Overview

The Lead Behavioral Health Therapist provides treatment services to homeless individuals and families across the life span, to include children, adolescents, adults and elders. Reporting to the Director of Behavioral Health, this role engages and re-engages clients, assesses, and provides integrated therapy services to individuals experiencing homelessness and also presenting with co-occurring symptoms. The Lead Behavioral Health Therapist supervises behavioral health therapists.

Key Role Responsibilities 

• Provide appropriate regularly scheduled clinical supervision to staff and conduct performance evaluation of directly supervised members of the Behavioral Health team on a regularly scheduled basis
• In collaboration with the Director, make personnel decisions, including hiring, termination, discipline and promotion
• Independently provide care to clients across the lifespan through engaging and re-engaging, building relationships, assessing and reassessing, treatment planning, providing integrated therapy services, connecting to ongoing treatment, evaluating responses to treatment and advocacy
• Actively participate on an integrated, multidisciplinary team to develop and implement an integrated treatment plan, within the context of an individual or family’s unique social needs through case conferences and other multidisciplinary communication methods
• Provide crisis intervention services to clients (including emergency petitions) in accordance with accepted protocols and in consultation with the Director and other providers
• Provide after-hour phone coverage in cycle with other behavioral health provider staff
• Complete documentation of services in a legible manner in accordance with established formats and time frames, and complete required forms in required systems

Key Agency Responsibilities 

In addition to role responsibilities, each staff member of Health Care for the Homeless has the following responsibilities as a part of their employment:

• Models and reinforces the Health Care for the Homeless core values of dignity, authenticity, hope, justice, passion and balance
• Actively participates in performance improvement activities and actively participates in advocacy activities that support the mission of Health Care for the Homeless
• Performs other duties on an as-needed basis
• Protects clients’ personal health information by maintaining compliance with HIPAA and other relevant Health Care related IT security regulations

Knowledge, Experience, and Skills 

Formal Education and Training

• Master’s Degree in Social Work
• Licensure as a LCSW-C and Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Approved Supervisor required
• Personal vehicle and valid Maryland driver’s license required
• Registered as a supervisor with their respective licensing board
• Certified in addictions as a CSC-AD, CAC-AD, LGADC, or LCADC preferred
• Knowledge of and commitment to harm reduction philosophy and practices

Experience

• Experience doing field instruction preferred
• Four years of experience working with individuals with substance use and mental health disorders 
• Four years of experience providing therapeutic services directly to clients
• Experience in a community or public health setting preferred
• Proficient in Spanish preferred
• Knowledge of common health-related issues for homeless individuals with particular emphasis on mental illness and substance abuse preferred
• Experience working with underserved populations, including homeless individuals, preferred

Skills 

• Well-developed interpersonal skills necessary to work with disadvantaged and underserved populations and to collaborate with other medical team members, other staff members, and personnel of other agencies 
• Knowledge of liberation-focused frameworks and anti-oppressive methods; able to describe how they support and uplift BIPOC and TGNC individuals and communities in their work
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Strong organizational and time management skills
• Able to cope with interruptions and be a team player
• Flexible approach, working with cross-disciplinary teams in a collaborative style
• Comfortable working with homeless and/or low-income individuals and families