Therapist II (Bilingual English/Spanish)

The Dallas Children's Advocacy Center is seeking an experienced Therapist II (Bilingual English/Spanish) for the Therapy Department.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

Provides appropriate specialized trauma-focused mental health and crisis intervention services for child victims of abuse and their non-offending family members.

ABOUT DCAC: The mission of the Dallas Children's Advocacy Center is to improve the lives of abused children in Dallas County and to provide national leadership on child abuse issues. DCAC is a non-profit organization and the only agency of its kind in Dallas County, working in agreement with public and private agencies to investigate, prosecute, and provide healing services for child abuse
cases in Dallas County. We reduce the victimization of the child, remove barriers to investigation and treatment, and enhance criminal prosecution with our distinctive multidisciplinary and united approach to these complex and severe cases, all at no cost to our clients. Each year, DCAC serves over 13,000 children and their non-offending family members.

We are a national and international leader in the Children's Advocacy Center movement, recognized
for our expertise in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of child abuse cases; cutting edge clinical services and programs for the victims and their non-offending family members; and our community and professional training programs.

Essential Duties and Key Responsibilities:

• Provides trauma-informed, mental health services for children and adolescents which includes the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of children and their primary caregiver, meeting productivity standards for client engagement as outlined in the therapists’ goals and objectives.
• Completes documentation of session notes, phone calls, and MDT (multi-disciplinary team) collaboration within one week of client engagement, or within 24 hours of a crisis interaction or intervention with a child/family.
• Participates and actively engages in clinical supervision on issues of clinical concerns, administrative topics, and personal trauma resilience.
• Completes documentation of clinical assessments within two (2) weeks of the clinical intake session with child and caregiver.
• Completes evidence-based trainings focused on providing trauma treatment to children, adolescents, and their families, and training related to providing services to children who have engaged in problematic sexual behavior. Training and treatment opportunities will be driven by agency assignments based on client needs.
• Enters data and performs self-audits in client database and ensures accurate, professional data is entered in a timely manner and within guidelines and standards.
• Participates and actively engages in weekly Therapy Team Meetings.
• Communicates effectively and in a timely manner with DCAC staff, and MDT (multi-disciplinary team) partners, i.e.: law enforcement, medical providers, child protective services, district attorney’s office prosecutors.
• Provides expert and or fact testimony within Dallas County criminal and civil courts regarding child abuse issues.
• Follows the Therapy Program Standard Operating Procedure Manual set forth by the DCAC.

Continued Education:

• Attends and participates in CACTX required trainings for mental health professionals.
• Attends and participates in CE-CERT Training.
• Employees who are bilingual (English/Spanish) are required to complete translation training through TIN (Translation Interpretation Network).
• Attends on-going training in field subject matter.
• Completes all compliance trainings required by DCAC.

Other Duties:

• Attends and participates in agency staff meetings, conferences, and participates in agency-related events.
• Other duties as assigned.

Education: Master’s Degree (M.S./M.A.) in Counseling, Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, or related field.

Experience: Two (2) to three (3) years providing clinical services to children and families with a preferred concentration in child sexual abuse and/or intimate partner violence.

Required Certifications: Licensure in the State of Texas to practice as a mental health provider in one of the following areas:

• Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)

• Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)

• Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of evidence-based treatment modalities and the provision of these interventions for individuals, groups, and families.

• Knowledge of risk assessment, crisis intervention, standardized assessment tools, report writing, cognitive-behavioral theory, and ethics.

• Knowledge of child development, trauma, racial trauma, child maltreatment, intimate partner violence, and positive parenting.

• Ability to establish and maintain professionally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks and a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.

• Skilled in effective communication skills, both written and verbal.

• Skilled at being creative, resourceful, detail-oriented, and flexible, possessing a positive attitude, tact, good judgment, cultural sensitivity, and the ability to work well as a team member with staff, community professionals and volunteers.

• Uses critical thinking skills when making decisions and solving problems with sound, inclusive reasoning, and judgement.

• Ability to maintain ethical, timely, and complete documentation of client files.

• Ability to ensure accuracy, confidentiality, and accountability in all work.

• Ability to conceptualize cases through a trauma-informed lens.

• Ability to engage in professional relationships with peers and partners.

• Ability to receive and implement feedback from peers and supervisors.

• Ability to work one late evening and some weekends for on-call.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

Work Location: All work must be performed in the office or in a secure location on a protected network due to client confidentiality.

Mental and Physical Abilities: Duties are usually performed seated with occasional periods of standing or walking. Limited physical effort is required associated with lifting and carrying objects (less than 25 lbs).

Working Conditions: Work may be performed but is not limited to an office environment.

Essential Functions: This job description should not be interpreted as all-inclusive. It is intended to identify the essential functions and requirements of this position. The incumbents may be requested to perform job-related responsibilities and tasks other than those stated in this job description.

Core Values:

Must demonstrate/live our organization’s core values:

1. We are child-centered, family-focused, and community-driven,

2. We act with dignity and compassion in all that we do,

3. We recognize our staff as our greatest asset, and

4. We operate as a seamless team.

DCAC is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and we believe in an inclusive culture. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.