CALL FOR VALUE-BASED COUNSELING EXPERT (Analytical Psychologist)
Expression of interest
to provide external services as a consultant specialized in Value-Based Counseling for projects implemented in Afghanistan
About us
Ipso gGmbH (https://ipsocontext.org/) is a Germany-based humanitarian not-for-profit organization specialized in Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services (MHPSS) and in sociocultural empowerment at the community level to promote peace and social cohesion. At the individual level, Psychosocial Counselors trained by Ipso provide culturally sensitive Value Based Counseling (VBC). The service is currently available in more than 20 languages in face-to-face sessions as well as online.
Ipso was a driving force for the integration of VBC into the Basic Package of Health Services, Essential Package of Hospital Services and National Mental Health Strategy of the Afghan public health system between 2011 and 2016. With donor funding from the EU and the German Foreign Office, Ipso trained more than 500 men and women as Psychosocial Counselors, of whom 380 were employed at Comprehensive Health Centers countrywide, and developed a train-the-trainers system for sustainability. Doctors and nurses were trained to team up with counselors for referrals of patients whose symptoms were related to social stress.
Keeping the original counseling quality standards turned out to be the biggest challenge after Ipso handed training over to the Ministry of Public Health. Since 2016, a Mental Health and Psychosocial Center in Kabul provides services to Afghans who suffer from a high mental health burden and high level of stress in their daily lives and provides immediate trauma care after exposure to potentially traumatizing events. The Center offers individual face-to-face and online psychosocial counseling to adolescent and adult beneficiaries across the country regardless of gender, ethnicity and economic situation, runs a day care center and offers outpatient psychiatric assessment and treatment. Psychosocial counselors provide online counseling to clients across the country for those who cannot visit the center in person.
The center in Kabul is run by the Afghan NGO Ipso, supported by Ipso gGmbH. To ensure Afghan ownership, Ipso gGmbH does not base international consultants or staff in Afghanistan but has been building the capacity of the Afghan NGO to run the center during short trips and online. A key element of success has been the use of highly qualified consultants with extensive country experience able to train Afghan women and men in our Value Based Counseling approach as psychosocial counselors, trainers and master trainers, to supervise the same, to continuously develop the counseling approach and training methods further, and to support the management of the center in its dealings with stakeholders in Afghanistan and abroad, including international donors.
A further key element has been the development of the dedicated secure online counseling platform https://ipso-care.com/home-14.html that includes features which allow clients to register with an alias, to make an appointment with a counselor of the same gender who speaks the same language, to make follow-up appointments with that same counselor, and to rate each session afterwards. Counselors use the platform to rate sessions independently, to document cases in preparation for follow-up sessions and as a basis for the supervision which Counselors receive as part of Ipso’s quality management. The software flags up inconsistencies in the rating process, such as client and a counselor substantially disagreeing on the quality of a session, so that supervisors can follow up, and allows for anonymized statistics such as the number of sessions held in a particular period. This platform and tools required for project monitoring, evaluation and reporting require the services of experienced IT consultant with excellent communication skills.
Purpose of the consultancy
The consultant will ensure the quality of the MHPSS services provided by the center with a focus on Value Based Counseling and will support the management in dealing with stakeholders in and outside Afghanistan with a focus on international donors.
Scope of Work and time period
The consultant will
- Provide supportive technical supervision of psychosocial counselors and occupational therapists,
- Develop the Value Based Counseling approach further based on needs that arise from the Afghan sociocultural context,
- Provide further education in Value Based Counseling to technical staff of the center,
- Support the management of the center in communicating with stakeholders in the health sector in and outside Afghanistan in general and with MHPSS in particular, as well as international donors.
Services will be required from 1 May to 31 December 2024.
Consultant’s Fees
The maximum amount of entitlement directly payable to the consultant for person-days for the period from 1 May to 31 December 2024 is EUR 14 000 Euros including VAT if applicable.
Criteria for Consultant
The consultant should:
- Have a qualification as an analytical psychologist,
- Demonstrated in-depth methodological knowledge of the Value Based Counseling approach,
- At least 15 years of professional experience in training Afghan women and men as psychosocial counselors and in supervising and further educating these counselors in VBC,
- At least 15 years of professional experience in dealing with Afghan stakeholders and with international donors in the MHPSS sector,
- Working languages (written and spoken proficiency): English.
- Be curious, creative and has a self-motivated work approach, including being comfortable working remotely with a diverse organization,
- Be willing to travel to Afghanistan,
- Be willing to align their work to Afghan working hours (GMT+4:30) in regard to the time zone, weekends and national holidays.
How to apply
One electronic copy/scanned copy in English to be sent to b.brugmann@ipsocontext.org at Ipso gGmbH – International Psychosocial Organisation.
Deadline: 21.4.2024
Applicants shall submit the following documents:
- A cover letter with a brief description of relevant previous professional experiences and with a quotation for a person-day rate including VAT if applicable,
- Contact details of two referees expected to support claims of knowledge, skills and experience,
- A Curriculum vitae (CV), including references to licenses, certifications, accreditations, etc.
- A declaration that the consultant is willing to align their work to Afghan working hours (GMT+4:30) in regard to the time zone, weekends and national holidays.