Mental Health Therapist

Edmonton Chamber of Voluntary Organizations; Fort Saskatchewan; On-site; CAD 30,000 - 60,000; Part time

Job summary

A community support organization in Fort Saskatchewan is seeking a Mental Health Therapist to provide clinical services for youth aged 11-25. The role involves conducting assessments, implementing treatment techniques, and innovating psycho-educational resources. Successful candidates will require relevant qualifications and experience in mental health practices. The position offers flexible work hours and a competitive rate of $40-45 per hour.

Qualifications

• Three years of recent, postgraduate experience with youth in mental health.
• Currently registered with an affiliated professional body.
• Ability to create trusting relationships with young people and families.

Responsibilities

• Provide in-person clinical services to youth (11-25 years old).
• Conduct psychosocial assessments and create treatment objectives.
• Develop psycho-educational content for youth and families.

Skills

Mental health knowledge

Crisis intervention

Counseling techniques

Community engagement

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Education

Master’s Degree in a relevant discipline

Job description

Overview

Job Title: MENTAL HEALTH THERAPIST

Location: The Bridge Wellness Hub for Youth – Kickstand Fort Saskatchewan

Reports to: Executive Director

About The Bridge

The Fort Saskatchewan Wellness Hub for Youth (The Bridge) – Kickstand Fort Saskatchewan is a wellness hub for youth ages 11–24. We provide a safe and inclusive space where young people can access health and wellness services, connect with peers, and build resilience. Whether youth come for counseling, programs, or simply a supportive place to belong, The Bridge is here to meet them where they’re at.

Vision: To lead the community in empowering youth as they strengthen their resiliency and overall wellness.

Mission: Our mission is to foster a supportive, inclusive, and empowering environment where youth can thrive. We aim to promote holistic well-being through accessible programs, resources, and community engagement, encouraging every young person to grow into their best selves and lead a healthy, balanced life.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Executive Director at Kickstand Fort Saskatchewan operated by The Bridge, the Mental Health Therapist provides in-person clinical services to young people (11-25 years old) affected by mental health and substance use concerns. The Mental Health Therapist functions in the context of a multi-disciplinary team providing quality, client-focused, inclusive and culturally appropriate services, for young people and their families/caregivers across Alberta. Essential to the skill set of the Mental Health Therapist is an understanding of how mental health challenges and substance use impact young people, Familiarity with integrated youth services models is expected, including the ability to work collaboratively across sectors to address the complex and intersecting needs of young people. Practice and knowledge of concurrent care best practices, as well as a strong understanding of/willingness to learn shared decision-making principles will lead to success in this role.

The Mental Health Therapist utilizes individual and group interventions to engage program participants in addressing mental health, substance use, and related physical and social health concerns and create a planning partnership to achieve the highest level of community functioning with the least ongoing professional support. Interventions will be strength-based and focused on the unique transitional domains of young people as they move towards independence, in areas such as Employment/Career, Educational, and Living Situations, Personal Effectiveness/Well-Being, and Community-Life Functioning.

Interventions designed for individuals will be based on the individual’s personally defined goals and, to a secondary extent, their presentation. The Mental Health Therapist will be responsible for direct client care in coordination with other team members and cooperation with families/caregivers, health services staff, and staff from other agencies involved in the individual’s life. Urgent/crisis response and routine care are expected within the role. The Mental Health Therapist will actively participate in innovative, evidence-informed practice, relevant research/evaluation projects and community partnership initiatives within society.

Part of the Mental Health Therapist’s role will include the creation of clinical programs and assets, for example, psycho-educational content sessions and groups, teaching videos/infographics/posters on various mental health-related topics. This aspect of the role may encompass up to 10-20% of their time, so they will be given time during their scheduled days to spend on content creation. The purpose of this is to generate clinically oriented, evidence-based tools and assets that can be shared with other Kickstand clinicians, staff and users of the hub.

Key Responsibilities & Duties

Service Delivery & Client Support

• Provide services to youth and young adults (11-25 years old) and their families/caregivers in-person.
• create a safe and welcoming experience for those accessing services, this includes demonstrating concurrent care capacity, inclusive care practices, cultural sensitivity and trauma-informed practice designed for young people.
• Provide highly accessible, solution-focused sessions within a drop-in service model (first come, first serve).
• Actively participate in measurement-based care processes, assisting young people and their families/caregivers in accessing services to complete measures, review measurement results as indicated (e.g., discussing results of screening questions with the young person), and respond to measurement results as appropriate (e.g., noted decrease in progress could be discussed with the young person to readjust therapeutic approach).
• Adhere to shared decision-making principles within sessions with a particular focus on honouring the young person and their family/caregivers’ expertise, collaboratively determining areas of concern, and co-developing and evaluating treatment objectives, while maintaining respect for the young person’s dignity, self-determination, and independence.
• Utilize psychotherapeutic techniques to facilitate change and improve subjective feelings of mental wellness.
• Provide short-term psychotherapy sessions to address co-created treatment objectives.
• Conduct psychosocial assessments, in collaboration with the young person and their family/caregiver (if indicated) to gather relevant information, facilitate the completion of more in-depth measures, and complete a standardized strength-based psychosocial interview.
• Provide individual and group treatment services including brief intervention, crisis intervention, psychotherapy, family work, psychoeducation, and supportive counselling.
• Utilize a variety of theoretical models that are appropriate to the presentation of the young person and their informal support network as required.
• Establish an environment of empowerment and choice in cooperation with young people and their families/caregivers when accessing services.
• Show creativity and innovation in co-creating solutions and exploring other community services and supports that best match the young person’s goals.

Administration & Program Assessment

• Maintain appropriate clinical records and data requirements in accordance with established standards and the Health Information Act and Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
• Participate in a variety of team and/or local committees and internal and external case conferences through engaging in practice evaluation, identifying opportunities for change, assessing available resources, initiating solutions, and analyzing outcomes.
• Actively participate in the ongoing development, quality improvement and evaluation of services by collaborating with members of the interprofessional team, providing input and making recommendations.

Research & Resource Development

• Develop content related to psychoeducational resources for young people, families/caregivers and staff members in collaboration with an interprofessional team, this may include reviewing relevant content and required handouts, conducting literature searches, or planning and coordinating seminars.
• Maintain knowledge of developments in own health profession including mental health and substance use through reviewing literature, consulting with clinical and community experts within the field, and participating in professional development and continuing education activities to improve care through new practices.

Qualifications

Education, Training and Experience

• Master’s Degree in a relevant health-related discipline such as Social Work, Clinical Counselling, Clinical Psychology, Occupational Therapy or Nursing from an accredited university.
• Three years of recent, post-graduate experience working with youth and young adults across the mental health and substance use continuum including experience with interventions and evidence-based treatment modalities, or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
• Currently registered and in good standing with an affiliated professional body.

Skills & Abilities

• Demonstrated knowledge of the broad range of issues pertaining to youth and young adult mental health and substance use issues, psychiatric diagnosis, and related evidence-based best treatment practices.
• Demonstrated knowledge of community response procedures, general counselling principles and intervention techniques.
• Demonstrated knowledge of relevant Acts such as the Mental Health Act, Adult Guardianship and Trustee Act, Alberta Health Information Act, Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act, pertinent regulations, policies and procedures, and other statutory legislation.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct comprehensive psychosocial assessments that include mental health and substance use standardized frameworks and tools.
• Demonstrated therapeutic skills in individual, group and/or family/caregiver interventions.
• Demonstrated skill in crisis intervention with young people and/or families/caregivers.
• Ability to create and maintain trusting relationships with young people and/or families/caregivers.
• Ability to work and communicate effectively with others in a diverse and inclusive environment, independently and as part of an interprofessional team and understanding the frameworks of other disciplines.
• Proficiency in the use of computers to support service delivery and working with related word processing and database management software applications.
• Physical ability to carry out the duties of the position.

Additional Role Requirements:

• Flexibility to work evenings.
• Vulnerable sector check, criminal record check, and child intervention check.

Compensation & Hours of Work

Compensation: $40-45 / hour depending on qualifications and experience

Hours of work: 11-12 hours per week

• Kickstand Fort Saskatchewan and Kickstand Connect hours of service are currently:
  • Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 1:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Shifts are arranged by the Bridge and generally are 3 to 4 hours in length (e.g., evening shifts up to 9:00 p.m.). These hours may increase over time as the program is established.

To apply:

On behalf of The Bridge – Kickstand Fort Saskatchewan, and as part of their HR Shared Services, the Edmonton Chamber of Voluntary Organizations (ECVO) is excited to be supporting the recruitment of this role. Please submit your resume and cover letter to: [e-mail] with the subject “Mental Health Therapist Application”.

We would like to thank all applicants for their interest in the position but only those considered for an interview will be contacted.

Tagged as: Social Services