Social Worker |Lev Initiative Specialist

About the role

The Center for Jewish Mental Health provides culturally responsive outpatient mental health care within the Seymour Askin Counseling Center/Brooklyn CCBHC. This position includes a defined responsibility to provide individual and group psychotherapy through The UJA Funded - Lev Initiative, which serves Jewish survivors of intimate partner violence and their families. The clinician will also maintain a broader outpatient caseload serving clients with diverse backgrounds and clinical needs.

Responsibilities

• Conduct comprehensive evaluations, psychosocial assessments, and risk assessments for clients referred to the Center for Jewish Mental Health.
• Develop, review, and update treatment plans in collaboration with clients and, when clinically appropriate, family members or other supports.
• Provide culturally responsive individual, family, group, collateral, and crisis services, including individual and group psychotherapy through The Lev Initiative.
• Integrate Jewish cultural context into assessment and treatment when clinically appropriate, while maintaining a client-centered, non-assumptive, and respectful approach.
• Work effectively with clients across a broad spectrum of Jewish identity, background, affiliation, observance, language, family structure, and community experience.
• Treat presenting concerns including trauma, grief, intimate partner violence, safety needs, family stress, anxiety, depression, and life transitions.
• Coordinate care with psychiatric, medical, school, legal, housing, domestic violence, Jewish communal, and other collateral supports as clinically indicated.
• Collaborate with OneCall, CIAD, Jewish Community Services, The Lev Initiative, psychiatric services, care coordination, and other internal partners to support referrals, assignments, group enrollment, and continuity of care.
• Facilitate or co-facilitate Lev Initiative psychotherapy groups and document participation, progress, risks, and follow-up needs.
• Participate in clinical meetings, staff meetings, CJMH/Jewish Services team consultation, required trainings, and supervision.
• Maintain timely, accurate documentation according to standards and time frames established by The Jewish Board, Article 31/OMH, CCBHC, payer, regulatory, and funding requirements.
• Maintain professional behaviors and ethical standards as established by licensing boards, relevant professional associations, and Jewish Board policies and procedures.
• Support timely access to care by accepting appropriate referrals, maintaining an active caseload, and meeting expected productivity and kept-visit standards.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in counseling, creative arts, or social work from an accredited program.
• New York State License or limited permit in Mental Health Counseling (LMHC); Creative Arts Therapy (LCAT); Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT); or social work (LMSW).

Qualifications

• Experience providing outpatient mental health treatment in a clinic, community behavioral health, or comparable setting preferred.
• Experience with intimate partner violence, trauma, grief, family stress, or culturally specific mental health services preferred.
• Demonstrated cultural humility and ability to serve diverse Jewish communities while also working with clients across broader backgrounds and identities.
• Group therapy experience preferred.
• Ability to provide culturally responsive care without stereotyping or making assumptions about clients’ beliefs, practices, gender roles, family systems, or community expectations.
• Comfort discussing sensitive topics that may intersect with Jewish identity, including religious conflict, family/community pressure, antisemitism, grief, trauma, intimate partner violence, sexuality/gender-related concerns, and disclosure-related concerns.
• Ability to build trust with clients who may be hesitant to seek mental health treatment due to stigma, privacy concerns, communal visibility, or prior negative experiences.
• Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian, Ukrainian, or other language capacity relevant to New York City’s Jewish communities preferred.

Skills

• Experience documenting in electronic health records and using Microsoft Office software.
• Experience with tele mental health platforms a plus.
• Ability to read paper and electronic documents and perform significant data entry into various computer programs.

Work environment

Hybrid work setting. Position entails a combination of in-person and remote work, with in-person services based primarily at the Seymour Askin Counseling Center in Brooklyn and remote/telehealth services as clinically and operationally appropriate. Travel may be required between program locations, Jewish Board sites, and community partner settings as needed.