JOB SPECIFICATION

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH THERAPIST

QUALIFICATIONS GUIDE

THE POSITION

To provide a variety of mental health services including therapy, consultation, case management, family therapy and advice addressing cultural diversity concerning student status; provide consultation services to the school staff  to support the overall mental health goals of the student; assist with program planning, assessment, supervision of trainees and interns, writing reports and other administrative duties.  The mental health services may be provided at the district office, student’s home, school sites, and other designated sites.

RESPONSIBLE TO:      Director of Special Education and Coordinator of Behavioral Health

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES

The duties listed are typical, but not exclusive:

• Administers therapy for the purpose of addressing an array of behavior
• Assists students for the purpose of transitioning from alternative programs to District programs
• Collaborates with public and private agencies to offer programs that foster pro-social skills and prevent violent behavior for the purpose of providing services to strengthen families as well as students/clients
• Conduct anger management, conflict mediation, problem solving, coping strategies, bullying, social skill building and other groups to address individual student needs
• Collects data and prepares a variety of reports for the purpose of documenting case history, assessments, treatment, and medical billing records
• Educates/Advises other staff members regarding service plans and student information for the purpose of providing the information needed to assist other staff members/mental health case workers in implementing effective mental health service plans and also following program procedures, ethical obligations and student confidentiality in conjunction with state and Medi-Cal requirements
• Identifies/Coordinates special needs of students for the purpose of overseeing the implementation of individual service plans
• Participates in a variety of meetings, including Instructional Study Team, Individualized Education Plan meetings and case conferences for the purpose of (providing recommendations and) collaborating with various staff members in school and staff settings to obtain necessary information to analyze cases
• Provide information and support to teachers and administrators regarding classroom environment and school climate responsive to the needs of students
• Provide supervision to trainees and interns as well as co-signing all relevant documents
• Participate in/Delivers staff development activities for the purpose of providing educational information in the study and implementation of mental health service plans
• Participates/Advises in the team approach in providing mental health services to qualifying students for the purpose of ensuring that services are available to students in schools
• Prepares case histories and diagnostic service plans for the purpose of evaluating cases to ensure the most effective treatment plans will be implemented to students
• Provides a variety of mental health services such as case consultation and advice concerning student status, diagnosis, and treatment for the purpose of ensuring mental health providers are being provided the information needed to provide the most effective mental health services possible for students
• Provides continuous student evaluation consistent with established teacher, school and district objectives, goals and policies for the purpose of advising consistent and effective mental health services to reach set goals, and following structured guidelines
• Provides individual, group, case monitoring, collaboration, family therapy, and counseling students for the purpose of intervention and implementation of quality mental health care
• Travels from site to site and/or performs necessary home visits and other designated sites for the purpose of providing direct treatment, consultation and collaboration for students and families

• Coordinates and participates as a member of the District Crisis Team to give support and counseling to students and sites in need

Knowledge of:

• Psychological and social aspects and characteristics of children with physical disabilities, emotional and social needs
• Principles and methods of counseling  and best practices for assessing and treating psycho-social behavior
• Strong theoretical orientation and implementation. Understanding of research based modalities to address varying behavior
• Human behavior and development of students with special needs as well as normal child development
• Legal and ethical regulations regarding health and social service programs and public and special and/or alternative education
• Legal and ethical regulations as they pertain to students' legal rights
• Educational and developmental needs of children with specific disabilities

Ability to:

• Work effectively with children, adolescents and adults, school staff and agency representatives
• Perform Crisis Intervention and/or assessment
• Conduct various groups including: boundaries, parenting, stress management, conflict resolution, parent training (parenting classes)
• Demonstrate positive working relationship with students, staff, parents and other professionals
• Address cultural diversity with students in various socioeconomic and multi-cultural areas
• Work in teams with other mental health providers to support positive student growth
• Provide services to students, parents, and school staff for the purposes of providing a positive, safe learning atmosphere
• Promote student adjustment to schools and utilization of district community services
• Establish workload priorities and meet guidelines
• Communicate effectively, orally, and in writing
• Effective public speaking skills
• Plan and organize workload
• Analyze situations accurately and adopt an effective course of action

• Participate in the development of school and District programs.
• Maintain professional competence and continuation education units specifically in the area of law and Ethics and Supervision through in-service education activities provided by the District, County, or other professional organizations
• Understanding of diagnostic practices
• Operate a computer and assigned software

Education and Experience:

• Job related experience with specialized field with increasing levels of responsibility required
• Masters or PhD Degree in job-related area
• Licensed in the state of California as Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) and/or Psychologist.

WORK YEAR:         12 Month / 205 Days

SALARY:                  Classified Administrative Salary Schedule   

Board Approval:         April 17, 2012

                                    June 5, 2012 (Revised)

                                    June 28, 2016 (Revised)