Counselling Psychotherapist

Job Title: Counselling Psychotherapist

Reporting to: CEO

Location: Hybrid (remote working two days per week and one day per week in the Parkinson’s Ireland office in Dublin 7)

Contract type: Initial 2-year fixed term contract.

Weekly Hours: The contracted hours are 21 hours per week, worked over three days (days to be advised). The role also involves occasional weekend and evening work.

Probation: 6 months

Salary: Aligned to HSE salary scale for equivalent role, subject to qualifications and experience.

Organisation overview

Parkinson’s Ireland (PI) is a charity based in Dublin with branches throughout the Republic of Ireland. The aims of PI are included in the PI strategic plan which can be viewed at the following link:

https://www.parkinsons.ie/strategic-plan-2023-2027/

Parkinson’s Ireland educates the public, raises awareness and fundraises to help provide essential services throughout the country. Our current priority is to finance the provision of Parkinson’s Nurse Specialists and other allied health professionals who deliver care to people with Parkinson’s disease. Ideally, these professionals work in the community in association with neurologists or geriatricians.

Job Purpose

Our tele-counselling service provides professional psychological interventions for people with Parkinson’s disease and their care partners who are experiencing depression, anxiety or other mental health symptoms. We are expanding the service to support the fulfilment of our mission and respond to the clear evidence of need.

In addition to counselling, the successful candidate will educate service users by delivering online and in-person talks and classes, including classes on psychological wellness.

Key responsibilities

The responsibilities below cover direct care, service development, education, professional practice and organisational support.

1. Provide counselling and psychotherapy, including assessment of suitability for the service, collaborative therapeutic goal-setting, delivery and review of therapeutic interventions, and onward referral where needs fall outside the practitioner’s competence or the service’s remit. Sessions are delivered by telephone, Zoom or Microsoft Teams.

2. Ensure clients are triaged as appropriate. Review waiting lists regularly. Remain alert to risk and ensure risk assessments are carried out where necessary.

3. To ensure that record keeping and clinical notes are maintained in line with best practice.

4. Ensure all psychological interventions are delivered in line with national best practice standards, relevant legislation, and professional ethical guidelines.

5. Contribute towards the ongoing development of the service, including participation in the evaluation of service delivery.

6. To monitor and keep up to date with developments in psychology and disseminate information where relevant to staff and families.

7. Attend training courses, required supervision, and participate in activities for continuing professional development.

8. Attend and actively contribute to relevant clinical, professional and service meetings.

9. To develop and forge good working relationships with other agencies, networks and HSE.

10. To work as part of the inter-disciplinary team, providing an integrated service and contributing to the development of person-centred plans.

11. Provide education initiatives/classes for all service users with a particular focus on ongoing wellness practices to promote positive mental health.

12. To deliver talks both online and in person throughout the country. These include presentations at PI seminars and talks to the local PI branches.

13. Contribute to PI research and advocacy projects relevant to this role.

14. Work in collaboration with the other members of the interdisciplinary team in the planning and delivery of services for people with Parkinson’s and their care partners.

15. Keep the CEO informed of new and emerging need of service users.

16. To maintain quality standards and participate in quality developments.

17. Maintain statistical records, outcome measurement data, and provide information for service planning to management as required.

18. Actively contribute, as required, to the organisational management of vulnerable adult protection concerns in line with the PI policy on the safeguarding of vulnerable adults. Attend safeguarding training as required.

19. Maintain high professional standards, keep fully up to date with Parkinson’s Disease research, attend training and development courses as needed, and comply with all protocols and legislation relevant to the profession.

20. To ensure effective maintenance of client records in line with Freedom of Information Act, General Data Protection Act etc.

21. Assist with our clinical initiatives as they arise e.g. awareness campaigns, and the development of information resources on PD.

22. Such other duties as may be determined from time to time.

Person Specification

Qualification & experience

• A recognised postgraduate professional qualification in psychotherapy.
• Current full accreditation with the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP), or an equivalent professional body recognised by Parkinson’s Ireland..
• A minimum of 3 years post-qualification experience.
• Experience of working with people with a neurological/neurodegenerative condition and/or care partners, is desirable.
• Previous experience in developing programmes in a community setting and working in the community and with not-for-profit sector is desirable.
• Experience delivering brief and/or time limited therapies.
• Must have excellent presentation and public speaking skills.
• Must have excellent verbal and written English language skills.
• Good all-round IT skills including Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Key Competencies

· Willing and capable to take on responsibility. Must be able to make decisions.

· Must be able to communicate well and support service users and staff.

· Proven time management with the ability to deliver to tight deadlines.

· Proven initiative, common sense and resilience

· Must display empathy and compassion for patients and their families.

· Must have evidence of patience and adaptability in managing complex conditions.

· Proven commitment to continuous learning and professional development.

Parkinson’s Ireland is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We embrace diversity and inclusion as essential elements of our workplace culture and strive to create a supportive and respectful environment where all individuals are valued.

Please Note: Job descriptions reflect the present service requirements and may be subject to review and amendments to meet the changing needs of the service.

Closing date: Friday, the 11th of December 2026 at 5pm.

To apply: please send your CV and a cover letter to shane@parkinsons.ie