POSITION TITLE:  Staff Therapist

DEPARTMENT:      Silva Clinic Integrated/ 0- 8 Early Childhood Mental Health

REPORTS TO:       Program Supervisor

FLSA STATUS:      1.0 FTE, Exempt, Union Position

COMPENSATION: Licensed $68,674.68; Master’s Level $58,852.24;  Non-Master’s (2^nd Year) $51,510.00 (plus bilingual differential) 

POSITION OVERVIEW:

The Silva Clinic Early Childhood Integrated Health program and the 0-8 Early Childhood Mental Health program prioritizes services to young children birth – 8 years of age, but may also provide services to older children and youth, and pregnant or parenting teens under 21 years old, as needed. The Staff Therapist will maintain an active caseload of EPSDT clients and meet monthly productivity goals; attend weekly group and individual clinical supervision; participate in weekly trainings as assigned by his/her clinical supervisor or LFCS administration; and attend weekly Outpatient Mental Health staff meetings.  The Staff Therapist will work within all compliance standards; complete documentation in a timely manner per LFCS policy; and maintain strict confidentiality protocols. The Staff therapist from the Silva Clinic Early Childhood Integrated Health Program will regularly collaborate with the medical providers on client referrals.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provides culturally informed and respectful services and as needed Bilingual Spanish speaking services to families with young children.
• Meets with clients, caregivers, families and others involved in child’s life to establish a collaborative evaluation of client’s symptoms, behaviors, and concerns in the context of the family relationships, client’s development, social engagement, daycare or school capacities, medical practitioner assessments, and other screeners for a comprehensive assessment.
• Applies appropriate screeners for Trauma and stress exposure, child developmental levels, and child attachment with primary caregiver and within the family
• Completes clinical interviews and observations of client in various settings and gathers family histories for use in assessment, diagnosis and treatment planning.
• Helps increase prosocial and social engagement for children while helping children negotiate their own emotions and behaviors and decrease mental health symptoms as developmentally appropriate
• Meets with clients and families for regular therapeutic sessions and provides Dyadic, Family and/or Individual psychotherapy in agency offices, family home settings, field locations and via telehealth (as needed).
• Guides the client/family in understanding the meaning of the client’s symptoms and behaviors within the family context and contributing factors such as developmental, cultural, social, economic, traumatic exposures, immigration, racial inequities and other factors.
• May provide groups for parenting or other psychoeducational offerings for client families.
• Supports family-driven practices by bringing the family perspective to mental health service delivery
• Advises client/family on community resources; and makes referrals and other arrangements as necessary.
• Supports families in navigating systems of care.
• Reduces community perception of stigma related to clients’ mental health issues.
• Complies with all agency’s policies and procedures.
• Maintains strict HIPPA guidelines, submits billings on a daily basis/submits client logs on a     daily basis.
• Follow Short-Doyle Medi-Cal charting and documentation requirements and Agency regulations in a timely manner.
• Provides input and feedback on potential related projects/programs, as appropriate.
• Supports agency-wide Quality Improvement efforts.
• Other miscellaneous duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Graduate degree in mental health (e.g. PhD, PSY.D., LCSW, LMFT,  ASW and/or MFTI ).
• Bilingual Spanish/English required.
• Knowledge of principles and practices of modern clinical psychology, including abnormal psychology, personality theory, diagnostic interviewing; Knowledge of working from a trauma informed perspective;  Experience with Psychotherapy including Early Childhood Mental Health specialty and early development, sensory integration, dysregulation and behavior change, casework, systems theory, family therapy, community psychology and community mental health.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients and staff of all levels.
• Ability to determine the needs of individual situations regarding diagnostic and therapeutic techniques, taking an effective course of action, and follow through with effective treatment plans.
• Excellent speaking and writing abilities.
• Knowledge of use of computer systems such as Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and FileMaker Pro or similar database applications.
• Auto insurance:  Personal vehicle may be used for business-related purposes; it is recommended you inform your auto insurance carrier
• Proof of COVID Vaccination required

COMPETENCIES:

• Interpersonal Skills
• Effective Written and Communication Skills
• Team Collaboration
• Change Agent
• Flexible/Adaptable
• Accountable
• Resilient
• Ethical
• Strong Attention to details
• Organized
• Results-Oriented

OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Assumes responsibility for doing assigned work and for meeting deadlines. Completes assigned work on or before deadlines in accordance with directives, policies, standards and proscribed procedures. 
• Demonstrates an awareness of and sensitivity to clients including cultural and ethical beliefs; and implements care in a thorough, skillful, consistent and continuous manner.
• Knowledge of community resources for client referrals.
• Attends work regularly and adheres to policies and procedures regarding absences and tardiness.  Provides adequate notice to supervisor and management with respect to vacation time and time-off requests.
• Demonstrates knowledge of legal issues including client confidentiality and risk management in all aspects of client care and department functioning.
• Performs other duties as necessary

WORKING CONDITIONS and JOB SETTING:

• Ability to occasionally or frequently stand, walk, sit and reach with hands and arms above shoulders 
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee routinely is required to sit; walk; talk and hear; use hands to keyboard, finger, handle, and feel; stoop, kneel, crouch, twist, crawl, reach, and stretch
• The employee is occasionally required to move around the office
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus
• May require travel dependent on agency needs
• The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 lbs.
• Can work under deadlines
• Performing general physical activities such as picking up moving, and using objects, tools or controls
• The noise level in the work environment is usually low to moderate