Clinical Director Residential Crisis Stabilization Unit

Job Summary

The Clinical Director provides clinical leadership and oversight for the Residential Crisis Stabilization Unit, serving individuals experiencing acute mental health and behavioral health crises. This position oversees clinical operations, supervises the multidisciplinary team, and ensures the delivery of safe, compassionate, person-centered, and evidence-based services.

**Must hold a current unrestricted Virginia license that meets the definition of a licensed mental health professional, such as LCSW, LPC, LMFT, licensed psychologist, or another license accepted for the assigned responsibilities.**

Key responsibilities include overseeing clinical assessments, individualized treatment and safety planning, clinical supervision, documentation standards, interdisciplinary coordination, and regulatory compliance. The Clinical Director works closely with the Residential Program Manager, nursing leadership, and administrative staff to maintain consistent, responsive services that promote stabilization, recovery, resilience, and hope for individuals with diverse and complex needs.

Essential Responsibilities

Clinical Leadership and Service Delivery

• Provide day to day clinical direction for crisis stabilization services and ensure services reflect each individual's immediate behavioral health, substance use, medical, safety, and discharge needs.
• Ensure required crisis assessments are completed by appropriately licensed or qualified clinicians and are reviewed within required timeframes.
• Oversee the development, implementation, review, and revision of safety plans, crisis individualized service plans, discharge plans, and other required clinical documents.
• Provide clinical consultation during escalations, changes in risk, behavioral emergencies, and decisions involving a higher or lower level of care.
• Coordinate clinical care with psychiatric providers, nursing staff, hospitals, community providers, families, authorized representatives, and referral sources as appropriate.
• Ensure services remain focused on stabilization, return to baseline, safe discharge, and connection to continuing community support.

Clinical Supervision and Staff Development

• Provide or arrange documented clinical supervision for QMHPs, trainees, interns, and other clinical staff consistent with their credentials and assigned duties.
• Confirm that clinical and direct care staff understand their roles in crisis intervention, safety planning, documentation, client rights, trauma informed care, and emergency response.
• Review staff performance from a clinical perspective and provide coaching, corrective guidance, and recommendations to leadership when concerns are identified.
• Identify training needs and collaborate with Human Resources and Quality and Compliance to ensure required training is assigned, completed, and documented.

Documentation Quality and Compliance

• Monitor the timeliness, accuracy, individualization, and clinical quality of assessments, progress notes, safety plans, crisis service plans, discharge documents, and related records.
• Complete or participate in routine clinical record reviews and ensure identified concerns are corrected within established timeframes.
• Support compliance with applicable DBHDS licensing requirements, DMAS requirements, human rights protections, payer expectations, agency policies, and professional standards.
• Immediately report suspected abuse, neglect, exploitation, serious incidents, documentation concerns, or other reportable matters through the appropriate internal and external processes.
• Participate in investigations, corrective action plans, licensing reviews, audits, and quality improvement activities when clinical input is required.

Admissions Discharges and Program Coordination

• Provide clinical review of referrals and support admission decisions based on eligibility, medical necessity, clinical appropriateness, safety, and the program's ability to meet the individual's needs.
• Ensure discharge planning begins at admission and includes appropriate follow up appointments, referrals, medications, safety information, and coordination with continuing providers.
• Participate in daily clinical reviews, treatment team meetings, shift communication, and case consultation as needed.
• Work with the Program Manager to evaluate whether staffing levels and staff qualifications remain appropriate for the census and acuity of individuals being served.
• Maintain clinical availability through an approved on call rotation or other leadership approved coverage plan. The Clinical Director should not be the only person responsible for continuous after hours coverage.

Management and Communication

• Communicate clinical priorities, risks, staffing concerns, and unresolved barriers to executive leadership in a timely manner.
• Collaborate with the Program Manager without assuming routine operational scheduling, payroll, supply management, or clerical duties unless those responsibilities are specifically assigned in writing.
• Attend leadership, quality, treatment team, and program development meetings as required.
• Assist with development and review of clinical policies, procedures, forms, workflows, and program expectations.
• Maintain professional boundaries, confidentiality, ethical conduct, and consistent communication with staff and individuals receiving services.

Minimum Qualifications

• Current unrestricted Virginia license that meets the definition of a licensed mental health professional, such as LCSW, LPC, LMFT, licensed psychologist, or another license accepted for the assigned responsibilities.
• Master's degree in social work, counseling, psychology, marriage and family therapy, or a closely related behavioral health field.
• At least three years of behavioral health experience, including experience with crisis intervention, acute behavioral health needs, residential services, or a comparable level of care.
• Prior clinical supervision or program leadership experience strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of clinical documentation, risk assessment, safety planning, discharge planning, client rights, confidentiality, and regulatory compliance.
• Ability to respond calmly and appropriately to behavioral health emergencies and make timely clinical decisions.
• Current CPR and First Aid certification and crisis prevention or de escalation certification, or ability to obtain required certifications within the agency's established timeframe.
• Successful completion of required background checks, registry checks, health screenings, and other conditions of employment.

Physical and Work Requirements

• Ability to work in a residential behavioral health environment and move throughout the home as needed.
• Ability to communicate by telephone, video, electronic record, and in person during routine and urgent situations.
• Ability to participate in crisis response and follow agency safety procedures, with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Some evening, weekend, holiday, or on call availability may be required under an approved coverage rotation.

Join us as we lead the way in delivering innovative crisis stabilization services that transform lives! Your expertise will help create a safe haven where healing begins through compassionate care, expert guidance, and dedicated teamwork. This is more than a job—it’s an opportunity to be a catalyst for positive change in the community!

Pay: $70,000.00 - $75,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person

Salary : $70,000 - $75,000