Social Worker - Therapist

Barrie Area Native Advisory Circle; Central Ontario; On-site; CAD 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Group health benefits

HOOPP (pension)

Employee Assistance Program

Paid time off

Cultural leave days

Extended holidays

Professional training opportunities

Job summary

Barrie Area Native Advisory Circle is seeking a Social Worker Therapist to provide trauma-informed, culturally safe addictions recovery support within an Indigenous-led primary care team. The role involves assessing clients, delivering individual psychotherapy, and coordinating with an interdisciplinary team to plan holistic care.

Applicants should have an MSW or Master of Counselling Psychology with active registration, and experience with Indigenous communities and two-eyed seeing.

Qualifications

• Master of Social Work (MSW) with regulatory registration or Master of Counselling Psychology with regulatory college registration.

Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive mental health interventions and therapy for addiction, trauma recovery, and relapse prevention.
• Complete psychosocial assessments and develop culturally grounded treatment plans.
• Participate in case conferences and communicate within the circle of care.
• Establish and maintain therapeutic relationships with community members.
• Navigate community support systems and make appropriate referrals.
• Consult and collaborate with other program staff.
• Participate in an interprofessional team and maintain strong collegial relationships.
• Collaborate with managers to plan, implement, and evaluate social work services across programs.
• Maintain relations with networks and related service providers.

Skills

Trauma-informed addictions therapy

Relapse prevention

Individual psychotherapy

Group psychotherapy

Culturally safe practice

Two-eyed seeing approach

Indigenous knowledge and culture

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Education

MSW degree

Master of Counselling Psychology

Tools

Electronic record keeping

Job description

About the Organization:

The Barrie Area Native Advisory Circle (BANAC) is an Indigenous governed, Indigenous led regional social planning and development organization. The BANAC service region now covers Simcoe County, Muskoka, and York region. BANAC works in cooperation with Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous organizations to address community-identified priorities through coordinated planning, implementation and evaluation. BANAC has a mandate to support the continued promotion of Indigenous lifelong learning and community wellness through self-determination and community participation.

BANAC offers many innovative programs and services including Aging Well Senior Supports, Bebminot Family Wellness, the Biinoojinsauk Child Care Centre, Maapii Enjii Zaagi Gaazwad and the Mamaway Wiidokdaadwin Indigenous Interprofessional Primary Care Team. Mamaway Wiidokdaadwin offers a wholistic approach to wellness that includes traditional healing practices in primary care, community clinics, addiction and recovery services, counselling programs, midwifery, land-based healing programs, and community health promotion.

About the Role:

This position operates within an Indigenous-led and Indigenous-governed organization that is accountable to the communities it serves. Work is grounded in the principle of Indigenous Health in Indigenous Hands, ensuring that all programs and services are developed, delivered, and evaluated under Indigenous governance structures and community direction. In alignment with Indigenous and provincial standards, the organization upholds excellence in care, accountability, and compliance while centering on Indigenous knowledge systems, cultural safety, and self-determination in health and social service deliverables.

All employees are required to participate in organizational Indigenous Cultural Safety training and to engage in ongoing reflexive practices as part of their professional development. This includes a commitment to examining personal and systemic biases, deepening understanding of Indigenous histories and experiences, and ensuring that service delivery aligns with the values of respect, reciprocity, and wholism that guide the organization’s work.

The Social Worker Therapist is a key member of the integrated Indigenous primary care team, providing trauma-informed, culturally safe addictions and relapse prevention support for clients at various stages of recovery from substance use and concurrent disorders. The therapist completes culturally grounded assessments and works closely with an interdisciplinary team to collaboratively develop holistic case conceptualizations and treatment plans. Using a two-eyed seeing approach, the practitioner integrates Indigenous ways of knowing with evidence-informed clinical practice, delivering individual psychotherapy using evidence informed approaches such as NET, culturally adapted approaches to CBT, DBT, ACT, and trauma-informed care. A key responsibility of this role focuses on preparing community members for the intensive “Live in Healing program”, providing accessible information regarding rTMS, addressing participant inquiries and assessing treatment readiness in collaboration with the interdisciplinary team.

The Social Worker Therapist will deliver culturally relevant psychoeducational group programming that supports individuals through their recovery journey, fostering knowledge, self-awareness, and connection to cultural well-being practices and sustained sobriety.

This position is being posted in response to an existing vacancy at the Barrie Area Native Advisory Circle.

This position is a full-time permanent position.

ROLE RESPONSIBLITIES:

• Provide comprehensive mental health interventions and therapy specific to addiction, trauma recovery and relapse prevention
• Independently complete a variety of psychosocial assessments and collaborate on the development of psychotherapeutic intervention and treatment plans that are culturally grounded and safe
• Participate in case conferences and communicate appropriate patient information within the circle of care
• Establish and maintain regular effective therapeutic relationships with community members
• Act as a navigator of the community support system and engage in client advocacy by being knowledgeable about community resources and making appropriate referrals
• Effective consultation and collaboration with other program staff
• Participate as a member of an interprofessional team and assures strong collegial working relationships
• Collaborate with managers and team members to plan, implement, and evaluate social work services within various program areas
• Maintain relations with networks, related professional organizations, and other related service providers

What You Bring:

SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from an accredited institution and registration in good standing with the College of Social Workers, or a Master of Counselling Psychology degree with registration in good standing with the appropriate provincial regulatory college
• Demonstrated experience in trauma-informed addictions recovery therapy, relapse prevention, individual and group psychotherapy, and culturally safe practice is required.
• Experience working with Indigenous communities and applying a two-eyed seeing approach
• Knowledge of Indigenous culture, language, and history

• Minimum of 3 years’ experience in trauma-informed approaches to SW / Counselling Psychology
• Ability to work independently and within a team, using exceptional planning skills
• Ability to connect with Indigenous community members
• Competency in electronic record keeping and documentation skills in alignment with professional standards of practice

What We Offer:

Our work is accountable to Indigenous communities, guided by relationships, knowledge, and practices that shape how we serve and learn together. Joining the BANAC team means contributing to work that is community-driven, relational and grounded in Indigenous values of respect, reciprocity, and wholism. We work alongside community members, Indigenous organizations and the broader community to ensure our programs reflect the voices and strengths of those we serve.

Our full-time permanent employees enjoy a generous group health benefits package, participation in HOOPP, enrollment in our Employee Assistance Program, paid time off, cultural leave days, extended holidays, professional training opportunities and the opportunity to work in a dynamic community-based supportive work environment.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORKING CONDITIONS:

• Work is typically performed in BANAC clinics, offices and / or in community settings.
• Regular travel to meetings and communities is required; access to a personal vehicle is required.
• Reliable Vehicle – Regional Travel Required.
• Regular overtime work may be required from time to time.
• Low to moderate exposure to noise in the work environment.
• Regular exposure to a moderate level of tension and anxiety due to deadlines, competing political pressures, and the competing needs and demands for limited resources.
• BANAC work site locations are periodically exposed to smoke due to the burning of sacred medicines: tobacco, sweet grass, sage and / or cedar.

All pertinent employment conditions are specified within the employment agreement with BANAC and include the following:

• Ability to attend all BANAC worksite locations is required
• Valid C.P.R. and A.E.D. Certificates are required
• Valid Class G Ontario Driver’s License is required
• An up-to-date clear Vulnerable Sector Check is required
• An up-to-date clear TST result

To further promote our accountability to the Indigenous communities we serve and to ensure services align with the values of respect, reciprocity, and wholism that guide the organization’s work, preference will be given to candidates of Indigenous ancestry. BANAC strongly encourages applicants to self-identify within the application process.

Barrie Area Native Advisory Circle is committed to providing accessible employment practices that are compliant with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. If you require accommodation for disability during any stage of the recruitment process, please advise the Human Resources Department at: [e-mail].

Please note that the Barrie Area Native Advisory Circle (BANAC) uses BambooHR as part of its recruitment and selection process. While BANAC incorporates select AI features to enhance process efficiency, BANAC remains committed to human-led decision making. BANAC recognizes that AI is not perfect, as a result all AI-generated outputs are subject to human review to ensure accuracy, inclusiveness and equitable hiring practices. At BANAC,

our goal is to use technology to support, not replace, thoughtful human decision making in recruitment and hiring.

DISCLAIMER:

This job posting indicates the general scope and level of work expected. It is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of all activities, duties and / or responsibilities that will be required by the incumbent. The selected incumbent may be asked to perform other duties as required to support business needs.