The Counselling and Psychotherapy Services (CAPS) has a number of sessional therapists in our bank of qualified and accredited Counsellors/Therapists to help us manage periods of high demand in our busy therapy service for University of Warwick students.

Joining our team as a Bank Psychological Therapist offers:

• The benefit of flexibility – the ability to offer from one to four days a week, to suit your schedule (in line with demand) with remote working options (once you are fully embedded)
• Competitive hourly/daily rate of pay
• Regular in-house supervision
• The opportunity to work therapeutically offering brief, focussed, impactful counselling interventions to students
• A supportive administration team
• Invitations to join team meetings, case discussion, CPD events etc
• Opportunities to connect with other mental health-related practitioners
• The chance to work with a culturally and ethnically diverse client group
• The experience of working in a vibrant, well-resourced Higher Educational context
• Benefits of being based on a university campus with access to amenities

What we require from you:

• Ongoing accreditation with BACP (or equivalent)
• Professional level Counselling/Psychotherapy qualification
• Substantial post qualification experience of providing individual, face-to-face psychological therapy contracts
• Experience of creatively adapting a core theoretical model to a brief, focused approach
• Capacity to work with confidence, competence and creative dynamism responding to client need across a diverse range
• Excellent personal administrative management skills particularly the ability to work well under pressure, to manage workload and to be pragmatic and flexible as required, especially with diary management

Overview:

Rate of Pay: Bank Psychological Therapists will be paid on a sessional rate of £200 per day (or pro rata part thereof). Payment will be made monthly following approval of submitted timesheets through the variable monthly payroll (VAM)

Work Pattern: Bank Psychological Therapists tend to work for between one to four days per week, as demand requires. Bank Psychological Therapists are expected to book 5 client sessions per full day working day (usually 9am to 5pm); the remainder of the 7-hour day is usually for administrative tasks (preparing for sessions; finalising client notes; writing occasional statements confirming attendance (for academic mitigation) etc. Occasionally half days may be appropriate, for instance towards the end of a block of bank work. Supervision will be provided in-house as part of the (paid) working day. NB A full induction covering all University systems and IT security procedures is provided.

Location: Senate House, Central Campus, University of Warwick with some remote working options available once embedded.

FAQs

Q: Is bank work required throughout the year?

A: CAPS offers an all-year-round therapy service for students but times of high demand (i.e. when bank therapists will generally be required) tend to be in university term times.

Q: How do I know if working in Higher Education is right for me?

A: We offer a webinar session for potential bank therapists to outline the benefits and expectations of the role. Once you have registered your interest, you will be on our records, and we will let you know the date of the next webinar. There will be plenty of opportunity to ask questions during the webinar session.

Often working on a bank contract can be a great way of 'dipping your toe in' to therapy work in HE to see if it is for you, perhaps before applying for a core post, if and when.

Also, we recommend reading Short-term Counselling in Higher Education: Context, Theory and Practice edited by David Mair (Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd; ISBN: 9781138794139) published November 2015.

The HE context is unique in that it means you will be required to 'think university support' rather than solely 'think individual client' and you may have to liaise with other support services across the university. You will be asked to consider your suitability in the application form and also at the interview.

Q: How long is a therapy bank contract likely to be?

A: As we work to predominantly brief therapy contracts with our students (clients), we take this into account when setting up a therapy bank contact. Initially you may be asked to be available for 6 weeks, but in practice this is likely to be extended in line with need. Towards the end of a contract, in order to remain ethical, there may be scope to wind down a case load (so reducing to working half days).

Q: How many days per week will I be expected to work?

A: Our experience tells us that most therapists who apply to work on our therapy bank are involved with other work so working one, two or three days per week is feasible. We endeavour to take a flexible and pragmatic approach to these arrangements.

Logistics may determine the specific day(s) we have available for bank therapists to work - i.e. we need to ensure there is a consulting room available with appropriate staff on site.

Q: Can I work remotely as a bank therapist?

A: Our experience informs us that it is essential that initially bank therapists are with us on campus in person until they are fully up to speed with our specific processes. When we are satisfied that all procedures are being followed, there may be scope to work remotely after that, as need demands.

What about CPD opportunities?

A: If you are a bank therapist on a contract with us you will generally be invited along to any relevant service, team, or Directorate training opportunities when appropriate.

Q: How will I know about the processes and procedures required at the university?

A Every new member of CAPS is given a full induction. As a bank therapist we do expect that you fully understand and follow all the specific processes, to ensure the ethical flow of our systems, but we will offer support with onboarding.

Q: What about the supervision arrangements?

A: You will be allocated a supervisor from within the core team where all CAPS supervision is to be directed; this ensures there is appropriate governance and lines of accountability for the work. Please note the frequency of scheduled supervison is likely to be no more than 1 hour per month.

You will also be allocated a separate line manager to support with any non-clinical issues.

Q: Is there the opportunity to apply for core posts after completing a bank contract?

A: Working on our therapy bank is a great way to develop the essential and desirable skills to support an application to core posts that may become available.

Q: Is there any reimbursement for expenses for bank therapists?

A: All therapists are required to make their own travel arrangements to campus, including covering car parking expenses on campus if travelling by car (currently £3 per day).

 Q: When do you recruit to the Therapy Bank?

A: We try to keep our therapy bank staffed with a number of eligible staff wo we can approach as and when required through our busy periods, but we only recruit to 're-stock' our bank on occasion, as required.

Q: If I have a connection with the University of Warwick, am I eligible to apply for a post as a bank therapist?

A: Any boundary issues have to be carefully considered. For example, if you are employed by the University of Warwick in a different capacity, or are a student with the university, or you have family members that work at the University, this would need to be considered and it is your responsibility to raise and discuss this, preferably pre-interview.

Q: What does a typical day's schedule look like?

A: The day is very structured which helps the containment of the varied and full client contact. Each day everyone will generally be scheduled with one new client, so case management skills are developed quickly, but there's plenty of support with this from the whole team.

Time	Elected day
9.00am	Arrive
9.15am	Client 1
10.15am	Client 2
11.15am	team time
11.30am	Client 3
12.30pm	Lunch
1.30pm	Client 4
2.30pm	team time
2.45pm	Client 5
3.45pm	Supervision/admin*

CAPS will endeavour to be as flexible as possible to set up a specific day(s) of the week that is suitable. There is space to indicate your availability on the application form - we then match your availability with room and supervisor availability to draw up a schedule.

For more details, please email Samantha.tarren@warwick.ac.uk

Q&A and quotes from other Bank staff with CAPS:

Q: What surprised you about your time with CAPS?

A: "The service continues to evolve and the energy and commitment for that within the team means no matter how much experience you bring to the role you will always be learning!"

A:Flexibility, consistency and a well-established team with policies, procedures, and protocols all in place and embedded.

"CAPS offers a welcoming team and supports your growth within an ever-changing, dynamic service."

"Working as a bank therapist offers me the flexibility I require in life and provides valuable, different experience to my role as a private practitioner."

"The service is always in demand and I enjoy being able to offer additional support when it is needed"

"The team consistently work together to find better solutions to provide a professional service, and as a bank therapist I have received much support and felt included in the team"

"as an establishment they are dedicated in providing support to a diverse community"

"Being Bank staff, the efforts that are put in to make you feel like you are a part of the team is great! "

"There is a collaborative spirit amongst the team."