Senior Therapist

TRAILS Senior Clinician

The City of Alexandria is located in northern Virginia and is bordered by the District of Columbia (Potomac River), Arlington and Fairfax counties. With a population of approximately 150,000 and a land area of 15.75 square miles, Alexandria is the seventh largest city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Alexandria has a charming waterfront and is a unique and historic place to live and work. If you are interested in working for the vibrant City of Alexandria, we invite qualified candidates to apply for our Senior Therapist, TRAILS Senior Clinician position.

An Overview

As a member of the Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) Team, the Senior Therapist identifies primary psychosis and performs differential diagnoses for symptom profiles related to psychosis. The Senior Therapist facilitates skill building and behavior change to help program participants overcome barriers to their recovery from mental illness and/or co-occurring substance use disorders, establishes and maintains a referral network and facilitates the referral and enrollment process for clients as well as educates prospective referral sources, clients and families about the program.

What You Should Bring

The ideal candidate should have thorough knowledge of current best practices, including trauma informed care, cultural competency, recovery concepts and integrated treatment for individuals who have a serious mental illness and/or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders; thorough knowledge of community resources, and ability to access these services; good knowledge of psychopharmacology, psychiatric disorders, alcoholism/drug addiction; ability to plan, organize implement and administer a treatment program; ability to accurately evaluate clients’ mental status and potential risk; ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients and their families, employees, other service providers, community groups, and the public; ability to do routine data collection; ability to develop and monitor quality standards; and the ability to communicate clearly and effectively both orally and in writing.

The Opportunity

• Provides individual, group, and family mental health and substance abuse therapy;
• Provides intensive case coordination/clinical recovery coaching services for consumers in the program;
• Develops and implements service plans with clients through shared decision-making and provides case management/recovery coaching, attending to needs such as housing, family relationships, meaningful activities, health care, financial management, education, training, and employment;
• Provides extensive outreach to clients and families in the community;
• Performs networking to develop and educate potential community referral sources.
• Develops materials and outreach tools in a variety of media for distribution to referral network;
• Develops and provides presentations to community groups;
• Tracks all outreach activities and referral network;
• Provides psycho-education, social skills training, coping skills training;
• Performs initial assessments/screenings for potential client’s eligibility for CSC program, provides orientation, and maintains documentation in compliance with applicable standards;
• Links and/or coordinates services with agencies such as Department of Social Services, Court Services, Alexandria City Public Schools, Social Security and other adjunct City agencies;
• Leads motivational and psychoeducational groups for clients and families based on manual treatment models;
• Consulting, corresponding, and making recommendations to medical and psychiatric staff concerning consumer medical and psychiatric needs;
• Provides crisis intervention and addresses complex crises involving both psychological and environmental components;
• Provides consultation and psycho-education to family members;
• Maintains the clinical record in accordance with Medicaid, other third-party payers and regulatory bodies;
• Meets regularly with an interdisciplinary team to aid in identifying necessary services for consumers;
• Performs other duties as assigned.

About the Department

The Center for Adult Services (CAS) provides programs and services in Aging; Adult Protective Services; Clinical & Emergency Services; and Community & Residential Support Services for seniors and for persons with mental illness, intellectual disabilities and substance use disorders. CAS provides compassionate and effective person-centered services based on best practices. Our teams support self-determination, safety and recovery for Alexandria residents affected by abuse, neglect, mental illness, intellectual disabilities and substance abuse disorders.

Minimum & Additional Requirements

Possession of Master’s degree in Social Work, Mental Health Counseling, Psychology, Education or related field; at least two years of post-graduate work experience in providing direct clinical services to consumers having one or more substance abuse, psychiatric, and emotional disorders; and licensure or license eligible (has completed all required education and supervision as required by applicable board) as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), Licensed Substance Abuse Treatment Practitioner (LSATP) or Clinical Psychologist in the Commonwealth of Virginia at the time of appointment; if license eligible, the employee must obtain Virginia licensure at the first available opportunity, but no later than one year after appointment; or any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities. Employees must possess a valid driver's license issued by the state of their residence if they are in a position with driving responsibilities.

Preferred Qualifications

At least two years or more paid work experience providing direct clinical services to include therapy, case management, outreach and referral services to seriously mentally ill and co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorder population; experience working with adolescents and young adults; Licensed in VA as an LPC, LCSW, LSATP, or Clinical Psychologist at the time of appointment; Fluent and Bilingual in both English and Spanish.

Notes

This position requires the successful completion of pre-employment background checks including but not limited to: FBI/Federal Records Check; VA State Child Abuse/Neglect Registry; Medicare/Medicaid Fraud Database; education/certifications; and driver’s license.

Schedule: Monday through Friday, 9:00AM - 5:30PM, some evenings with flexible schedule.