Family Therapist

About the role

The Family Therapist provides education, treatment, and support to patients and their families/significant others recovering from substance use disorders, aligning with Fora’s mission and philosophy. The role emphasizes the importance of family, social networks, and community systems in treatment and recovery. This position requires working Monday–Friday with a minimum of two evening shifts each week and facilitating clinical groups. Services are provided to adult families referred from residential and/or outpatient programs.

Essential Job Functions

• Clinical Evaluation, Treatment Planning, and Documentation:
  • Systematically gather data from patients and their families/significant others to identify relationship patterns, communication difficulties, family strengths, and factors impacting recovery.
  • Complete genograms, family assessments, and other documentation accurately and in a timely manner.
  • Interpret assessment information to develop individualized, collaborative treatment plans aligned with family goals and recovery needs.
  • Provide relational interventions tailored to patient and family needs, including referrals aligned with recovery goals.
  • Monitor progress toward treatment goals and adjust interventions as needed.
  • Maintain timely and accurate documentation, including assessments, treatment plans, progress notes, family therapy documentation, and discharge planning.
  • Deliver evidence-based interventions and psychoeducation on family dynamics, communication, boundaries, conflict resolution, enabling behaviors, relapse prevention, and crisis response planning.
  • Establish procedures for initiating and sustaining contact with families/significant others while adhering to privacy, confidentiality regulations, and standards of care.
  • Inform patients and supports of their confidentiality rights, safeguards, and applicable exceptions.
  • Participate in multidisciplinary team meetings, case consultation, discharge planning, and linkage to community resources.
  • Contribute to quality improvement efforts, including tracking family-services utilization, outcomes, and patient/family satisfaction.
• Develop and Provide Counseling and Education Services:
  • Collaborate with patients and treatment teams to develop services that meet the support system’s needs using an individualized approach.
  • Facilitate engagement and appropriate involvement of family, couple, or significant others in the treatment/recovery process.
  • Provide individual, group, and family counseling as part of the therapeutic process to achieve treatment goals.
  • Schedule family therapy intakes within 48 hours of receiving referrals.
  • Conduct outreach to contact identified supports within 48 business hours of initial family therapy intake.
  • Return calls from patients and concerned significant others within 24–48 hours.
  • Assist patients, families, and significant others in understanding the interaction between support systems and co-occurring disorders.
  • Help patients and families adopt strategies and behaviors that sustain recovery and maintain healthy relationships.
  • Address issues of cultural identity, race, ethnic background, age, sexual orientation, and gender in treatment and recovery.
  • Provide services through a trauma-informed approach.
  • Deliver psychoeducation on stress management, non-violent communication, boundaries, change management, and parenting as applicable.
  • Integrate Motivational Interviewing, Stages of Change, Systems Thinking, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy principles into education and counseling.
  • Maintain a caseload of approximately 30 patients and/or families, dedicating at least 55% of weekly time to direct clinical care.
• Professional and Ethical Responsibilities:
  • Adhere to professional codes of ethics, confidentiality laws, boundaries, and mandated reporting responsibilities.
  • Follow Federal and State laws and agency policies regarding substance use disorder treatment.
  • Recognize individual differences influencing client behavior and apply this understanding to clinical practice.
  • Participate in ongoing supervision and consultation.
  • Develop strategies to maintain physical and mental health.
  • Obtain and maintain current addiction counselor certification.
  • Provide a Professional Disclosure Statement to all individuals and families receiving services.
• Functions as an Active Member of the Program Clinical Team:
  • Attend and participate in treatment team meetings, clinical supervision, and departmental team meetings as assigned.
  • Maintain strong working relationships with clinical team members and communicate effectively with staff from other departments.
  • Attend all assigned staff meetings.
  • Work with the Program Manager to identify gaps in curriculum and implement improvements aligned with patient needs, clinical best practices, and program outcomes.

Requirements

Education and Experience

• Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, Counseling, Social Work, Psychology, or a closely related behavioral health field.
• At least 1 year of supervised experience providing counseling with a systems focus.
• Obtain Certification for Alcohol and Drug Counseling within 1 year after hire.
• Working toward “Qualified Mental Health Professional (QMHP)” certification through Oregon’s Mental Health and Addiction Certification Board (MHACBO) and/or licensure regulated by the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists (OBLPCT) or Oregon Board of Licensed Social Workers (BLSW).
• QMHPs must demonstrate the ability to conduct assessments, including identifying precipitating events, gathering histories, assessing relationships, completing DSM diagnoses, and developing/monitoring treatment plans within scope of training.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Basic knowledge of substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health concerns.
• Understanding of addiction symptoms, addictive thinking/behaviors, and harm reduction interventions (e.g., psychopharmacology).
• Ability to describe warning signs, symptoms, and course of substance use disorders and their effects on families.
• Familiarity with behavior change and recovery models.
• Understanding of family systems theories and the impact of addiction on families.
• Ability to engage significant others in family therapy and assist families in understanding the interaction between family systems and substance use.
• Demonstrated ability to establish rapport and gather clinical evaluation data, including readiness for family therapy.
• Ability to construct and reassess treatment plans, record session notes, and track progress toward goals.
• Ability to facilitate process and psychoeducation groups for patients and family support education groups.
• Awareness of individual differences influencing patient behavior and strategies to maintain physical and mental health.
• Ability to explain evidence-based interventions in patient-centered language and connect them to recovery goals.
• Effective problem-solving and troubleshooting skills.
• Understanding of emergency protocols and safety maintenance.
• Knowledge of the role of community recovery meetings as complementary support.
• Ability to coordinate and consult with treatment teams and community referents.

Other Requirements

• Employees with a history of substance use disorder must certify a minimum of two years of sobriety.
• Ability to pass pre-employment or for-cause drug tests.
• Ability to pass a DHS Criminal Background check.

Working Conditions

• Indoor office environment.
• Evening shifts required; schedule adjustments may be requested to meet program needs.
• Possible exposure to communicable diseases, including tuberculosis, COVID-19, Hepatitis A/B/C, and HIV.
• Possible exposure to upset, angry, or severely distressed individuals.