Description

This Behavioral Health Counselor is a full-time clinical position responsible for providing clinical, research, and administrative support to a nationally recognized clinical-research treatment program that has been serving Court-referred, children and adolescents who have engaged in sexually abusive behavior and their families since 1998. This clinical position works primarily in a collaborative clinical program for children and adolescents who have engaged in sexually abusive behavior with a research component. The clinician will assess, treat, and follow youth aged 10- 21 years old who remain in the community following their adjudication or Consent Decree for engaging in sexually inappropriate behaviors. This population varies widely in terms of its levels of identified psychiatric disorders, sexual behavior, victimization history, family conflict, social deficits, and/or other conduct problems. Treatment is often directed towards broad targets (e.g., sexually abusive behavior perceptions, social and relationship skills, affect regulation and dealing with traumatic reactions, family communication etc.) and may require various methods, such as child skills training and individual psychotherapy using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), parent training and treatment sessions, family sessions, medication, home/community visits, and school consultation. The clinician will work in collaboration with trained probation officers from the Special Services Unit of the Northern Probation Office of the Allegheny County Juvenile Court, other members of the Juvenile/Family Court and the Office of Children, Youth and Families (CYF). The position also involves collaboration with other providers both within and outside of the UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital community. The clinician will conduct clinical diagnostic assessments, and gather research data via face-to-face interviews, telehealth sessions, and self-report measures from a variety of data sources (e.g., youth, parents, teachers, referral sources, other collateral sources) utilizing both tablet computers and paper-and-pencil questionnaires.

This program is funded by the Allegheny County Department of Human Services.

Responsibilities:

• To conduct direct treatment with an individual, and family basis by conducting specialized parent, parent-child, and/or family interventions, as needed, especially in addressing difficult case targets, issues, or obstacles.  To do this, the clinician will work a flexible schedule which may require evening or weekend appointments (availability of 3 to 4 evenings per week required). 
• To assist in the scheduling, preparation, and administration/completion of intake (e.g., screening) and discharge clinical-research evaluations designed to address the clinical and scientific mission of this project.  
• To develop, document/monitor, and address an individualized treatment plan for each patient that outlines the clinical goals, targets, and services to be provided to the youth and his family, as needed (e.g., based on initial evaluation findings, etc.). 
• To assist in coordinating, organizing, and continuously developing/revising psychosocial assessment and treatment materials/procedures designed to evaluate and/or change common clinical targets (e.g., reduce deviant sexual behavior/arousal, enhance prosocial skills and community coping, manage aggressive behavior) in both the youth and their parents/families.  This includes maintenance of the program protocol binder and dissemination of new materials and identification of needed therapeutic directions/methods.
• To co-facilitate group treatment sessions with probation officers twice a week.
• To promote the extension of treatment efforts to the home/community and, where necessary, the school or other service providers, via generalization programming to reach other changes agents (e.g., parents, community teachers, therapists), and, where applicable, to maintain contacts with all involved parties.
• To provide, as necessary and/or indicated, court testimony as relevant to case assignments.  To do so, the clinician will communicate with UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital (WPH) legal department and collaborate with assigned probation officers.
• To attend the weekly treatment team meetings and weekly supervision meetings.
• To work cooperatively/constructively with the full treatment team at SAFE/WPH and program staff/supervisors at the Court (Special Services Unit) and Children, Youth and Families to enrich the environment, enhance treatment procedures and all related program operations, and improve staff performances via assistance, training, and routine feedback.  To do so, the clinician will demonstrate collegiality and provide supervision, instruction, and guidance to affiliated staff/students in the form of an effective leader/educator to assure the integrity of the program and maximize client improvements.  This includes helping staff to address emergent clinical problems and treatment obstacles that may require alternative programming.
• To provide, as necessary and/or indicated, basic administrative support and liaison with others (program staff, WPIC clinics, community agencies/partners).  This includes public relations efforts and efforts to procure needed resources, helping to organize all meetings, and raising system or collaboration issues, especially identifying and seeking to resolve any concerns, questions, or interpersonal conflicts/problems, in an appropriate meeting/setting.
• To maintain basic case management functions such that all relevant materials, documents, and files are complete, clinical issues evaluated and reviewed in supervision, and identified decisions or solutions implemented effectively.  This includes discharge planning and helping to support continued follow-up work. 
• To monitor/document and enhance the quality and effectiveness of all clinical applications of existing treatment procedures through individual supervision, case reviews, and tape reviews.  Feedback based on court staff observations and reports of client outcomes (improvement) will be incorporated in this task.
• To train and supervise assigned trainees in all designated tasks (e.g., case management, preparation of materials/paperwork in a timely fashion, files are complete, clinical issues evaluated and reviewed, identified decisions or solutions implemented effectively, discharge plans set, follow-up work coordinated).  This includes encouragement of the discussion of key issues and the competent and effective performance of all tasks.  
• In all these efforts, there is a need to maintain professional demeanor and good judgment in all contacts with staff, administrators, and clients, and to serve as an appropriate role model for clinic staff.

Qualifications

• Masters degree in Psychology; Child Development; Applied Behavior Analysis; Early Intervention; Education; Special Education; Instruction in Learning; Social Work or a related field.
• Three years of clinical experience working with children and/or their families strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of behavior principles, psychiatric diagnostic evaluation, and assessment process, as well as application of current version of the DSM strongly preferred.
• Proficiency at a mastery level of the following: Microsoft Office Package including but not limited to Word and Excel and Microsoft Outlook strongly preferred.

Licensure, Certifications, and Clearances:
Behavior Specialist Licensure and/or Certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, National Certified Counselor, Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Practitioner or other similar Behavioral Health license/certification preferred. LCP or LSW preferred.

• CCM training is required within 30 days of hire and annually thereafter
• Comprehensive Crisis Management (CCMC)
• Act 31 Child Abuse Reporting with renewal
• Act 33 with renewal
• Act 34 with renewal
• Act 73 FBI Clearance with renewal

UPMC is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Disability/Veteran

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