Job description

Job responsibilities

Becoming a Trainee PWP offers an exciting opportunity to train in delivering low intensity psychological therapies within a multidisciplinary and innovative team. The post-holder will support individuals aged 16+, from a variety of cultural backgrounds and should be committed to equal opportunities. They must be able to demonstrate excellent interpersonal, organisational and communication skills, as well as show initiative, and be committed to developing clinical practice and knowledge within this role.

In this role you will:

• Attend Teesside University alongside placement in service to gain a qualification in delivering Low Intensity CBT interventions (Low Intensity Psychological Therapy PGCert).
• Attend regular line management, case management and clinical skills supervision.
• Complete assessment appointments with service users each week and make clinical decisions based on information gathered.
• Carry out evidence based interventions via telephone, video call and face-to-face guided self-help, Computerised CBT and psycho-educational classes.
• Attend CPD events.
• Get involved with specialist interest groups.
• Work closely with other PWPs to support one another and utilise and share skills and knowledge.
• Work closely with the wider multidisciplinary team.
• Once qualified all PWPs are required to apply for PWP registration, through the BPS or BABCP.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Evidence of ability to study successfully at undergraduate year 1 level or the equivalent.

Desirable

• Psychology or other Health and Care related undergraduate degree.

Knowledge

Essential

• Demonstrates an understanding of anxiety and depression including the wider impact for the whole person.
• Demonstrates a knowledge of the issues surrounding work and meaningful occupation and the impact it can have on mental health.

Desirable

• Knowledge of medication used in anxiety and depression and other common mental health problems.
• Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence based psychological therapies and how it relates to this post.
• Demonstrates an understanding of the role of clinical risk assessments.

Training

Essential

• Able to meet all the requirements of the PWP training
• Able to complete academic components of the course

Other

Essential

• High level of motivation.
• Ability to foster good working relationships.
• Regard for others and respect for individual rights of autonomy and confidentiality.
• Willingness and ability to travel to locations throughout the organisation.
• Willingness and ability to work through interpreters.

Desirable

• Ability to use clinical supervision and personal development positively and effectively.
• Car driver.
• Fluent in languages other than English.

Experience

Essential

• Evidence of working with people who have experienced a common mental health problem
• Evidence of communicating with individuals from diverse backgrounds
• Evidence of working within a team environment
• Ability to apply learning in practice.
• Computer literate.
• Ability to be self-reflective.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including telephone skills.
• Able to develop good therapeutic relationships and maintain professional boundaries.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills including ability to manage conflicting demands and work under pressure.

Desirable

• Experience of working in Primary Care settings
• Experience of working in a setting where agreed targets in place demonstrating clinical outcomes
• Experience of managing own caseload
• Evidence of working in the local community
• Experience of working in partnership with other services

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

Sunderland Counselling Service

Address

Talking Matters Northumberland

4 Telford Court

Morpeth

Northumberland

NE61 2DB

United Kingdom

Employer's website

http://www.sunderlandcounselling.org.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Job description

Job responsibilities

The PWP course runs for 1 academic year, and you will be required to meet the demands of balancing a high caseload whilst completing the academic components of the role. You will work towards a Post Graduate Certificate in Low Intensity Psychological Therapies and work with people with different cultural backgrounds and ages, using interpreters when necessary. The training post will equip the post holder to provide a range of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) based self-help interventions to patients with anxiety and depression. The post-holder will attend all taught and self-study days required by the education provider, as specified within National Low Intensity curriculum, and work in the service for the remaining days of the week using their newly developed skills.

The successful applicant will be employed on Sunderland Counselling Service (SCS) terms and conditions, working within NHS Sunderland Talking Therapies. The successful candidate will be entitled to SCS benefits such as access to our 24/7 employee assistance programme to support wellbeing and will be within a probationary period for 3 months. Sunderland Talking Therapies consists of a large multidisciplinary team including PWPs, Community Practitioners, High Intensity Therapies (of multiple modalities) and a counsellor. A Senior Management Team including Team Managers, Clinical Leads, Senior PWPs, Low Intensity Service Leads and a Clinical Manager oversee the service and support staff. Sunderland Talking Therapies also works as a single point of access for patients entering Talking Therapies or Counselling via Sunderland Counselling Service, Sunderland Mind and Washington Mind.

Our PWP workforce is a valuable and highly respected element of the service. The PWP role in our service is varied and will allow you to gain a wide range of experience and skills. As a service we are committed to developing the skills and knowledge of our PWPs through providing opportunities to participate in service development projects and complete further training once qualified, e.g. PWP supervisors course, LTC training and leadership training. We are also committed to enhancing and maintaining the wellbeing of our PWP workforce.

Sunderland Counselling Service may use AI detection tools to assess the originality of submitted applications, or it may be obvious from the way it is written that the application is AI generated. Applications found or suspected to be generated by AI will be summarily rejected and will not progress through the recruitment process.

Interviews will be held on 9th and 10th November 2026 in person at Monkwearmouth Hospital.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working clinically with adults who have experienced a common mental health problem.

Desirable

• Experience of working within a primary care setting.
• Experience of managing own clinical caseload.
• Evidence of communicating with people from diverse backgrounds and using an interpreter.

Experience Skills and Competencies

Essential

• Computer literate.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including on the telephone.
• Experience that demonstrates an ability to build a rapport with service users.

Knowledge

Essential

• An understanding and experience of working with adults with common mental health problems, seeing first hand how it impacts the whole person.
• Experience of working within a team of professionals and being able to build good working relationships.

Desirable

• An understanding of how the use of evidence based interventions relates to the PWP role in practice.

Qualifications

Essential

• Evidence of ability to study successfully at Undergraduate Degree level, holding a level 6 qualification or equivalent.

Desirable

• Psychology or other health and care related undergraduate degree.

Other requirements

Essential

• Willingness and ability to work clinically on an evening where required by the service.
• Willingness and ability to travel to university and to various locations for patient appointments.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

Sunderland Counselling Service

Address

51 John Street

Sunderland

SR1 1QN

United Kingdom

Employer's website

http://www.sunderlandcounselling.org.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Job description

Job responsibilities

The post-holder will work within the IAPT service providing high volume low intensity interventions which will be a range of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) based self management interventions to clients with mild to moderate common mental health conditions.

The post holder will work with people with different cultural backgrounds and ages, using interpreters when necessary and should be committed to equal opportunities

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• -Qualification from PWP Training Course (Post Graduate Certificate or Level 3 undergraduate course)

Desirable

• -Training in nursing, social work, occupational therapy, counselling or within a psychological therapy.
• -Psychology or other health related undergraduate degree.
• -Psychology or other health related postgraduate degree

Experience

Essential

• -Evidence of working with people who have experienced a mental health problem
• -Demonstrates high standards in written communication
• -Able to write clear reports and letters.

Desirable

• -Experience of working in Primary Care Services
• -Worked in a service where agreed targets in place demonstrating clinical outcomes
• -Ability to manage own caseload and time
• -Evidence of working in the local community

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• -Ability to evaluate and put in place the effect of training
• -Computer literate
• -Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including telephone skills
• -Able to develop good therapeutic relationships with clients
• -Demonstrates an understanding of anxiety and depression and how it may present in Primary Care
• -High level of enthusiasm and motivation.
• -Advanced communication skills
• -Ability to work within a team and foster good working relationships
• -Ability to use clinical supervision and personal development positively and effectively
• -Ability to work under pressure
• -Regard for others and respect for individual rights of autonomy and confidentiality
• -Ability to be self reflective, whilst working with service users, in own personal and professional development and in supervision

Desirable

• -Demonstrates a knowledge of the issues surrounding work and the impact it can have on mental health
• -Knowledge of medication used in anxiety and depression and other common mental health problems
• -Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence based psychological therapies and how it relates to this post
• Car driver and/or ability and willingness to travel to locations throughout the organisation
• -Fluent in languages other than English

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Sunderland Counselling Service

Address

Northumberland Talking Therapies

Unit 4 Telford Court

Morpeth

Northumberland

NE61 2DB

United Kingdom

Employer's website

http://www.sunderlandcounselling.org.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Job description

Job responsibilities

The salary for this post is NHS comparable, and the successful applicant will be employed on Sunderland Counselling Service (SCS) terms and conditions, working within Sunderland Talking Therapies. The successful candidate will be entitled to SCS benefits such as access to our 24/7 employee assistance programme to support wellbeing and will be within a probationary period for 12 months. Sunderland Talking Therapies consists of a large multidisciplinary team including PWPs, Community Practitioners, High Intensity Therapies (of multiple modalities) and a counsellor. A Senior Management Team including Team Managers, Clinical Leads, Senior PWPs, Low Intensity Service Leads and a Clinical Manager oversee the service and support staff. Sunderland Talking Therapies also works as a single point of access for patients entering Talking Therapies or Counselling via Sunderland Counselling Service, Sunderland Mind and Washington Mind.

Our PWP workforce is a valuable and highly respected element of the service. The PWP role in our service is varied and will allow you to gain a wide range of experience and skills. As a service we are committed to developing the skills and knowledge of our PWPs through providing opportunities to participate in service development projects and complete further training e.g. PWP supervisors course, LTC training and leadership training. We are also committed to enhancing and maintaining the wellbeing of our PWP workforce.

Sunderland Counselling Service may use AI detection tools to assess the originality of submitted applications, or it may be obvious from the way it is written that the application is AI generated. Applications found or suspected to be generated by AI will be summarily rejected and will not progress through the recruitment process.

Person Specification

Skills and Competencies

Essential

• High quality and timely clinical note recording (e.g. session notes and care plans) and ability to write reports and letters

Qualifications

Essential

• Qualification from an accredited PWP Training Course.
• PWP registration with BPS or BABCP or being able and eligible to apply for this immediately once in post.

Desirable

• Psychology or other health and care related undergraduate degree
• Completion of an accredited course relating to working with long-term conditions within Low Intensity therapy.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working effectively as a PWP within a high-pressured setting (primary care or equivalent).
• Experience of managing own PWP clinical caseload.

Desirable

• Evidence of communicating with people from diverse backgrounds and using an interpreter.
• Experience of adapting Low Intensity CBT approaches to work with neurodiversity.
• Experience of adapting Low Intensity CBT approaches to work with individuals with long-term conditions and/or medically unexplained symptoms.

Other requirements

Essential

• Willingness and ability to work clinically on an evening where required by the service.
• Willingness and ability to travel to various locations for patient appointments.

Knowledge

Essential

• An understanding of NICE guidelines for the treatment of anxiety disorders and depression and experience of applying these in practice.
• Experience of building good working relationships within a multidisciplinary team.
• Experience of the managing clinical risk within PWP work.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Sunderland Counselling Service

Address

51 John Street

Sunderland

SR1 1QN

United Kingdom

Employer's website

http://www.sunderlandcounselling.org.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please find attached job description for full details.

Advertising date : 15th September2026

Closing date : 20th September 2026

We welcome your application.

Person Specification

Education and Qualifications

Essential

• High Intensity NHS Talking Therapies (IAPT) Post Graduate Diploma with BABCP accreditation and registration. OR RMN, OT or Social Worker qualification, or an Honours degree level qualification in another mental health field, subject to specific suitability check, and able to meet Core Profession equivalence KSA requirements.
• Post graduate qualification in psychological assessment and psychological therapy appropriate to the NHS Talking Therapies pathway as detailed in the Table below with related registration and accreditation.

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Significant experience working as a psychological therapy practitioner and demonstrating the competences as required.
• Demonstratable experience of working in mental health services
• Ability to meet agreed/specified service targets
• Demonstrates high standards in written communication
• Accredited with a professional psychological therapy organisation

Desirable

• Trained in provision of supervision for CBT
• Completed clinical audits within a service

Skills and Competencies

Essential

• Full range of skills and competencies as laid out in the competence framework for CBT (Roth and Pilling 2007)
• Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
• Has received training (either formal of through experience) and carried out risk assessments within scope of practice
• Computer literate
• Able to develop good therapeutic relationships with clients

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and wear (CNTW) NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Monkwearmouth Hospital

Newcastle road

Sunderland

SR5 1NB

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.cntw.nhs.uk/careers/ (Opens in a new tab)

Job description

Job responsibilities

This role may be eligible for sponsorship under the UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker route. However, sponsorship can only be provided where applicants meet the specific requirements, therefore, we recommend that you assess your eligibility before applying for this position. Visit https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for further detailed information to ensure that you meet the role criteria before applying.

NHS Durham & Darlington Talking Therapies is a well-established psychological therapies service and has been providing psychological interventions to those residing in the County Durham and Darlington area since 2010. We are a joint venture of three experienced local and national providers of psychological therapies with a strong track record of success. It is led by Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust in collaboration with Mental Health Matters (MHM) and Sunderland Counselling Service (SCS).

The service has continued to develop new and innovative ways of supporting those patients presenting with common mental health difficulties, forming strong links with other supporting services in the area. We pride ourselves on helping people achieve good mental and physical well-being and live life to the full.

We support and encourage staff to attend relevant CPD to ensure they are able to keep up to date with accreditation and grow and develop as a practitioner

We have worked with staff to create a supportive and wellbeing focused environment and we have recently achieved the Gold standard for the Better Health at Work awards and we are currently working towards the Achieving Excellence level.

This job advert may close early if a high volume of applications have been received. If interested, please apply for this post as soon as possible.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• PWP qualifications from a British Psychological Society accredited PWP programme/apprenticeship
• Accredited with the BABCP or BPS as a PWP (or working towards accreditation if within 6 months of qualifying)
• If qualifying by the apprenticeship route have also passed the apprenticeship end point assessment

Desirable

• Key skills in literacy, numeracy and IT
• Core profession in mental health nursing, social work, occupational Therapy, psychology

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working with people with common mental health problems in an IAPT setting
• Ability to demonstrate a rane of experiences in offering and delivering a full range of evidence based IAPT low intensity interventions
• Experience of screening, assessing and working with a range of mental health issues at step 2
• Experience of working with and managing risk

Desirable

• Experience in drug/alcohol management
• Experience of partnership working
• Worked in a service where agreed targets are in place demonstrating clinical outcomes

Skills

Essential

• Computer skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including telephone skills
• Able to develop good therapeutic relationships with clients
• Able to work under pressure

Knowledge

Essential

• Ability to implement NICE Guidance for Step 2 interventions for mental health problems
• Knowledge of factors that can impact common mental health problems
• Competent in risk assessment
• Demonstrates and understanding of anxiety and depressive disorders and how they may present in Primary Care
• Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence based psychological therapies and how it relates to this post

Desirable

• Demonstrates knowledge of the issues surrounding work and the impact it can have on mental health
• Knowledge of medication used in anxiety and depression and other common mental health problems

Personal

Essential

• Ability to work within a team and foster good working relationships
• Ability to use own initiative and make decisions independently
• Committed to continual professional and personal development

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Seaham Primary Care Centre

Seaham

SR7 7JE

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.tewv.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)