Job summary
As the Lead Counsellor within our alcohol and nonopiate support service, you will play a central role in ensuring the delivery of highquality, clientcentred therapeutic support. Working across our Dorset services, you will lead on the clinical integrity of our counselling provision, ensuring that residents receive safe, effective, and compassionate support.

You will oversee the full therapeutic pathway from assessment through to intervention, ensuring best practice, safeguarding, and quality standards are upheld across the service.

Main duties of the job

• Provide clinical leadership for the counselling function, ensuring safe and effective therapeutic delivery.
• Recruit, supervise, and support counsellors and trainees working within the service.
• Offer expert guidance on complex and highrisk cases, supporting decisionmaking and escalation.
• Oversee the assessment and referral process to ensure timely, robust, and clientcentred pathways.
• Lead on quality assurance for therapy provision, including monitoring, feedback, and auditing.

About us
Waythrough was formed in 2024 following the merger of Humankind and Richmond Fellowship. Together, weve created one of the largest mental health and social support charities in England. Every year, we support around 125,000 people through nearly 200 services and its all made possible by our 3,500 brilliant staff and volunteers.

Job responsibilities
About the Role
As the Lead Counsellor within our alcohol and nonopiate support service, you will play a central role in ensuring the delivery of highquality, clientcentred therapeutic support. Working within the HAGA/STAND partnership, you will lead on the clinical integrity of our counselling provision, ensuring that residents receive safe, effective, and compassionate support.

You will oversee the full therapeutic pathway from assessment through to intervention, ensuring best practice, safeguarding, and quality standards are upheld across the service.

Key Duties

• Provide clinical leadership for the counselling function, ensuring safe and effective therapeutic delivery.
• Recruit, supervise, and support counsellors and trainees working within the service.
• Offer expert guidance on complex and highrisk cases, supporting decisionmaking and escalation.
• Oversee the assessment and referral process to ensure timely, robust, and clientcentred pathways.
• Lead on quality assurance for therapy provision, including monitoring, feedback, and auditing.
• Review and maintain clinical notes and ensure compliance with service policies and professional standards.
• Regularly review and update therapeutic policies, processes, and safeguarding practices.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with external agencies to support safe, coordinated client care.

Person Specification
Key Requirements
Essential

• A recognised PGDip (or equivalent) in counselling or psychotherapy.
• Substantial facetoface client experience within substance use, mental health, or related support settings.
• Experience providing clinical supervision or supporting the development of other therapists.
• Registration with a PSAaccredited professional body (e.g., BACP, UKCP).
• A strong understanding of safeguarding practices and the ability to make confident clinical decisions.
• Excellent communication, organisational, and casemanagement skills.
• A commitment to delivering highquality, personcentred therapeutic services.

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.

For questions about the job, contact: Gemma Butterfield (gemma.butterfield@waythrough.org.uk)