The Harbour 

The Harbour (www.the-harbour.org.uk) is a small charity based in the centre of Bristol. Our vision is that everyone in Bristol has a safe space to talk and be listened to when they face death, dying and bereavement. Since 1992 we have offered counselling and psychotherapy services to thousands of people with a serious life-threatening illness, their carers and loved ones, and people who have been bereaved.  

Who we are looking for 

The Harbour has a vacancy for an experienced therapist who wants to give something to their local community. We are looking for someone who: 

• shares our passion for providing support to people who are experiencing death, dying and bereavement  
• would like to contribute to The Harbour’s efforts to expand our reach to people who wouldn’t typically access therapy.  

At The Harbour, our honorary therapists work with people that have been affected by bereavement or who are facing a life-threatening illness, either at our central Bristol base or from community locations.   

We work from a psychodynamic foundation and therefore a grounding in psychodynamic work together with an experience of working at depth in a fixed term model is essential.  

We are keen to better reflect the communities we serve and so particularly welcome applications from all backgrounds.  If you are interested and not sure if you match the Person Specification or for more information and an informal discussion, please contact Christina Saltmarsh (Clinical Lead) at Christina@the-harbour.org.uk 

Why volunteer for us? 

First and foremost, you’ll have the opportunity to make a genuine difference to people as they face death, dying and bereavement.  Whilst it is a privilege to do this work, it can also be challenging.  You will: 

• have the support of an amazing team of colleagues and a positive and collaborative working environment 
• will receive fortnightly group supervision with one of our experienced clinical supervisors 
• will be supported by attending weekly team meetings which include space for clinical discussions, organisational updates and reflecting on the impact of the work on the team.    

Honorary Therapist 

Job Description 

Main purpose of role:  

An Honorary Therapist is responsible for delivering time-limited, psychodynamic therapy to those people who meet our eligibility criteria.   

Responsible to:  Clinical Lead 

Responsible for:  N/A  

Location:  Central Bristol office or community-based locations.  

Hours:  Part time. Approximately 3+ hours per week.   

Main tasks of role:  

• Conduct psychodynamic therapy for people who are impacted by a life-threatening illness or are living with bereavement.  
• Engage with clinical and line management supervision of your work 
• Monitor and evaluate the outcomes of therapy. 
• Maintain accurate and confidential notes and records using The Harbour’s systems.   
• Attend and contribute to team meetings on Tuesday mornings. 
• Work with colleagues to ensure a high-quality service is provided to all clients. 

 
Person Specification 

Skills and experience: 

Essential: 

• Ability to contain and work with the conscious and unconscious processes arising in therapy. 
• A passion for working with people facing their own death, that of a loved one or when they have been bereaved.  
• A commitment to promoting equity, diversity and inclusion.  
• Interest in working with complexity. 

Education and Qualifications: 

Essential: 

• Professional qualification as a therapist or counsellor at diploma level or above. 
• Full membership of relevant regulatory body (e.g. UKCP, BPC, BACP, HPC…). 

Desirable: 

• Psychodynamic training. 
• Further relevant post qualification training. 

Experience 

Essential:  

• Experience of delivering therapy in highly emotive situations.  
• Experience of working psychodynamically. 

Desirable: 

• Experience of working in a range of settings and with a variety of client groups or communities. 

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion  

The Harbour recognises the positive value of diversity and is dedicated to being an inclusive organisation. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to having a team with a diverse set of skills and experience. If you don’t meet all of the criteria but think that you’d be great at the role, we’d love to hear from you.  

Please get in touch should you wish to discuss any access requirements. 

Safeguarding  

Offers of an honorary contract will be subject to us receiving satisfactory pre-employment checks, including an enhanced DBS check from the Disclosure and Barring Service. Offers will also be subject to satisfactory references being obtained, proof of any relevant qualifications, satisfactory identity checks and evidence of the applicant’s right to work in the UK.