Psychotherapist - Children and Family

Join our team and make a difference in your community as a Psychotherapist focusing on Children and Family.

A career with Sauk County will bring unlimited opportunities to provide support, assistance, and growth to local communities. Sauk County is the ultimate destination where anyone can happily live, work, and play. We are looking for someone who has the desire to support local communities and be a part of the Human Services team.  

The purpose of the Psychotherapist - Children and Family is to provide mental health treatment services to children, adults, and families, provide clinical support and consultation to agency staff and community partners, and provide mental health education and prevention to the public for Sauk County Department of Human Services.

Essential Duties

• Provide mental health services to children, families, and parent/primary caregivers by conducting mental health assessments and develop person centered goals within the individuals’ recovery plan.
• Participate in team-based services (Comprehensive Community Services and Coordinated Services Teams) in the role of psychotherapist, service coordinator, or consultant.
• Identify, develop, adapt, and implement treatment methods according to the unique needs of children and families using tools and approaches that are strength based, evidence-based and person centered such as Child-Parent psychotherapy, play therapy, family therapy, motivational interviewing, trauma focused cognitive-behavioral therapy, and dialectical behavioral therapy. 
• Provide children and their parents/primary caregivers with supportive psychotherapy, symptom management support, case management, and life skills education to allow them to attain and maintain their highest level of independent living.
• Advocate on behalf of children and families when appropriate for needed benefits and services, including applying for social security disability income, housing subsidies, and medical services.
• Review evaluations, test results, substance use assessments, medical reports, neuropsychological evaluations, and psychiatric/psychological evaluations and incorporate information into a coordinated plan of care.
• Consult, collaborate, and coordinate services with internal and external service providers/partners regarding the needs of children and families to ensure an integrated, developmentally appropriate approach to services and supports.
• Provide court-ordered services requested through internal and external partners including but not limited to Child Protection and Youth Justice.
• Educate partners about scope of MHRS services and roles.
• Intervene in crises and participate in mobile crisis response.  Collaborate with agency staff and recommend immediate remediation including residential placement, respite and stabilization, and safe community-based options, and create crisis and safety plans including intervention and prevention steps to avoid unnecessary out-of-home placement and/or hospitalization.
• Screen and triage mental health referrals coming into the MHRS unit by accessing for appropriate levels of intervention/care, referring to services including higher levels of care as necessary, monitoring consumers’ progress in county-authorized and/or funded treatment, and assist with discharge/aftercare planning and return to the community.
• Lead or co-lead therapeutic, psycho-educational, or social groups for children and parents or caregivers.
• Complete documentation within the electronic health record, including but not limited to screening measures, assessments, recovery plans, progress notes, referral and discharge forms, supervision/consultation notes, and daily activity logs.
• Participate in program development and evaluation.
• Maintains knowledge of current professional counseling techniques and skills. Participates in ongoing profession training and development.
• Provide information/outreach regarding mental health and/or substance use to internal and external partners.
• Provide supervision to bachelor’s or master’s level student interns.
• And other duties as assigned.

Minimum Training and Education

Required:                    

Master’s degree in Psychology, Social Work, Counseling, or another related field

2,000 hours of supervised post degree clinical experience with persons with mental illness

Required Licenses/Certifications: 

Licensed as a Social Worker (APSW, LCSW), Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT-IT, LMFT), or Professional Counselor (LPC-IT, LPC) by the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services.

Preferred:                    

Education, training, and/or experience providing developmentally informed and evidenced

      based treatment services to children and families

3 years of individual and group therapy experience

Experience with Comprehensive Community Services (CCS) and Coordinated Service Team (CST)

Any combination of education and experience that provides equivalent knowledge, skills and abilities may be considered.