Therapist (Licensed), EDO Program Lead

Job Title: Therapist, Eating Disorder Program Lead (LMFT, LCSW, PsyD, Licensed)

Pay: $97,080 (at 40 hrs/week); $46.67/hr

Hours: 16-40 hrs/week

FSLA Status: Non-Exempt

Primary Location: Lyon-Martin Community Health Services

Address: 1735 Mission Street San Francisco, CA 94103

Reports To: Mental Health Director

Organization Mission

The mission of Lyon-Martin Community Health Services is to provide high quality, compassionate and trauma-informed medical, gynecological, and mental health care services to trans, non-binary, gender non-conforming, and intersex communities and cis-gender women with specific sensitivity to LGBQA sexual orientation, disability, size, race, ethnicity, and language, regardless of immigration status or ability to pay.

We aim to eliminate health inequities for our communities by rooting our clinical practice in core foundational intersectional frameworks of anti-racism, self-determination, harm reduction, and reproductive and disability justice. As a community clinic, we believe our communities are best served by and for us; that’s why community engagement and leadership development are central to our mission of community care and mutual aid. Finally, we commit to increasing access to culturally responsive care beyond our walls through provider training and education, and policy advocacy.

Job Summary

Lyon-Martin Therapists are responsible for providing clinically appropriate outpatient mental health and co-occurring substance use disorder services to Lyon-Martin clients. As a specialist in queer, trans, and intersex (QTI) care, Lyon-Martin therapists are expected to have experience and a commitment to LBGTQIA community health care.  

Therapists are expected to primarily provide psychotherapy services. However, in addition to therapy, the Therapist may also provide crisis intervention, brief behavioral interventions, psychosocial assessments for gender affirming surgery, group psychotherapy, appropriate internal/external referrals, and clinical case management. Therapists are expected to maintain a high degree of professional competence, the highest possible ethical standards, and the ability to work collaboratively as part of an integrated health care team.

The Eating Disorder Lead Therapist will focus their case load on clients who have a current eating disorder diagnosis and are in active recovery. The EDO Therapist will lead trainings for the other mental health clinicians to fully integrate EDO expertise throughout the department, and will assist with the EDO program build out, capacity building, policy & procedure development, continuous quality improvement and evaluation. They will meet at least monthly with the multidisciplinary EDO team that includes at least one medical provider, a psychiatrist, a dietitian, and a traditional chinese medicine practitioner.

Key Responsibilities

Clinical Care Responsibilities

• Under the supervision of the Mental Health Director, evaluates, diagnoses, and treats mental health/substance use disorders within individual client sessions. 
• Maintains a therapy case load of three scheduled patients per half day session, focusing case load on those in active EDO recovery/treatment (with the exception of approved admin/meetings and trainings).
• De-escalates clients with EDO in mental health emergencies or states of high emotional distress.
• Facilitates group therapy to foster safety, consistency, and socialization among those in EDO recovery, focusing on coping skills, DBT/CBT, challenging cognitive distortions/beliefs about food, and supporting meal planning in collaboration with nutritionist.
• Utilizes appropriate referral and collateral sources to best support each client.
• Clinical case management, assisting with accessing food access-related benefits or programs, external support services, and coordinating access to higher levels of care for EDO recovery/treatment services such as intensive outpatient, residential or inpatient treatment.
• Attends weekly mental health team meetings, weekly one-on-one supervision meetings with Mental Health Director; monthly Collaborative Care meetings; monthly Multidisciplinary EDO Team Meetings.
• Maintains at least one in-person clinical day per week to accommodate clients who do not have access to the technology required for phone or telehealth appointments.
• Completes gender affirming procedure assessments and writes letters of support for insurance and surgeon approval in a timely manner (as needed/mutually agreed upon).

 Lead Duties

• Trains other medical and mental health providers in EDO diagnosis, treatment, and referral best practices.
• Creates patient resource handouts focusing on EDO education and support, especially tailored to LGBTQIA , BIPOC, disabled, and other marginalized communities.
• Co-leads Multidisciplinary EDO Team meetings with clinical supervisor to develop program policies & procedures, forms, clinical guidelines, etc. and engage in continuous quality improvement activities.
• Co-facilitate meal groups with dietitian and facilitate EDO support group.
• Develop partnerships with external organizations and providers that provide higher levels of care for EDO treatment.
• Advocate for client if/when experiencing homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, racism, ableism, and other -isms in the course of EDO treatment whether at LMCHS or externally.

Performance and Quality Improvement Responsibilities

• Meets benchmarks for applicable visit numbers and quality indicators as assigned (expectation is 3 scheduled visits per half day with the exception of approved admin/meetings, trainings, etc.).
• Completes letters of support for surgery within 1 month after assessment is complete.
• Responds to in basket messages within 72 hours, urgent ones same day; Closes visit notes same day.
• Strong initiative and enthusiasm and willingness to pitch in whenever needed.
• Along with colleagues, assists in continuous quality improvement through on-going problem/needs identification and problem solving and, as requested, acts as a champion of change and a leader for improvement activities.

And, other duties as assigned.

Competencies: 

• Mission-driven: demonstrates commitment to mission of the organization, queer, intersex and trans health, and community-driven primary care.
• Boundaries: Maintains appropriate boundaries with clients, especially when experiencing countertransference and transference. Holding clients to care and treatment plans while maintaining rapport.
• Teamwork: reaches out to peers and cooperates with supervisors to establish an overall collaborative working relationship; treats everyone with dignity regardless of their level or background. Accountable to team; participates effectively in group- and team-work; collaborates positively with other team members; giving and accepting constructive criticism.
• Communication: Delivers written communications that have clarity and impact including emails. Effective listener; clearly and thoughtfully communicates with others in person and on the phone. Strives to understand the viewpoints of others. Maintains professionalism in all communications. Asks for support when needed.
• Reliability: Accountable; maintains focus; punctual; good attendance record; meets deadlines.
• Customer Service: Persists in efforts to solve issues even when faced with internal barriers; accountable to outcomes; responds quickly and effectively to requests for assistance and support whether internal or external; asks questions when unsure of the answer.
• Computer Literacy: Skilled computer-based work tasks; uses technology to enhance job performance. MS Office, Excel, Word and/or Powerpoint. 
• Tolerance for Stress, Ambiguity, and Change: Maintains composure while under pressure; handles complex problems and change with grace; demonstrates flexibility and versatility in achieving key goals and priorities.
• Attention to Detail: Strives to eliminate errors; makes accurate work a priority; seeks opportunities to improve performance.
• Decision Making: Collects, organizes, and analyzes information before making decisions. Takes a thoughtful approach when considering options; may seek supervision and/or input from others.
• Integrity and Ethics: Actively models the highest ethical standards; is honest and accountable; maintains confidentiality and appropriate boundaries at all times; handles sensitive information and issues with discretion and tact. 
• Presentation Skills: Adapts presentation techniques to fit audience level and technical needs; develops and delivers communications that have clarity and impact; conveys confidence, presence, and professionalism; uses appropriate visual aids to illustrate key points and enhance learning.
• Accountability: Makes and meets commitments; accepts responsibility for behavior and outcomes.
• Follow Through: Monitors status of projects and tasks; thoroughly deals with project details; delivers clear, accurate depiction of status.
• Cultural Humility and Sensitivity: Ability to work with a diverse population while withholding judgment. Willingly open to learn and understand different perspectives. 
• Intelligence: learns quickly; demonstrates ability to proficiently understand and absorb new information
• Creativity/innovation: generates new and innovative approaches to problems.
• Enthusiasm: exhibits passion and excitement over work; has a can-do attitude
• Work ethic: possesses a strong willingness to work hard to get the job done.

Education, Knowledge, Skills:

Required:

• Graduation from an accredited school of social work or marriage & family therapy with a master’s degree or a school of psychology with a PsyD. or PhD.
• California license as an LCSW, LMFT or PsyD.
• At least 2 years of experience working in the EDO field.
• Culturally sensitive/humble and able to work with a diverse population
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, specifically Word, Outlook, internet applications, zoom, computer technology, and phone use
• Experience working with lesbian, bisexual, transgender, gender non-conforming, non-binary, and intersex communities, populations with varying disabilities, racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds and economic statuses, people who do sex work, those experiencing homelessness, people who have challenges with mental illness and/or using drugs, those of with a history of incarceration, people of varying ages.
• An interest in and commitment to gender affirming health care and health care access for underserved populations. 

 Desired:

• Bilingual Spanish/English fluency; other bilingual or multilingual fluency
• EMDR training; DBT training; CBT training
• Familiarity with Epic.

Benefits: Employees regularly scheduled for 16 hours or more per week are eligible for full benefits, which include 100% employer paid Platinum level medical plans for both employees and their minor dependent(s), Premium dental, vision, life and acupuncture/chiropractic plans, as well as an up to 3% 403b match and access to pre-tax health, dependent care and commuter benefits as well as employer funded professional development, trans health and child care funding. Additionally we offer a generous paid time off package including 3 weeks vacation, 1 week personal, 2 weeks sick, 2 weeks COVID time off as well as paid jury duty and bereavement leave.

Available Pay Differentials: $1.00 per hours worked for employees certified bilingual in Spanish, Chinese, or Tagalog.