Children and young people's counsellor volunteer

Purpose of this role

Volunteers in this role provide Level 3 counselling support (NICE guidance) for children and young people under the age of 18 either in their homes, at one of our hospice buildings in Watford or St Albans, at external venues, including schools, or by participating in events organised by the team. These young clients will either be one of our patients themselves, or have a parent, sibling or close relative who is seriously ill or who has died.

We encourage an integrative or pluralist approach using techniques which will support clients to express and explore themselves how they see fit, and for clients to develop their own coping strategies.

Our volunteers allow us to offer this service to more families who need it.

Main tasks

·      being part of a multi-disciplinary team that aims to support a wide range of people affected by life-limiting illness

·      providing counselling for children and young people up to the age of 18

·      providing counselling support face-to-face, on the phone or via a virtual platform

·      working independently to manage a small caseload, within a supervised and supportive environment

·      attending mandatory supervision every month, and team meetings as and when required

·      following all Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care policies and procedures at all times

What are we looking for?

·      A Level 4 counselling qualification with children and young people

·      excellent listening and communication skills

·      an understanding that all our work is around death, dying, grief and loss, and you need to feel comfortable to discuss these topics in a sensitive and age appropriate way

·      the ability to empathise with others, while maintaining professional boundaries and practicing self-care

·      someone who is flexible and reliable

·      someone who is able to work independently and as part of a team to deliver our service

·      someone with basic IT skills who is able to keep concise, accurate records and stick to reporting deadlines

·      Age 18+

Training and support

·      there will be a named line manager who will provide ongoing support

·      there will be some mandatory training that you will need to complete at the start of your volunteering with us and then periodically afterwards as refresher training which will include data security and confidentiality

·      your line manager will organise training specific to your role

What you need to know

·      you will complete a volunteer application form and we will ask for one reference from someone who knows you well.

·      you will need to complete an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check for the adult and child workforce for this role, with child barring. 

·      as a charity supporting people who are vulnerable, we encourage all volunteers with patient and client contact to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19

·      you must have your own personal email address for secure communication about clients

·      each young person will have between 6 to 12 sessions depending on their situation

·      patient facing volunteers will have access to supervision support

·      client support and your own supervision may be given virtually. You will be expected to follow our Virtual Visit and Virtual Groups policy and your line manager will go through this with you

·      we welcome everyone and will make reasonable adjustments should they be needed

·      we will pay reasonable expenses incurred, should you wish to claim them

·      we rely on the commitment of our volunteers to support our services, however we understand that you may need to take a break from your volunteering. If you are not able to volunteer for a period of time, you will not attend supervision, and we will check in with you after 3 months. Depending on your circumstances, we would then check in with you again after 6 months. At that point, if you are still not ready to return, we will make you inactive as a volunteer, so that we are not keeping data unnecessarily and we know where we are in terms of resourcing the service. Of course, we’d be very happy to discuss returning to the role at any time – your line manager will meet with you to discuss it, and if you do return, we will ask you to attend some refresher training.

To protect both patients and volunteers, you MUST NOT:

·      give clinical advice or medication

·      give out personal contact details

·      witness any legal documentation for the client or their family