Job Abstract

Children in our community are hurting. This is not a new observation. It was true prior to the pandemic, with significant percentages of children in the Lancaster Community reporting poor mental health days and documented behavioral challenges. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the difficulties facing children and families did not go away. Rather, the needs and the challenges facing kids and their families increased, intensified, and became even more complex. Our children are struggling. Our families are hurting.

The path forward is not to be found in a traditional approach to children’s behavioral health.

We cannot hope to “fix” the child and ignore the world around them. Sometimes a lasting and promising path forward is hard to see. Collectively we often settle for a quick fix and temporary relief from our pain, disappointment, and frustrations. As children’s behavioral and mental health professionals, we mistakenly embrace the idea that working with a child in isolation can “fix” the problem. In reality, this single focused approach often creates a troubling and infuriating pattern for the children and families we serve, and a frustrating work experience for Mental Health Therapists and professionals who strive to help children thrive.

At CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health, we do not believe that children’s behavioral and mental health services have to exist in this way. We believe that children’s behavioral health, and our ability to unleash the brilliant potential of the children we serve, requires us recognizing, working with, and strengthening the individuals, family, and systems with whom the child engages. We do this while also helping the child gain the skills necessary to fully engage life and the world around them. As part of our treatment philosophy, our therapists work with teams of professionals, both within CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health and throughout the community, as well as with the individuals most important to the children we serve. We embrace this comprehensive family-focused approach because we believe that through such collaboration together anything, and everything, is possible.

CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health is currently seeking qualified candidates for Therapist positions in our behavioral health program. Imagine the possibilities of you joining a team of health professionals and a nation-wide health system truly dedicated to improving the lives of children and families. That’s our purpose every day, and the purpose of every service and program we offer.

The ideal LCSW/LPC/LMFT candidate will bring both strong clinical background and knowledge, extensive experience working with families, and an innovative spirit to help grow our program, all while having a keen understanding of the unique and complex needs of today’s Families. All Therapists at CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health are full-time, salaried positions.

CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health is dedicated to improving the health of children and families by improving access linking families to care coordinating health-related services and providing clinical programs while serving as a leading voice in collaborative efforts to improve the health and well-being of the Lancaster PA community.

Every child has a unique health journey; the goal of CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health is to serve as a supportive voice and companion for children and families along their path to growing up healthy and happy. CHI St. Joseph Childrens Health is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race color religion sex sexual orientation gender identity national origin and veteran or disability status.

CommonSpirit Health was formed by the alignment of Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) and Dignity Health. With more than 700 care sites across the U.S. & from clinics and hospitals to home-based care and virtual care services CommonSpirit is accessible to nearly one out of every four U.S. residents. Our world needs compassion like never before. Our communities need caring and our families need protection. With our combined resources CommonSpirit is committed to building healthy communities advocating for those who are poor and vulnerable and innovating how and where healing can happen both inside our hospitals and out in the community.

As a Therapist at CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health, the candidate will:

• Conduct client intakes and assessments, with a focus on diagnostic and functional evaluations.
• Work with the client and their family to create client-centered, strengths-based treatment plans and establish treatment goals.
• Provide focused therapeutic interventions for clients to enhance and foster the client’s optimal functioning and coping both in the community and at home.
• Assess client needs, service availability and appropriateness of services.
• Coordinate care with the client’s primary care providers and psychiatrist, as applicable.
• Provide clients with self-management skills and educational information needed so they can be full participants in their own treatment and recovery.
• Consult with department and organization leadership as well as team members about behavioral services and suggested areas of outcome and program evaluation.
• Work daily as an integral part of a multi-modality team in order to support clients in reaching their goals in all aspects of wellness.
• Document the clients’ progress and diagnostic information in the client’s electronic medical record.
• Apply a solution-focused and creative approach to daily responsibilities and tasks.

Education (including licenses, certifications):

• Master’s degree in a Mental Health Field (Social Work, Psychology, Counseling, Creative Arts in Therapy, etc.)
• Licensed as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), Licensed Professional Counselor (L-PC), or Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Experience required and preferred:

• Minimum of 3-years experience, working with children and families, preferred.
• Bi-Lingual (Spanish) strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of Evidence-based best practices, trauma informed therapy and client-centered treatment.

Skill Competencies:

• Excellent communication skills – both written and verbal
• Ability to handle multiple tasks
• Comfort working with computers
• Demonstrate a high comfort working with diverse populations and an understanding of the cultural and social barriers that can exist when accessing health or health-related care.
• Ability to work collaboratively with a diverse range of providers and educators to effectively collaborate on care and treatment of patients and families.
• Promote a positive team-based approach to treatment and care.