Sr Primary Therapist

RWJBarnabas Health; Communipaw (NJ); On-site; USD 43,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

RWJBarnabas Health's Jersey City Medical Center is seeking a Senior Primary Therapist to deliver school-based mental health services for adolescents and families, including individual, group, and family psychotherapy, crisis intervention, and care coordination.

The role emphasizes trauma-informed care, evidence-based approaches such as CBT, collaboration with school personnel, and thorough clinical documentation and supervision obligations.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Social Work, Counseling Psychology, or related field.
• Current New Jersey LSW, LAC, LCSW, LPC, or Licensed Clinical Psychologist credential (or near licensure).
• At least one year of experience working with children/adolescents.
• Knowledge of trauma-informed practices; familiarity with CBT preferred.
• Strong clinical judgment, communication, organizational, and documentation skills.
• Ability to collaborate with students, families, school personnel, and professionals to support coordinated care.
• Commitment to ongoing supervision and continuing education.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct clinical services including individual, group, and family psychotherapy, crisis intervention, case management, outreach, and behavioral health consultation.
• Collaborate with school personnel and professionals to address student behavioral health needs.
• Conduct psychosocial interviews to assess development and functioning and review treatment history.
• Develop and document interdisciplinary treatment plans and monitor patient progress.
• Provide crisis intervention and outreach services as needed and coordinate care transitions.

Education

Master's degree in Social Work or Counseling Psychology

Job description

Job Title: Sr Primary Therapist

Location: Jersey City Medical Center

Department Name: Jersey City Board of Ed,

Grant

Req #: 0000269846

Status: Hourly

Shift: Day

Pay Range: $31.00 - $35.45 per hour

Pay Transparency:

The above reflects the anticipated hourly wage range for this position if hired to work in New Jersey.

The compensation offered to the candidate selected for the position will depend on several factors, including the candidate's educational background, skills and professional experience.

Senior Primary Therapist

As a Senior Primary Therapist, you will play a vital role in providing comprehensive clinical and behavioral health services to adolescents and their families within a supportive, trauma-informed, school-based mental health program. This position offers the opportunity to work directly with students and families through individual, group, and family psychotherapy, crisis intervention, case management, outreach, and care coordination. You will develop individualized treatment plans, monitor patient progress, collaborate closely with school personnel and interdisciplinary clinical teams, and connect students and families with appropriate resources and services. As a Behavioral Health Clinician, you will serve as an advocate and trusted clinical professional while helping adolescents address mental health and behavioral health challenges, achieve treatment goals, and improve their overall well-being.

A typical day for a Senior Primary Therapist may include:

• Providing direct clinical services, including individual, group, and family psychotherapy, crisis intervention, case management, outreach services, and mental health consultation.
• Collaborating with school personnel and other professionals to identify and address the behavioral health needs of students.
• Conducting comprehensive patient interviews to obtain psychosocial histories, assess psychosocial development and current functioning, identify presenting concerns, and review previous treatment history.
• Gathering relevant clinical information from students, family members, and other significant individuals involved in the patient's care, as appropriate.
• Developing comprehensive psychosocial assessments that reflect each patient's presenting concerns, personal history, developmental stage, and individual treatment needs.
• Developing, implementing, monitoring, and documenting initial interdisciplinary treatment plans in a timely and clinically appropriate manner.
• Providing therapeutic interventions and services identified within each patient's individualized treatment plan.
• Delivering crisis intervention, screening, outreach, and other behavioral health services based on patient and program needs.
• Providing case management services, including information and referrals, resource linkage, advocacy, care coordination, monitoring, and follow-up.
• Applying trauma-informed practices and evidence-based therapeutic approaches, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), when appropriate.
• Adapting clinical interventions to reflect the developmental, emotional, social, and behavioral needs of adolescents.
• Maintaining accurate and timely clinical documentation, including patient assessments, treatment plans, progress notes, and service records.
• Coordinating appropriate patient termination, follow-up, and continuity of care in accordance with established treatment plans.
• Participating in weekly clinical supervision and actively engaging in professional learning and development.
• Participating in case conferences and presenting relevant clinical information to support collaborative treatment planning.
• Taking an active role in ongoing professional growth through participation in educational programs, training opportunities, and other continuing education activities.
• Providing clinical guidance and oversight to interns within the program, as assigned.
• Maintaining program policies, procedures, confidentiality requirements, quality standards, and applicable safety practices.
• Meeting established productivity, service quality, and customer satisfaction goals.

This role might be for you if:

• You are passionate about supporting adolescents and families experiencing mental health and behavioral health challenges.
• You enjoy providing direct clinical services and building therapeutic relationships with students and their families.
• You have strong clinical assessment, psychotherapy, crisis intervention, and case management skills.
• You understand adolescent psychosocial development and can adapt treatment approaches to meet individual developmental needs.
• You value trauma-informed care and have knowledge of evidence-based therapeutic approaches, including CBT.
• You communicate effectively with students, families, school personnel, and interdisciplinary clinical professionals.
• You can remain calm, compassionate, and professional when responding to emotional distress or behavioral health crises.
• You are organized and able to manage clinical documentation, treatment planning, patient follow-up, and multiple responsibilities simultaneously.
• You value collaboration, clinical supervision, case consultation, continuing education, and professional development.
• You are committed to patient confidentiality, ethical clinical practice, and compassionate, patient-centered care.
• You are adaptable and comfortable providing behavioral health services in a school-based setting.
• You are committed to helping adolescents achieve meaningful treatment outcomes and improve their overall quality of life.

To be considered for this Senior Primary Therapist opportunity:

• You have a master's degree in Social Work, Counseling Psychology, or a related field.
• You hold a current New Jersey LSW, LAC, LCSW, LPC, or Licensed Clinical Psychologist credential, or are near licensure, as applicable to the position.
• You have at least one year of experience working with children and/or adolescents.
• You have knowledge of trauma-informed practices; familiarity with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is preferred.
• You demonstrate strong clinical judgment, communication, interpersonal, organizational, and documentation skills.
• You can collaborate effectively with students, families, school personnel, and other professionals to support coordinated care.
• You are committed to ongoing clinical supervision, professional development, and continuing education.
• You can meet established documentation, service delivery, and customer satisfaction expectations.