Senior Psychologist

Department of Youth Justice and Victim Support; Brisbane; On-site; AUD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Department of Youth Justice and Victim Support seeks a Senior Psychologist to deliver culturally informed mental health assessment, trauma-focused therapy, and case planning for youth in custody and community settings.

You will lead multi‑disciplinary teams, provide expert clinical advice, and contribute to staff development through targeted training on trauma, suicide risk, and positive behaviour support.

Qualifications

• Evidence of cultural capability in service delivery.
• Experience applying trauma-informed approaches.
• Ability to coordinate across multidisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate multi‑disciplinary suicide risk management for youth.
• Apply professional judgement to complex cases in custody and community.
• Conduct comprehensive mental health assessments and report writing.
• Lead meetings with internal and external stakeholders for case planning.
• Advise stakeholders on complex practice and treatment planning.
• Design and deliver training on trauma, mental health and behaviour support.
• Demonstrate cultural capability when engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth.
• Support safety and security in youth detention settings following procedures.

Skills

Cultural capability

Trauma-informed practice

Crisis intervention

Independent professional judgement

Multidisciplinary coordination

Job description

As a Senior Psychologist, you will specifically:- Demonstrate cultural capability and/or a commitment to developing cultural capability to ensure an inclusive culture that aligns with the Human Rights Act 2019 and supports departmental programs and community partnerships aimed at preserving cultural connections for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.- Coordinate and facilitate the multi-disciplinary and multi-agency suicide risk management process for young people, which will include collaboratively developing and reviewing safety intervention strategies and suicide prevention plans to ensure these accurately reflect stakeholder input and are available to a range of stakeholders for case planning purposes.- Apply independent professional judgement to a caseload of young people with severe and complex mental health concerns, complex disability presentation or other vulnerabilities to support client-centred integrated case planning that supports rehabilitation objectives.- Undertake comprehensive, evidence-based assessment of young people's mental health presentation, behaviour and neurodevelopmental skills and develop and action associated reports, referrals and interventions, in both custodial and community settings.- With a strong understanding of complex trauma, implement high-quality therapeutic interventions and support services to assist with young people's emotional regulation, mental health, criminogenic risk, and daily functioning within the YDC environment. This will include crisis intervention and supportive counselling.- Lead, plan, coordinate and facilitate multi-disciplinary meetings with both internal and external stakeholders to support integrated case management and ensure open and effective communication is maintained for the best interests of the young person. As required, provide written information and other supports to staff to implement strategies.- Provide expert advice and support to internal and external stakeholders on complex, profession-specific practice and client issues. This will include working closely with Queensland Health in relation to the management of young people presenting with severe, acute and/or chronic mental health conditions to support a multi-agency response to treatment and planning.- Design and deliver high-quality training programs and initiatives that contribute to broader workforce learning and development in the areas of trauma and traumainformed practices, mental health, suicide risk and positive behaviour support and other subject areas as required.- Demonstrate cultural capability and communicate effectively and sensitively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, understanding the historical impacts of First Nations people in institutional settings, to ensure holistic service provision that takes cultural protocols, influences and events into consideration.- Lead regular peer collaboration and allocated case discussions to support clinical learning and development opportunities and continuous practice improvement contribute to the shared co ordination of psychology specific daily tasks to independently deliver high quality work.- Understand the complexities of a high-risk environment and assist with the safety and security of the youth detention centres by adhering to operational procedures as required.Applications to remain current for 12 months.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License.