Senior Clinical Therapist - Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT)

County of Riverside•Palm Springs, CA

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Clinical Therapist position is part of the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) and Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) team, which provides intensive, field-based, multidisciplinary, team-based services for adults with serious mental illness. The FACT program specifically focuses on individuals with justice system involvement. Services are individualized, delivered in the community, and are comprehensive and time-unlimited, aiming to support stabilization, recovery, and improved functioning. This role requires rotating after-hours crisis coverage. The Senior Clinical Therapist will handle high-acuity cases, provide clinical supervision to unlicensed staff, conduct staff trainings, collaborate with community partners and interdisciplinary teams, ensure documentation meets legal and professional standards, and support staff in high-risk situations. This position operates on a 9/80 schedule and requires a driver's license due to field work. The Senior Clinical Therapist is the lead/advanced journey level of the Clinical Therapist series, responsible for providing clinical supervision according to licensure and training, and performing psychotherapy and counseling services for individuals, couples, families, and groups. Assignments can be complex, and the role may involve leading and consulting with other mental health staff. This classification is distinguished from the Mental Health Services Supervisor by its focus on clinical supervision rather than direct program management, and from the Clinical Therapist II by its lead capacity and extensive supervision of unlicensed staff. This recruitment may be used to fill future Senior Clinical Therapist vacancies within Behavioral Health. A 10% Differential in Lieu of Travel (DTR) differential is applied to hours physically worked, which can be removed at any time.

Requirements

Two years of post-license professional experience in a psychiatric or mental health setting providing direct client services which must have included: client assessment and evaluation, development and implementation of appropriate treatment plans, providing psychotherapy or mental health counseling, and providing indirect services involving information, consultation, and educational services to staff and community.
Possession of a valid license to practice as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Marriage Family Therapist or Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor issued by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.
Knowledge of: Psychological aspects of physical and emotional disturbances and mental deficiencies; characteristics of emotional and mental disorders including their effect on the individual in the community; mental health local community resources and community support systems; principles of clinical interviewing and methods of recording consumer information; individual licensing law and the scope of professional practice governed by the same; laws, rules, and regulations of publicly operated health and welfare programs; principles and techniques for making psychosocial assessments.
Ability to: Effectively apply the principles and techniques of clinical therapy, including a variety of treatment modalities; analyze consumer behavior and apply treatment or counseling techniques in a coordinated care social rehabilitation environment; speak and write effectively; provide crisis intervention; prepare clear and concise reports and interpret data; work effectively with a multicultural consumer and family population with diverse backgrounds and needs; establish and maintain effective working relationships with consumers, their families, other staff members, and mental health organizations/ agencies; provide work direction and training to staff; establish and maintain effective working relationships with other professionals and to work as part of a multidisciplinary team; communicate the goals and objectives of the County's mental and behavioral health services to members of the community and other interested individuals; consult with and assist in the professional development and supervision of unlicensed clinical therapists, within the scope of appropriate licensure, and other mental health support staff.
Possession of a valid California Driver's License is required for this position.
Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of application.
A felony or misdemeanor conviction may disqualify the applicant from County employment.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) and Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT).
Experience with evidence-based practices.
Experience serving adults with serious mental illness.
Experience supporting individuals with complex behavioral health needs who may have experienced frequent hospitalization, homelessness, or involvement with the criminal justice system.
Experience with individuals with justice system involvement.

Responsibilities

Plan, assign, direct, supervise, and coordinate the work of multidisciplinary staff providing behavioral health treatment services, social and rehabilitation services, consultation and education services to consumers, public and private agencies and the community.
Evaluate overall activities of a unit or program, including methods and procedures for effectiveness and consistency with program goals and objectives; recommend and implement changes in program, policies and procedures as necessary.
Evaluate performance of personnel and take or recommend appropriate course of action; interview, select and recommend on the hiring of new staff members.
Provide guidance to subordinates on departmental philosophy, goals and objectives, policies and procedures through casework conferences, staff meetings, and work review; assist and participate in the development and coordination of in-service training and staff development programs.
Make or review decisions on difficult consumer assessment and casework matters.
Work with other public, private and community organizations providing health and human services to mentally and emotionally disabled individuals to gain and ensure cooperation in achieving program goals; participate in behavioral health conferences and local area committees; may participate in regional or Countywide community needs assessment and program planning, development and evaluation activities.
Assist in preparing annual budget requirements for unit and monitor expenditures to ensure unit is within funding provisions; prepare reports and correspondence regarding workload statistics, casework and unit methods, and procedures.
Facilitate and coordinate community-planning process that informs the Department on community behavioral health needs.
Identify priority populations in need of specialized behavioral health services.
Design and develop programs and effective strategies that demonstrate positive outcomes for various populations, including those who have been underserved or inappropriately served as a result of their ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, or other factors.
Provide supervision to unlicensed staff.
Handle high-acuity, complex, or specialized cases that require more in-depth experience.
Provide staff trainings.
Collaborate with community partners and interdisciplinary teams to offer effective coordination of care.
Ensure that documentation meets strict legal and professional standards.
Support staff in handling high-risk situations, including specialized assessments and crisis situations.
Be of support to program and program supervisors.
Perform the full range of therapeutic assignments related to the field of mental or behavioral health services and psychiatric social work, which includes the design and implementation of personalized treatment plans, individual and group psychotherapy, evaluations and investigations, and professional counseling, as applicable by professional licensing law, in order to meet the needs of consumers or families with mental or emotional disorders.
Perform psychotherapy and counseling services for individual consumers, couples, families, and groups exhibiting a variety of mental health and related disorders in a clinic or institutional setting.
Provide consultative support to other mental health treatment staff.