High School Mental Health Counselor, LPC or LCSW required

EQA Schools•New Orleans, LA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Educators for Quality Alternatives (EQA) serves students who have dropped out, been expelled from, or have struggled academically or behaviorally in traditional settings and are looking for an accelerated path to graduation. EQA has three high school campuses and a middle school therapeutic program. The goal is for students to leave school with the skills, confidence, and experience necessary to succeed in their chosen career and education path. EQA Schools seeks a highly skilled counselor to provide individual and group counseling to its students and to provide leadership to the school’s trauma-informed approach. Many students have behavioral struggles, PTSD, or C-PTSD due to exposure to violence. EQA Schools takes on a greater responsibility for providing high-quality mental health services due to a lack of community resources. This position is part of a team including school counselors, deans, family coordinators, psychologists, and Special Education personnel. EQA's culture is based on restorative approaches, and all staff are trained to work with students with high needs and trauma.

Requirements

5-10+ years experience effectively counseling adolescents with mental health, behavioral health, and trauma issues
Experience with restorative approaches, SAMSHA’s 6 Principles of Trauma-Informed Approaches, and effective, culturally responsive interventions for adolescents with CPTSD
LCSW or LPC required; all Louisiana certification/licensure must be in good standing
Passion for improving educational opportunities for urban students and for being a part of a strong, mission-driven team
Commitment to EQA’s mission, vision and growth
Demonstrated record of effective collaboration with diverse teams and with building effective partnerships
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
Careful, detail oriented data/file/information management
Flexible and learning mindset focused on effective and innovative problem solving
Dedicated to continually growing as a professional and as a servant leader
Being authorized to work in the U.S. is a precondition of employment.
In compliance with state law, all persons hired will be required to verify eligibility to work in a Louisiana public school via the appropriate background checks.

Nice To Haves

Experience in schools preferred but not required

Responsibilities

Assessing student needs
Connecting students to resources
Designing and providing interventions and counseling
Managing crisis prevention and interventions
Training, consulting with, and supporting staff
Maintaining high levels of program management and accountability
Serving as a member of the School Based Level Committee
Coordinating wrap around services with community service providers
Supporting drop out intervention programs
Constantly developing your craft
Select psycho-social assessments that are informed of a knowledge of the impact of race, gender and social in justice on the family and youth.
Complete psycho-social assessments on every student every semester
Effectively and appropriately assess needs, characteristics, and interactions of students, families, staff, and community
Use DSM V and current research to accurately assess student needs
Conduct compliant and productive Functional Behavior Assessments
Maintain electronic and paper records of assessments and share with students, families, and staff as appropriate to insure empowerment and appropriate interventions and in keeping with confidentiality mandates
Research and vet resources and build partnerships with high quality providers
Collaborate with team to insure all students are connected with appropriate referrals, supports and resources
Track referral outcomes and advocate for students and families to insure they receive appropriate care
Assists students in accessing formal and informal community resources
Design effective intervention strategies for students, parents, and staff which lead students to be more successful in school including but not limited to students with IEPs, 504s, and BIPs
Serve on SBLC to review student needs and make decisions regarding interventions, placements, and supports
Manage caseload of short and long term cases, insuring all students have appropriate treatment plans and that all students make progress on those plans
Provide high quality individual counselor using cognitive behavioral therapy or other best practices
Design and provide high quality group counseling around student needs including, but not limited to, grief, trauma, substance abuse, conflict resolution, anger management using C-BITs and other best practices
Engage families, do home visits, mediate with family members and otherwise include families in students’ growth and development
Provide all services in ways that build upon students’ individual strengths and assets and maximize students’ opportunities for agency their healing/growth
In collaboration with students, families, and staff, design crisis plans for high needs students
Train students and staff to handle crisis in safe, restorative, and appropriate ways
Design and provide training for staff on trauma informed care, mental health issues, best practices, and secondary trauma
Consult with staff and leaders on issues such as attendance, confidentiality, ethnicity and diversity, mental health, behavioral management, discipline, crisis intervention, and child abuse and neglect
Design evaluation systems and collect and analyze data to insure evidence based decision making
Collect, communicate, and analyze student records and data to insure appropriate student progress
Conform to the National Association of Social Work Code of Ethics and Standards for School Social Work practice
Maintain appropriate communication and confidentiality in accordance with HIPAA, FERPA, state law and school policy.
Set goals for student development and professional growth
Actively reflect on your own work and monitor progress toward goals
Productively seek, give, and use feedback
Positively contribute to the school’s collegial community
Participate in all scheduled professional development activities and seek out additional opportunities
Involve yourself in the continual development and improvement of the school’s curriculum, culture, and program.