Bi-Lingual (Spanish) Mental Health Clinician
About the role
The Children's Advocacy Center of Suffolk County (CAC) unites public, private and community partners to promote safety, healing, and justice for children exposed to violence and abuse. The CAC works closely with an array of agencies to coordinate high-quality investigations of alleged child sexual abuse, severe physical abuse, and exploitation; provide support and services to children and families; offer specialized training for a diverse range of audiences; and to prevent child abuse in our community.
The CAC seeks a Bilingual (Spanish) Master's Level Mental Health Clinician to support children and non-offending caregivers in cases of alleged child sexual abuse, physical abuse and exposure to violence. Candidates will receive training in evidence-based mental health interventions including Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI), Problematic Sexual Behavior-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (PSB-CBT), and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT).
Responsibilities
- Establish a supportive relationship with caregivers by initiating and maintaining regular contact (often beginning with a visit to the CAC)
- Contribute to Multidisciplinary Teams (MDTs) by assisting caregivers as a support, liaison and advocate before, during, and after team meetings, as appropriate
- Assist caregivers in identifying mechanisms to best support themselves, their child(ren) and other non-offending family members
- Assist caregivers with referrals and access to mental health, housing, safety planning, medical and legal services, as appropriate
- Conduct trauma screening and mental health assessments, as appropriate and indicated
- Provide trauma symptom assessment, Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI)
- Provide Problematic Sexual Behavior-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (PSB-CBT) for children and their caregivers referred due to the child's own problematic sexual behavior
- Provide Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for children and their caregivers
- Provide other mental health support services to child victims and their caregivers, as needed
- Manage a clinical therapy caseload of 10 clients, at minimum
- Maintain appropriate client case records and documentation in accordance with CAC policy and guidelines
- Maintain ongoing relationships with on-site and off-site partner agencies
- Attend all staff meetings, case reviews, in-service training and other meetings, as required
- Other duties, as required
Qualifications
- Master's degree in Psychology, Social Work or Counseling is required
- LICSW or LMHC preferred
- Fluency in Spanish required
- Working knowledge of dynamics of child abuse and neglect, parent-child dynamics and child development essential
- Resourcefulness and working knowledge of MA Department of Children and Families, criminal justice response to child abuse, CAC and MDT model, and familiarity with Suffolk County social service, medical, mental health, domestic violence, civil legal and community services/agencies helpful
- Passion for CAC mission and commitment to addressing the impacts of violence and trauma
- Commitment to understanding the impact of systemic inequities and how systemic inequality affects the CAC's work and the children and families served
- Commitment to creating and maintaining an environment in which families' diverse backgrounds, identities, strengths, and challenges are respected and valued
- Strong, effective verbal and written communication skills
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office
- Must be able to pass CORI, SORI and DCF background checks
Pay & benefits
- Full Time
- Starting Salary: $65,000
- Excellent benefits package