Child First-OEC Clinician

Description

Child First Connecticut Job Description

Mental Health and Developmental Clinician

The Child First model is an evidence-based, two-generation intervention that works with very vulnerable young children (prenatal through age 5 years) and their families, providing intensive, home-based services to decrease the incidence of serious mental health problems, developmental and learning disabilities, and abuse and neglect. Child First provides (1) a psychotherapeutic, dyadic intervention to strengthen the parent-child relationship, and (2) care coordination to connect the family to needed services and supports.  Child First has been recognized as an evidence-based home visiting model by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program and rated “Effective” by the National Registry for Effective Programs and Practice (NREPP) of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA).

Summary of Position

The Child First Mental Health and Developmental Clinician partners with a Care Coordinator to engage families who are referred to the Child First home-based intervention.  Child First’s primary goal is to strengthen the caregiver-child relationship so that it serves both as a protective buffer to unavoidable stress and directly facilitates the child’s emotional, language, and cognitive growth.  The Clinician uses trauma-informed CPP, a relationship-based, dyadic, parent-child treatment model, which focuses on the primary attachment relationships of the young child.  The Clinician engages with both the caregiver and child in a supportive, reflective, and exploratory manner which fosters a protective, nurturing, and responsive parent-child relationship.  The Clinician’s therapeutic intervention focuses on: 1) helping caregivers understand typical developmental challenges and expectations; 2) increasing caregivers’ ability to reflect on the meaning and feelings motivating a child’s behavior; 3) supporting caregivers’ problem solving; and 4) helping caregivers understand the psychodynamic relationship between parental feelings, history, and the caregiver response to the child.  The Clinician also provides consultation to teachers in early care and education settings, as needed. 

Key Job Responsibilities

• Engage with the Child First family and the Care Coordinator in the collaborative family assessment process (i.e., gather information from interviews, observations of interactions and play, reviewed records, collateral sources, and standardized measures).
• Use all available information to develop a thoughtful, well-integrated clinical formulation and Child and Family Plan of Care, in partnership with the Care Coordinator and family.

• Provide Child First home-based psychotherapeutic intervention with young children and their caregivers using relational, dyadic psychotherapy (CPP) and other modalities.
• Help the caregiver gain insight regarding personal history (including trauma history), feelings for the child, and current parenting practices.
• Avert crisis situations by assisting the family in times of urgent need (e.g., risk of harm to child or caregiver, pending child removal), in consultation with the Care Coordinator and Clinical Director.

• Provide mental health and developmental assessment and consultation within early care and education settings and to other early childhood providers.

• Embrace use of videotaping to enhance both therapeutic work with families and reflective supervision.
• Engage in weekly individual, Team, and group reflective clinical supervision with Clinical Director.
• Engage actively in all aspects of the Child First Learning Collaborative, including in-person trainings, distance learning curriculum, and specialty trainings.
• Keep all appropriate documentation for clinical accountability and reimbursement.

• Participate in other clinical and administrative activities as appropriate.

Qualifications

• Master’s or Doctoral level mental health provider (e.g., LCSW, LMFT, clinical psychologist, other), licensed in Connecticut.
• Experience working psychotherapeutically with culturally diverse children and families, including parent-child therapeutic work and play therapy with very young children (0-5 years), for a minimum of three years.  Past CPP training is highly valued.
• Openness to learning, capacity for self-reflection, and eagerness to participate in reflective clinical supervision.
• Knowledge of relationship-based, psychodynamic intervention and early child development; parent-child relationships and attachment theory; effects of trauma and environmental risks on early childhood brain development, especially violence exposure, maternal depression, and substance abuse; and community-level risk factors (e.g., poverty, homelessness).
• Experience providing mental health assessment and consultation to early care and education sites.
• Knowledge and experience working with adults with mental health, substance use, and cognitive challenges.
• Experience providing intervention within diverse home and community settings.
• Ability to speak a second language (Spanish, Portuguese, Creole, other), highly valued.
• Strong commitment to the vision, mission, and goals of Child First.
• Highly organized, self-motivated, reliable, and flexible (including willingness to work non-

traditional hours, including at least one evening).

• Able to work as part of a team.

• Able to communicate well verbally and in writing.
• Comfortable with computers and experienced with Word and Excel.
• Reliable vehicle and appropriate insurance for home visits.

EMPLOYER INFORMATION:
Clifford Beers is a mental health clinic serving children and families. Our mission is to provide
integrated services addressing mental, physical, and social determinants in order to improve
health, resiliency and quality of life for children, families and communities.
PURPOSE:
The Clinician role at Clifford Beers Clinic will have the opportunity to work closely with
children, their parents, and the community. Under general supervision this position is
responsible for delivering comprehensive therapeutic services to clients and for coordinating
services and resources to clients in need.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Engage with the Child First family and the Care Coordinator in the collaborative family
assessment process (i.e., gather information from interviews, observations of interactions and
play, review records, collateral sources, and standardized measures)
• Use all available information to develop a thoughtful, well-integrated clinical formulation
and Child and Family Plan of Care, in partnership with the Care Coordinator and family
• Provide Child First home-based psychotherapeutic intervention with young children and their
caregivers using relational, dyadic psychotherapy (CPP) and other modalities
• Help the caregiver gain insight regarding personal history (including trauma history), feelings
for the child, and current parenting practices
• Provide mental health and developmental assessment and consultation within early care and
education settings
• Embrace use of videotaping to enhance both therapeutic work with families and reflective
supervision
• Engage in weekly individual, Team, and group reflective clinical supervision with Clinical
Director
• Engage actively in all aspects of the Child First Learning Collaborative, including in-person
trainings, distance learning curriculum, and specialty trainings
• Keep all appropriate documentation for clinical accountability and reimbursement
• Participate in other clinical and administrative activities as appropriate

Qualifications

EDUCATION:
• Master's Degree in a Mental Health Discipline (LMSW if MSW-
Must have a valid CT Clinician's license.
COMPETENCIES:
Must demonstrate the following competencies:

• Diversity and Inclusion:
Foster an environment in which all members of the Clifford Beers community, from staff
to partners and clients, are treated equitably and are able to contribute fully and
meaningfully to the mission of Clifford Beers. Employees must make every effort to:
o Treat others with respect
o Practice cultural humility
o Elicit and welcome different points of view
• Integrity:
Act ethically with honesty and consistency regardless of the situation. Employees must
make every effort to:
o Be accountable for his or her own actions
o Make decisions based on what is better for the families and employees
o Build and maintain trust among co-workers and our families
o Uphold honesty in all actions
• Excellence:
Commitment to deliver outstanding practices in both managing the organization, service
delivery, and collaborating with partners. Employees must make every effort to:
o Utilize data and research to provide the highest quality of care
o Regularly participate in professional development to stay abreast of most recent
and progressive practices
o Promote continuous quality assessment and improvement
• Communication:
The ability to express oneself clearly and professionally both in writing, conversations,
and in nonverbal communication with others. Employees must make every effort to:
o Oral Communication
-- Speak clearly and in an organized manner that can be easily understood
-- Express ideas concisely and respectfully
-- Summarize or paraphrase his/her understanding of what others have said
to verify understanding and prevent miscommunication
-- Hold herself or himself accountable for pitch, speed, tone and volume of
voice while speaking
-- Show understanding of professional and cultural implications of body
posture, stance, gestures, proximity to listener, facial expressions and
appearance
o Written Communication
- Write clear and concise sentences devoid of grammatical and spelling
errors
- Tailor writing style to the audience of the message
- Write in a respectful and tactful manner

Must exhibit knowledge and or proven ability in delivering developmentally appropriate services
according to the program being supported, while demonstrating the following skills:
• A proven ability to document work in Electronic Medical Records
• A proven ability to conduct screenings and evaluations, and formulate diagnoses in accordance
with the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM-
• A proven ability to develop and document, clear clinical formulations and treatment plans that
are individualized and measurable in collaboration with the client/family, and others as
relevant
• A proven ability to provide case management and clinical indicated referrals to families
• A proven ability to triage clinical emergencies to appropriate level of care
• A proven ability to utilize best practices and evidenced based practice models where
appropriate and adheres to model and program expectations
• A proven ability to utilize trauma informed practices in the work with families
• A proven ability in working with adults with mental health, substance abuse, and cognitive
challenges helpful
• Proven knowledge of relationship-based, psychodynamic intervention and early child
development; parent-child relationships and attachment theory; effects of trauma and
environmental risks on early childhood brain development, especially violence exposure,
maternal depression, and substance abuse; and community-level risk factors (e.g., poverty,
homelessness-
• A proven ability to apply principles of reflective supervision
REQUIREMENTS:
• Valid driver's license and reliable transportation
TRAVEL:
• This role may require travel throughout the Greater New Haven area
PHYSICAL ABILITIES:
• 20% of the time is spent making repetitive motions
• 40% of the time spent sitting
• 20% walking, bending, standing, stooping, crouching or kneeling
• 20% of the time is spent using hands to type, write, or use controls
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform
the essential functions
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS:
• Indoors, Environmentally controlled
• Close Physical Proximity to coworkers

Salary : $55,000 - $70,000