What are the responsibilities and job description for the Mental Health Therapist position at Seattle Children's?
We are seeking a Pediatric Mental Health Therapist to join our interdisciplinary teams in a unique 50/50 split role between Harborview Medical Center and Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic (OBCC). This position offers a rare opportunity to operate across the full continuum of pediatric care—from providing acute trauma and bereavement support in an inpatient hospital setting to delivering integrated behavioral health and outpatient therapy within a community-based primary care clinic.
The ideal candidate is an adaptable clinician who thrives in interdisciplinary environments and is passionate about providing trauma-informed, evidence-based care to diverse pediatric populations and their families.
Harborview Medical Center | Inpatient & Intensive Care
At Harborview Medical Center, the Mental Health Therapist serves as a core member of the interdisciplinary team within the Inpatient Pediatric and Intensive Care units. This role is responsible for providing high-quality, short-term behavioral health services to pediatric patients (0-18 yrs old) and their families referred for acute stress, bereavement, and trauma-related concerns.
Key Responsibilities:
At OBCC, the Mental Health Therapist joins a dedicated behavioral health team within a comprehensive pediatric primary care clinic. This role supports patients from birth to age 21, addressing a broad range of emotional, developmental, and psychological concerns through both integrated behavioral health care and traditional outpatient models of care.
Key Responsibilities:
Integrated Behavioral Health: Provide "just-in-time" consultation to families and providers during medical or dental visits. Deliver brief, evidence-based interventions for emerging concerns and conduct immediate safety assessments and stabilization for acute needs.
Outpatient Services: Conduct comprehensive diagnostic evaluations and maintain a caseload for individual and group therapy. Develop long-term, goal-oriented treatment plans in collaboration with caregivers to support sustained behavioral health and overall wellbeing.
Provides mental health services to children, adolescents, and families with serious developmental, emotional, and behavioral problems in a manner which results in improvements in the child and family's functioning in multiple life domains and is cost effective.
Required Education And Experience
Master's degree in Counseling, Social Work, or related field.
Minimum two years experience in providing direct treatment services to children and families.
May work evening & weekends as required.
Required Credentials
Licensed as a Mental Health Professional in Washington State in appropriate field according to degree (e.g., LICSW, LMFT).
Within 90 days of employment, must obtain, and maintain in good standing, medical or allied health professional staff privileges that are not limited, revoked, suspended, conditioned, or probationary, except for normal probationary periods due to initial appointment.
All medical and allied health professional staff members are provisional for the first year.
Any and all medical or allied health professional staff privileges at Children's will terminate automatically upon the termination of the individual's employment at Children's.
Termination of employment does not prohibit the individual from seeking medical or allied health professional staff privileges at Children’s as a non-employee in any category for which the individual qualifies.
Questions regarding medical or allied health professional staff privileges may be directed to Medical Staff Services.
Preferred
Minority Mental Health Specialist designation.
Experience with multi-system involved children with severe behavioral problems and/or developmental disabilities.
Experience with the King County MHP and Washington State Mental Health WACs.
Experience providing comprehensive intake evaluations with multi-axial diagnoses.
Experience with evidence based practice.
Compensation Range
$46.96 - $70.43 per hour
Salary Information
This compensation range was calculated based on full-time employment (2080 hours worked per calendar year). Offers are determined by multiple factors including equity, skills, experience, and expertise, and may vary within the range provided.
Disclaimer for Out of State Applicants
This compensation range is specific to Seattle, positions located outside of Seattle may be compensated differently depending on various factors.
Benefits Information
Seattle Children’s offers a generous benefit package, including medical, dental, and vision plans, 403(b), life insurance, paid time off, tuition reimbursement, and more. Additional details on our benefits can be found on our website www.seattlechildrens.org/careers/benefits.
About Us
Hope. Care. Cure. These three simple words capture what we do at Seattle Children’s – to help every child live the healthiest and most fulfilling life possible. Are you ready to engage with a mission-driven organization that is life-changing to many, and touches the hearts of all? #HOPECARECURE
Our founding promise to the community is as valid today as it was over a century ago: we will care for all children in our region, regardless of the families’ ability to pay. Together, we deliver superior patient care, advance new discoveries and treatments through pediatric research, and serve as the pediatric and adolescent, academic medical center for Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho – the largest region of any children’s hospital in the country.
U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks Seattle Children’s among the nation’s best children’s hospitals. For more than a decade, Seattle Children’s has been nationally recognized in key specialty areas. We are honored to be one of the nation’s very best places to care for children and the top-ranked pediatric hospital in Washington and the Pacific Northwest.
As a Magnet designated institution, we recognize the importance of hiring and developing great talent to provide best-in-class care to the patients and families we serve. Our organizational DNA takes form in our core values: Compassion, Excellence, Integrity, Collaboration, Equity and Innovation. Whether it’s delivering frontline care to our patients in a kind and caring manner, practicing the highest standards of quality and safety, or being relentlessly curious as we work towards eradicating childhood diseases, these values are the fabric of our culture and community. The future starts here.
Our Commitment
Seattle Children’s welcomes people of all experiences, backgrounds, and thoughts as this is what drives our spirit of inquiry and allows us to better connect with our patients and families. Our organization recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes based on merit without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.
The people who work at Seattle Children’s are members of a community that seeks to respect and celebrate all the qualities that make each of us unique. Each of us is empowered to be ourselves.
Seattle Children’s is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Workplace and Affirmative Action Employer.
The ideal candidate is an adaptable clinician who thrives in interdisciplinary environments and is passionate about providing trauma-informed, evidence-based care to diverse pediatric populations and their families.
Harborview Medical Center | Inpatient & Intensive Care
At Harborview Medical Center, the Mental Health Therapist serves as a core member of the interdisciplinary team within the Inpatient Pediatric and Intensive Care units. This role is responsible for providing high-quality, short-term behavioral health services to pediatric patients (0-18 yrs old) and their families referred for acute stress, bereavement, and trauma-related concerns.
Key Responsibilities:
- Integrated Behavioral Health: Provide consultation-liaison services and direct psychological interventions (screening, assessment, treatment and referrals) for hospitalized patients. Services are short-term and focused on addressing acute stress symptoms, pain management, procedural coaching, and developing behavioral support plans. Provide motivational interviewing and coordinate referrals for pediatric patients with positive substance use screenings.
- Trauma-Informed Focus: Specialize in addressing the psychological impact of trauma (including physical injury, abuse, and acute medical events) on patients and families, utilizing trauma-focused cognitive behavioral or other evidence-based interventions. Will participate with pediatric care providers in universal distress screening and early intervention program.
- Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Work collaboratively with clinical teams to develop integrated, patient- and family-centered care plans. Provide consultation and training to clinical staff on behavioral health topics, communication strategies, and behavioral health care planning. Will coordinate psychiatric and behavioral health recommendations and referrals for patients post-discharge.
At OBCC, the Mental Health Therapist joins a dedicated behavioral health team within a comprehensive pediatric primary care clinic. This role supports patients from birth to age 21, addressing a broad range of emotional, developmental, and psychological concerns through both integrated behavioral health care and traditional outpatient models of care.
Key Responsibilities:
Integrated Behavioral Health: Provide "just-in-time" consultation to families and providers during medical or dental visits. Deliver brief, evidence-based interventions for emerging concerns and conduct immediate safety assessments and stabilization for acute needs.
Outpatient Services: Conduct comprehensive diagnostic evaluations and maintain a caseload for individual and group therapy. Develop long-term, goal-oriented treatment plans in collaboration with caregivers to support sustained behavioral health and overall wellbeing.
Provides mental health services to children, adolescents, and families with serious developmental, emotional, and behavioral problems in a manner which results in improvements in the child and family's functioning in multiple life domains and is cost effective.
Required Education And Experience
Master's degree in Counseling, Social Work, or related field.
Minimum two years experience in providing direct treatment services to children and families.
May work evening & weekends as required.
Required Credentials
Licensed as a Mental Health Professional in Washington State in appropriate field according to degree (e.g., LICSW, LMFT).
Within 90 days of employment, must obtain, and maintain in good standing, medical or allied health professional staff privileges that are not limited, revoked, suspended, conditioned, or probationary, except for normal probationary periods due to initial appointment.
All medical and allied health professional staff members are provisional for the first year.
Any and all medical or allied health professional staff privileges at Children's will terminate automatically upon the termination of the individual's employment at Children's.
Termination of employment does not prohibit the individual from seeking medical or allied health professional staff privileges at Children’s as a non-employee in any category for which the individual qualifies.
Questions regarding medical or allied health professional staff privileges may be directed to Medical Staff Services.
Preferred
Minority Mental Health Specialist designation.
Experience with multi-system involved children with severe behavioral problems and/or developmental disabilities.
Experience with the King County MHP and Washington State Mental Health WACs.
Experience providing comprehensive intake evaluations with multi-axial diagnoses.
Experience with evidence based practice.
Compensation Range
$46.96 - $70.43 per hour
Salary Information
This compensation range was calculated based on full-time employment (2080 hours worked per calendar year). Offers are determined by multiple factors including equity, skills, experience, and expertise, and may vary within the range provided.
Disclaimer for Out of State Applicants
This compensation range is specific to Seattle, positions located outside of Seattle may be compensated differently depending on various factors.
Benefits Information
Seattle Children’s offers a generous benefit package, including medical, dental, and vision plans, 403(b), life insurance, paid time off, tuition reimbursement, and more. Additional details on our benefits can be found on our website www.seattlechildrens.org/careers/benefits.
About Us
Hope. Care. Cure. These three simple words capture what we do at Seattle Children’s – to help every child live the healthiest and most fulfilling life possible. Are you ready to engage with a mission-driven organization that is life-changing to many, and touches the hearts of all? #HOPECARECURE
Our founding promise to the community is as valid today as it was over a century ago: we will care for all children in our region, regardless of the families’ ability to pay. Together, we deliver superior patient care, advance new discoveries and treatments through pediatric research, and serve as the pediatric and adolescent, academic medical center for Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho – the largest region of any children’s hospital in the country.
U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks Seattle Children’s among the nation’s best children’s hospitals. For more than a decade, Seattle Children’s has been nationally recognized in key specialty areas. We are honored to be one of the nation’s very best places to care for children and the top-ranked pediatric hospital in Washington and the Pacific Northwest.
As a Magnet designated institution, we recognize the importance of hiring and developing great talent to provide best-in-class care to the patients and families we serve. Our organizational DNA takes form in our core values: Compassion, Excellence, Integrity, Collaboration, Equity and Innovation. Whether it’s delivering frontline care to our patients in a kind and caring manner, practicing the highest standards of quality and safety, or being relentlessly curious as we work towards eradicating childhood diseases, these values are the fabric of our culture and community. The future starts here.
Our Commitment
Seattle Children’s welcomes people of all experiences, backgrounds, and thoughts as this is what drives our spirit of inquiry and allows us to better connect with our patients and families. Our organization recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes based on merit without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.
The people who work at Seattle Children’s are members of a community that seeks to respect and celebrate all the qualities that make each of us unique. Each of us is empowered to be ourselves.
Seattle Children’s is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Workplace and Affirmative Action Employer.
Salary : $47 - $70