Behavioral Health Therapist LTE

Bread for the City’s mission is to provide comprehensive services, including food, clothing, medical care, and legal and social services to our clients in an atmosphere of dignity and respect. All people share a common humanity and are responsible to themselves and to society as a whole. We promote the mutual collaboration of clients, volunteers, donors, staff and other community partners to alleviate suffering caused by poverty and to rectify the conditions that perpetuate it.

Bread for the City’s primary care clinic is a medical home that seeks to provide wrap-around medical, behavioral, and social services to all medical patients. The Behavioral Health Therapist is a part of the Social Services, Medical, and Integrated Behavioral Health teams and builds capacity for the medical clinic to better serve its patients by assessing mental health needs and providing brief counseling, and solution-focused clinical interventions to medical patients. The Therapist will work closely with the care management and behavioral health teams.

We are looking for an experienced and energetic behavioral health therapist, who is dedicated to working in a collaborative and multi-cultural environment. The therapist will provide therapy to adult patients of the Bread for the City Medical Clinic in both NW and SE Centers. There is an opportunity for some teletherapy service provision.

• Please note:

This is a Limited-Term Employee (LTE) position of one year, as a part of a behavioral health grant. We are hopeful that the position can be renewed for an additional year, if the Behavioral Health Therapist is successful in building a full, billable caseload.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Maintains a full caseload commensurate with employment hours (group and/or individual);
• Provides short and long-term counseling services to individuals and groups;
• Provides in person services at both of our offices (NW and SE);
• Completes a clinical assessment, treatment plan and diagnosis, within a week of a client’s initial session
• Provides appropriate crisis intervention and emergency response during clinic hours (there is no on-call responsibility);
• Develops and leads wellness support groups to help patients learn tools to cope with chronic medical conditions.
• Provides patients with solution-focused interventions, including 1) helping patients gain insight about their mental health and socio-emotional well-being; 2) providing psycho-education; 2) teaching CBT, MI, and/or mindfulness-based coping strategies to help patients manage symptoms and become full participants in their own treatment and recovery;
• Helps patients, where indicated, to cope with chronic conditions like depression, anxiety, substance abuse pain and diabetes;
• Assists the patients in complying with any medical treatment initiated by the primary care provider, such as offering strategies to cope with medication side effects;
• Works with multi-disciplinary team to deliver health related services;
• Exercises appropriate judgment in interactions with others and with work processes;
• Maintains therapy rooms and materials to professional standards;
• Contacts collateral professionals and others in the community regarding cases when appropriate;
• Meets with supervisor regarding caseload and clinical and administrative concerns;
• Assists in the patient’s community functioning by coordinating with the care management team to link them with public benefits, vocational rehabilitation, social support, housing, etc;
• Provides caseload information to BH Manager and Social Services Director for statistical and quality purposes;
• Works with agency staff to maintain license, credentialing, and liability insurance (all paid by Bread for the City);
• Uses email daily to remain informed of Bread for the City business;
• Provides information for program and grant development as needed.

Required skills and experience:

• Candidate must have a current DC LICSW or LPC license;
• Minimum of 2 years of experience providing individual and group therapy to adults;
• Experience working with diverse client populations;
• Willingness to learn and carry out Bread for the City’s commitments to social justice and racial equity and a strong commitment to promote cultural, racial, language, and gender access and equity;
• Commitment to learning about and addressing poverty and the complex social determinants that contribute to overall health and health care for our patients;
• Experience working within a model of Trauma Informed Care or a desire to do so;
• Ability to maintain strict confidentiality and comply with HIPAA regulations;
• Ability to build rapport with diverse clients, coworkers and colleagues through effective communication, listening skills, and empathy;
• Strong organizational and time management skills, attention to detail, and the ability to juggle multiple tasks and set priorities to meet deadlines;
• Professional demeanor, excellent customer service and telephone skills, and interpersonal skills;
• The ability to work independently, as well as cooperatively with a broad range of people;
• Ability and commitment to document as needed and required by the agency in appropriate databases.

The following is a plus but not required:

Fluency in Spanish, Mandarin, or Amharic

Bread for the City is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, family responsibility, physical or mental disability, medical condition, status as a veteran, or any other category protected by applicable federal, state, or local law, except where a bona fide occupational qualification applies.

To Apply:

You must complete an application through Bread for the City's ADP portal. Click here to review available openings and click on " Behavioral Health Therapist LTE" position. Select "apply" at the top right-hand corner to register for a login and apply for the position. Please upload a resume and cover letter through this online application process. Only those candidates selected for interviews will be contacted. No phone calls please.

The following is a plus but not required:

• Fluency in Spanish, Mandarin, or Amharic