Staff Therapist – Adult Services Team

The Family Institute at Northwestern University; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 60,000 - 91,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health

403(b) retirement plan

Generous time off

Professional development

Job summary

The Family Institute at Northwestern University is seeking a Staff Therapist to provide psychotherapy for individuals, couples, and families within a hybrid model across Chicago area offices. You will collaborate with colleagues, maintain ethics and confidentiality, and contribute to service excellence.

Expect a base salary structure with ramp period and potential performance-based growth; health benefits and 403(b) retirement options are offered, with commitment to professional development and

Qualifications

• Empirically informed clinical approach.
• Experience with couples and families.
• Understand boundaries in clinical settings.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Time and stress management capabilities.
• Excellent interpersonal and teamwork communication.
• Computer literacy and documentation skills.
• Problem-solving abilities.

Responsibilities

• Provide psychotherapy that is empirically informed, theoretically grounded, culturally responsive, and relationally based.
• Respond promptly to clients; assess mental health, identify risks, and develop treatment plans with referrals when needed.
• Document all services in the EHR within deadlines.
• Build and maintain caseload and meet revenue targets.
• Obtain two years of clinical supervision with satisfactory evaluations.
• Collaborate with clients, external systems, colleagues, and staff in a culturally sensitive manner.
• Support organizational/administrative communication with clients.
• Attend supervision, peer clinical consultation, and mandatory meetings.
• Pursue ongoing professional development while maintaining confidentiality and compliance.
• Apply AI and/or automation tools to improve processes, efficiency, and quality with ethical discretion.
• Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor.

Education

Master’s Degree in a license-eligible discipline

1-year post-graduate experience

Job description

Job Type

Full-time

Department

Clinical Services

Reports To

Director of Adult Services

Location

Hybrid work arrangement from home office and any office location in Chicago, Evanston, or Northbrook

FLSA Classification

[EXEMPT]

Description

Through clinical services, education, and research, The Family Institute at Northwestern University is one of the nation’s leading relationship‑based behavioral health organizations committed to strengthening and healing children and adolescents, couples, families, and individuals. When you join The Family Institute, you are joining a team of over 230 collaborators comprised of clinicians, educators, researchers, therapists-in-training, partners, and administrators across three service sites. We are a strong, independent organization focused on advancing the world of behavioral health.

Learn more about our culture.

The Role

Provide mental health care that may include work with individuals, couples, and families that supports the mission of The Family Institute, the vision for Clinical Services and is in keeping with The Family Institute’s core organizational values.

Essential Job Responsibilities

• Provide psychotherapy that is empirically informed, theoretically grounded, culturally responsive, and relationally based.
• Provide a timely response to all current or prospective clients; perform mental health assessments, identify at-risk behaviors, and develop appropriate treatment plans, providing referrals when necessary.
• Document all services in EHR within established organizational timelines.
• Build and maintain a caseload by meeting revenue targets.
• Obtain two years of clinical supervision with satisfactory evaluations.
• Work collaboratively with clients, external systems, colleagues, and operation staff, and in a culturally sensitive and appropriate manner, including complex clinical or shared cases as appropriate.
• Support organizational or administrative communication with clients
• Attend required individual supervision, weekly peer clinical consultation and Clinical Services meetings, as applicable in addition to all other mandatory meetings.
• Demonstrate an ongoing investment in professional development, while adhering to confidentiality practices and maintaining compliance with organizational policies and procedures.
• Apply AI and/or automation tools that streamline or improve processes, efficiency and quality while exercising discretion and ethical judgment.
• Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor.

Optional Job Responsibilities

• Contribute to a class (e.g., guest lecturer)
• Supervise therapist in‑training
• Participate in a clinical, educational, or research program
• Present a topic to external groups (workshop, presentation)
• Receive meta vision
• Develop and disseminate a "product" (e.g., workshop, talk, blog) that drives referrals to The Family Institute

Knowledge and Skills

• Possess a training background and clinical experience that are empirically informed, theoretically grounded, and systemically oriented
• Experience working with couples and families.
• Understanding of personal and professional boundaries
• Organizational skills
• Time and stress management skills
• Communication skills to include interpersonal, teamwork, and collaboration skills
• Computer literacy
• Problem solving skills

Minimum Hiring Specifications

• Master’s Degree in a license-eligible discipline
• Minimum of one-year post‑graduate experience
• Ability to work some evenings and Saturdays

Physical and Mental Requirements

• Must be able to compose written reports clearly and effectively
• Must be able to be in a stationary position due to attention to computer screen
• The ability to communicate information and ideas so others will understand. Must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations
• The ability to observe details at close range (within a few feet of the observer) to perform work‑related duties
• Must be able to apply established protocols in a timely manner
• Must be able to determine solutions to problems
• Must be able to operate successfully while handling multiple projects

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Family Institute is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, Veteran status, or any other protected class. We strive to create a working environment that is free of all forms of discrimination and one that promotes human dignity and mutual respect among all staff. We believe every member of our organization enriches our diversity by exposing us to a broad range of ways to understand and engage with the world, to identify challenges, and to discover, design, and deliver solutions.

We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and welcome applications from candidates with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, please direct your inquiries to the HR Team.

Compensation is based on a number of factors, including but not limited to the scope and responsibilities of the position, a candidate's applicable work experience, licensure status, key skills and qualifications, and internal and external market considerations. Staff Therapists are compensated through a base salary plus variable compensation model. The base salary range for this position is $44,886 to $71,832 for unlicensed applicants and $59,848 to $91,171 for licensed applicants, based on licensure tier and years of clinical experience. New Staff Therapists are paid a fixed salary during a 24-week ramp period while building their caseload. After ramp, Staff Therapists move to base salary plus variable compensation based on clinical productivity, which can meaningfully increase total earnings above base.

Details of the full compensation structure, including variable pay potential, are reviewed during the interview process.

• Health
• a 403(b) retirement savings plan
• generous time off
• professional development

For a more inclusive list of benefits, please visit our Careers page at https://www.family-institute.org/about-us/careers