School-Based Mental Health Therapist

Family Service Association of Greater Elgin Area; Elgin (IL); On-site; USD 49,000 - 64,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

401k

Generous PTO

Short-term disability

Job summary

Family Service Association of Greater Elgin seeks a School-Based Mental Health Therapist to provide comprehensive clinical services to students, families, and clients across school, home, and community settings.

You will maintain an active caseload, deliver individual and group therapy, and collaborate with school staff to identify needs and coordinate services, with 18+ appointments per week and a mix of direct and indirect services.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in psychology, Social Work, Licensed Professional Counselor, or related field is required.
• Bilingual in Spanish is preferred; the ability to work with diverse backgrounds is a must.
• Experience in community counseling and working with children/adolescents with mental health needs is desired.

Responsibilities

• Provide individual and group therapy to students, families, and clients to promote emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and psychological changes.
• Collaborate with school staff to develop and monitor treatment plans and outcomes.
• Coordinate with families/guardians, including releases to consult with school personnel and collateral contacts.
• Respond to emergencies/crises and provide crisis intervention, triage, and follow-up as needed.
• Coordinate with community agencies to provide support services and care coordination.
• Maintain required documentation, enroll in trainings, and complete performance reviews and reporting.

Skills

Verbal communication

Written communication

Organizational skills

Time management

Analytical skills

Microsoft Office

Education

Master’s degree in psychology / social work / counseling

Job description

We are constantly looking for talented and passionate individuals who are willing to make a difference in the lives of thepeople of the Greater Elgin Area.

Family Service Association of Greater Elgin (FSA) fosters a culture of support, accountability, and transparency. We strive to provideour employees with the resources they need to deliver the best care for our clients and thrive in the field. Our collaborative work environmentand high ethical standards aid us in providing the continuity of care necessary to reach successful treatment outcomes.

Every FSA Staff Member is empowered to be themselves and do their best work…

"Being a bilingual psychiatric case manager has been an incredible experience that has helped me grow as a clinician.Having the opportunity to closely work with our psychiatric providers and sitting in on psychiatric evaluations andfollow-up appointments has allowed me to gain a wealth of knowledge regarding psychotropic medication treatment as well aspresentations for a plethora of diagnoses that include depressive disorders; anxiety disorders; bipolar spectrum disorder;eating disorders; disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders; and trauma- and stressor-related disorders. Additionally,it has provided me with the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from outpatient therapists." – Miriam C. (Integrated Service Coordination)

"We see individuals and families who are at a loss as to what to do when it comes to mental health. They themselves are strugglingwith mental illness or someone in their family is struggling and resources are few and far to come by in the area. Waitlists rangefrom a few months to see a therapist to a couple of years to see a psychiatrists that accepts their insurance, or they need to payout of pocket for the services and have to choose between their mental health or their physical health. We help fill in that gap forthese individuals and families to access mental health services in a matter of a couple of weeks sometimes or help provide referralsfor agencies that do accept their insurance but are not well known. We help these individuals and families get back to a level offunctioning they were previously at before their mental health began to negatively impact their lives." - Sarah W. (SASS Crisis)

"Working at FSA has been an amazing experience for me. The team based atmosphere at FSA has benefited me as a clinician and allof the clients we serve. As such a well-organized nonprofit, we are able to reach many communities and provide high quality servicesto those in need. Some days can be challenging, but knowing I make a difference keeps me going and coming back each day for more." -Stephanie O. (Family Support Program)

Family Service Association of Greater Elgin provides equal employment opportunities to all employeesand applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regardto race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteranstatus, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected byfederal, state or local laws.

Further, the company takes affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed and employees are treated during employment without regard to any of these characteristics. Discrimination of any type will not be tolerated.

Family Service Association of Greater Elgin is committed to equal employment opportunity.

Meet our staff!

Available Positions

Position:School-Based Mental Health Therapist

Location: Elgin, IL

Job Id:232

# of Openings:2

School-Based Mental Health Therapist

Job Description

Classification: Exempt
Reports to: Manager of School-Based Mental Health

Type: Full Time
Location: Assigned School / Office / Community Based

SUMMARY
Provide comprehensive clinical services to students, clients, and families across school, home, and community settings. Maintain an active caseload and meet the established productivity expectations through direct clinical services, consultation, and crisis intervention, triage and other client-centered services.
School Based Mental Health Therapists provide direct and indirect services tailored to students and their family’s needs, including individual therapy, family, and group therapy, community support, case management, care coordination, consultation and advocacy. Therapists also participate in collaboration and consultation with school staff and community partners to identify needs, coordinate services, and support positive outcomes for students and families.
Therapists are expected to maintain a minimum of 18 appointments per week. Appointment times may include direct services, scheduled consultations, walk-in hours, risk assessment support.
School Based Mental Health Therapists provide direct and indirect services tailored to students and their family’s needs, including individual therapy, family, and group therapy, community support, case management, care coordination, consultation and advocacy. Therapists also participate in collaboration and consultation with school staff and community partners to identify needs, coordinate services, and support positive outcomes for students and families.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
• The essential duties and responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.
• Provides individual therapy and group therapy to students that promote personal growth through emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and/or psychological changes. These services can also include family therapy outside of school hours.
• Collaborating with the school personnel regarding individual treatment plans and outcomes that are expected in the treatment process with a student.
• Working with the student's family/guardian, including securing the appropriate releases to consult with school personnel or other collateral contacts to report on treatment progress.
• Responding to emergencies/crises and partnering with the SASS program as needed. Follow up with clients and families within an appropriate time frame after the crises.
• Collaborating and coordinating with partnering community agencies, such as Boys and Girls Club, to provide support services and care coordination.
• Meeting quarterly with school personnel to review outcomes of the program services and preparing quarterly outcome reports for FSA as needed.
• Provide case management and care coordination on behalf of active clients/students, including referral and linkage, discharge planning with inpatient psychiatric facilities, and advocating a client’s rights within the education, legal, children, and adolescent mental health systems.
• Educating the community regarding the School-Based Mental Health Program and facilitating positive networking relationships with community service providers and networks by attending at least 2-3 school-related community events.
• Maintain IM+CANS Certification and all trainings related to IM+CANS / TCOM.
• Responsible for knowing and understanding Medicaid Rule 132 and Medicaid Rule 140 and complying with documentation requirements. All documentation must be in the client's file or electronic health record and filed accordingly within 7 days of service delivery.
• Complete clinical paperwork accurately and on time; this includes annual enrollment paperwork for services and IM+CANS assessments.
• Timely completion and submission of administrative paperwork including timesheets, expense reports, training forms and other agency documents
• Complete all assigned Utilization Reviews, including self-review, on a quarterly basis.
• Weekly supervision, discussing cases with supervisor, and attending monthly clinical meetings.
• Promote collegiality at the workplace by working collaboratively and positively with others.
• Responsible for fulfilling agency requirements of training and documenting all training attended, which includes all mandatory agency in-service training, Department of Human Services/Division of Mental Health training.
• Responsible for meeting weekly appointment expectations as previously defined.

OTHER DUTIES
Please note that this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, and responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time, with or without notice.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY
This role has no supervisory responsibilities.

PHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS
The incumbent will be sitting in the car for travel several times every day. The incumbent is frequently expected to walk, sit, stand, bend, and drive. The incumbent may also need to climb stairs on occasion. Must be able to lift up to 35 lbs. on occasion.
The work environment is mostly field-based and will have varying temperatures and noise levels. The incumbent can expect to work in client’s homes, schools, public libraries, community agencies, and some in-office time.
The physical demands and work environment described here represent those that an employee should meet to perform the essential functions of this job successfully.

POSITION TYPE/EXPECTED HOURS OF WORK
This position is full-time, 37.5 hours per week.
Typically, hours are school hours and include afternoon & evening appointments.
This position does require the ability to work 2 evenings and / or 1 evening and a Saturday.
Staff will be placed on a performance review if the expected weekly appointments fall below performance. The contract requirements will be reviewed, and staff will be assessed if contractual work is able to continue.

Salary Range

• In accordance with Illinois state law, we are committed to transparency in compensation. The salary range for this position is $49,000 to $64,198 per year, depending on experience and qualifications
• In addition to base salary, we offer a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, 401k, generous PTO and short-term disability, and opportunities for professional development and growth.

TRAVEL
This position requires travel through northern Kane County. Occasionally, there may be some travel outside the boundary of Northern Kane County.
The School-Based Therapist shall hold a current, valid Illinois Driver’s License, a reliable vehicle, and current insurance coverage for the vehicle they will be driving for this position. Proof of this will be required semi-annually.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Master’s degree in psychology, Social Work, Licensed Professional Counselor, or related field is required.
• Bilingual in Spanish is preferred; however, the ability to work with people from every diverse background and show cultural competency is a must.
• Experience working in community counseling related services and working with children and adolescents with mental health needs is desired.

REQUIRED SKILLS/ABILITIES

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills that may include public speaking and presentations.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite or related software.