Senior Therapist - Comprehensive Recovery Team

About the role

The Comprehensive Recovery Team (CRT) is a department within the City of Alexandria that 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.

Responsibilities

• Provides individual, group, and family mental health and substance abuse therapy
• Provides case management and care coordination services for consumers in the program
• Develops and implements service plans with clients through shared decision-making and provides case management/care coordination, 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
• Tracks all outreach activities and referral network
• Provides psycho-education, social skills training, coping skills training
• 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, Social Security and other adjunct City agencies
• Learns and leads psychoeducational groups for clients and families based on manual treatment models
• Consults, corresponds, and makes 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 natural and professional supports
• Maintains the clinical record in accordance with Medicaid
• Mets regularly with an interdisciplinary team to aid in identifying necessary services for consumers
• Performs other duties as assigned

Requirements

• Possession of Masters 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
• 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
• Valid driver’s license

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

Skills

• Thorough knowledge of current best practices, including trauma informed care, cultural competency, 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
• The ability to communicate clearly and effectively both orally and in writing

Benefits

The City of Alexandria offers a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Flexible spending accounts for healthcare and dependent care expenses

Note: 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, from 9:00AM - 5:30PM, some evenings with flexible schedule.