Counsellor - CBD

U-turn - Counsellor in Cape Town Central

Summary

U-turn is a leading organisation in developing pathways out of homelessness. We are looking for a counsellor to join our Cape Town CBD Team from the 1st of March. They will be based at The Hope Exchange campus and form part of the Interdisciplinary team providing therapy to clients on the work-readiness programme. They will report to the Clinical manager in their area.

This position

This is a full-time position and will require the person to run processes and skills groups as well as counsel individual clients with a range of intervention needs. Diagnoses range from substance dependency, personality disorders, depression and anxiety disorders to trauma processing and debriefing. The successful candidate will need experience in addiction treatment and will benefit from having experience in CBT and DBT training. Clients will be in a strong clinical case-magnet structure with either an Occupational Therapist or a Social Worker, and where indicative, will be referred to the counsellor for additional intervention as and when needed.

Background

U-turn is a thriving non-profit that exists to equip homeless people with the skills to overcome homelessness. Founded in 1997, we believe that every homeless individual is intrinsically valuable and should have access to an effective pathway to address their physical, spiritual and emotional needs so they can leave the streets and become a long-term productive member of society.

To help people overcome homelessness we operate a phased approach that includes addiction rehabilitation, counselling, life-skills training and sheltered work placement in one of our social enterprises. Through this process, the programme inculcates a healthy work ethic, furnishes modern job skills and gives 18-24 months of real work experience so that individuals can be gainfully employed in the modern South African economy.

Our graduates enter the open market employment and show an above 85% long term success rate! We are actively working to expand to more locations in Cape Town and across South Africa.

Work-readiness programme

The work-readiness programme provides work-based rehabilitation and skills development training to prepare clients for integration into employment and the community. One day per week, each client attends a training day where they access group therapy delivered by an interdisciplinary team, individual counselling and input using a specially designed curriculum. This cycle of learning and application continues for as long as needed (average 18 months). Case-managers coordinate the intervention programme for the clients and work in close-collaboration with the worksite managers.

Key areas of responsibility

• Facilitate and co-facilitate process and skills groups (or any other groups)
• Provide individual counselling to up to 16 clients per week, as referred by caseworkers
• Provide Crisis intervention to clients when needed
• Joint panel discussions and Interdisciplinary meetings
• Assist clinical manager to coordinate and provide staff training on recovery and therapeutic approaches
• Provide recovery support to clients that have relapsed
• Take part in programme development

Experience and Skills

• Relevant counselling certification (the following certification will be considered: HPCSA, Relevant ACCSA certification)
• Registration with relevant counselling boards (BAPSA, HPCSA, CCSA etc.)
• At least 3 years experience of working in the field of addiction
• Experience working with clients with a variety of diagnosis

Personal attributes

• Passion for U-turns mission and values.
• Strong Communication skills with a collaborative mind-set.
• Adaptability and resilience in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.

Organisational Fit (where applicable)

• If in recovery - actively engaged in own ongoing recovery, accessing accountability support and practicing recovery behaviour
• If employed as a Professional - affiliation with professional board, continued personal development and accessing supervision
• Gospel orientation - connected to a local fellowship of believers, reading the Bible and grounded in Gospel-motivated Social Action

Next Steps

Candidates interested in this position should apply online at https://homeless.org.za/careers/ . The letter of motivation should be approximately 1 page in length and include information on why you would like to work at U-turn and how you fulfil the required knowledge skills set outlined above. Please note that applications without a letter of motivation will not be considered.

Job Type: Full-time