotiated/planned, as time and circumstance permits.

Primary responsibilities: 

• Provide counselling services to individual clients, including psycho-social assessments, information giving, advocacy and therapeutic counselling in a client-centred framework, in order to address clients’ immediate and medium-term goals or issues. This will include working cross-culturally and with women with different abilities and working with health-care interpreters where required to promote access for women of non-English speaking background. 
•  Work with the IWHC team, including making internal referrals to practitioners and services to ensure continuity of care and enable a holistic response to the client’s psycho-social needs. 
•  Make referrals to external services and other agencies as appropriate to the needs and goals of the client. 
•  Participate in the development, facilitation and evaluation of therapeutic, education/support groups as time and work plan allows. 
•  Maintain best practise monitoring and evaluation processes for clients and groups. 
•  Establish and maintain a client record utilising Medical Director for each individual client in keeping with NSW Health guidelines and legislative requirements. 

Secondary responsibilities: 

 All staff will work towards the goals of the centre, within a feminist, holistic framework, to promote the health of the diverse women who are our clients and our communities of interest. Staff will always provide respectful service which empowers women and support their rights.  

• Practice within the guidelines and policy of the Centre including relevant policies of NSW Health and legislative requirements 
• Support orientation of new staff/students and training of casual staff 

• Contribute to Continuous Improvement (Plan Do Check Act Cycle) in respect of own area of work, and broader work of the Centre as time and resources permit  
• Collect statistical information for the Centre’s data collection as appropriate  
• Contribute to policy development and planning in the Centre  
• Share knowledge with other members of the health care team to support professional capacity building; 
• Remain alert to themes regarding client/community needs, as expressed by clients  

• Contribute to monitoring and evaluation of own area of work as well as the broader work of the Centre as resources, time and circumstances permit  
• Assist in health promotion/community development activities of the Centre as time and circumstances permit  
• Network and collaborate with relevant organisations in the pursuit of health outcome and to support community and professional capacity building  
• Participate in staff development and training, and keep up to date with relevant legislative changes 
• Participate in and prepare for support/supervision meetings as provided and/or group supervision  

• Attend scheduled staff meetings as appropriate and as time allows  
• Work as part of the team, and undertake some Centre duties on a shared or “as required” basis, such as answering phone, sharing “housekeeping” tasks such as washing up, watering pot plants, cleaning fridge  
• Represent the Centre on occasions as arranged, and as time and circumstances permit.  
• To ensure essential client care, it is expected that our staff will work extra time on occasions till the practitioner finishes seeing the last client of the day.