CLINICIAN

The Clinician has primary responsibility for the therapeutic components of the program. He/She conducts assessments, develops treatment plans and provides multifaceted clinical therapy and/or rehabilitative services to youth residents and their families. The Clinician provides clinical consultation to team members, The Clinician works under the general direction of the Director.

The Clinician works under the general direction of the Program Director.

PROGRAM OUTCOMES RELATED TO THIS POSITION

As a result of the therapy, supervision and support provided by the Clinician, the youth assigned to program will:

Make steady progress toward the achievement of their service plan goals;
Know they are valued and are worthy of respect;
Reside in a safe, healthy, clean and well maintained living environment;
Be held accountable for their actions in a constructive, positive manner; and
Be prepared for their discharge from the program and return to the community.

FUNDAMENTAL QUALITIES (The Essence of the Job)

Underlying Principles. This area relates to and identifies the key personal internal characteristics, qualities, and traits the Clinician must have and fully utilize to help youth residents achieve their service plan goals.
1. Ability to Relate. The Clinician relates well to youth and to the employees with whom he provides clinical consultation and direction. (1) Possesses a caring and accepting attitude, while maintaining professional boundaries. Has patience and enjoys being around and relating to youth, even when they are not at their best. The Clinician helps team members and the youth relate to one another. Models effective conflict and dispute resolution skills. Demonstrates appropriate responses to resident misbehavior. (2) Have positive working relationships with individuals, agencies or departments that place youth in program. Comfortable working with the parents of youth residents. The Clinician is confident in his/her dealings with other treatment professionals when staffing cases and reviewing a youth’s progress. Assertive when advocating for the treatment needs of youth residents.
2. Personal Qualities.The Clinician is optimistic in outlook and resourceful in meeting challenges. His/Her personal values are aligned with the IYR agency values. He/She willingly abides by the agency ethics policy and the Code of Ethics for IYR Programs Employees. He/She possesses good insight into the motivational needs of others.
3. Organizational Orientation.The Clinician abides by and actively supports the IYR mission, policies and practices. She/He understands that his work is part of a larger helping system that includes other IYR programs, the youth’s family and support system, community professionals and placing entities. She/He understands that the agency’s mission is to help youth and their families experience long term success rather than just short time progress, and he approaches his work in that way.
Exercise Judgment. This section relates to the way the Clinician uses their mental abilities to carry out their duties and responsibilities. The clinician works in a dynamic environment that requires critical thinking and sound judgment. She/He is proficient at analyzing problems, considering alternative courses of action and implementing effective solutions.
1. Know and Understand. The Clinician continually increases His/her knowledge of the agency and larger system of care through training and study. He/She progressively develops her knowledge of therapeutic interventions and deepens her understanding of how they may be applied to help youth achieve their service plan goals.
2. Observe.The Clinician is constantly aware of what is happening in his/Her work environment. He/She shares his observations of youth behaviors in clinical staffings and as necessary. His/Her awareness and observation skills give him the ability to be proactive and to intervene with youth who are experiencing emotional and behavioral adjustment problems, before their problems escalate out of control.
3. Learn.The Clinician aspires to learn and grow both personally and professionally. He/She seeks out learning experiences. He/She effectively applies what He/she has learned through study and on the job experience. He/she is willing to learn new methods, and accept changing work conditions and approaches.
4. Organize. The Clinician works with other staff members and youth to maintain an orderly work and living environment. He/She approaches each task after first thinking about how it should be organized to best achieve the desired result.
Purposeful Action. This domain relates to how the Clinician acts in carrying out their work duties and responsibilities.
1. Team. The Clinician is an effective team member and strives to help others understand the importance of team unity. She/He serves as a clinical resource to team members and provides consultation in positive and constructive ways. She/He understands the importance of team members feeling safe in sharing their views and questions. She/He holds herself and other team members responsible for their individual and team assignments. She/He supports team decisions and activities in ways that reinforce effective program and clinical practices.
2. Accountability. The Clinician takes responsibility for his own actions, and when necessary, addresses issues of accountability with team members, other employees and youth residents. He/She provides constructive feedback to team members, program and agency leaders. He uses his own mistakes and the mistakes of others as opportunities for improvement.
Engage.. This job domain relates to the level of active involvement the Clinician must maintain to be an effective resource for team members and youth. The Clinician stays engaged with staff members and youth throughout her work day. She/He is on the front lines, ready to respond to individual or group crisis and emergencies. She/He helps youth stay on task, provides direction and support as needed and appropriate.
Model.. The Clinician “walks the talk,” by living and working in a manner consistent with agency values, policies and program practices. He/She demonstrates a positive outlook, appropriate use of humor, patience, energy, perseverance, adaptability, punctuality, attention to detail, creativity, and the value of a healthy lifestyle. He/She keeps his emotions under control (or at least appears to) at all times. He/She demonstrates effective conflict resolution, problem solving, and strength-based methods that are consistent with the agency’s treatment approach. He/She demonstrates authority figures can be helpful and trusted.
Communicate.. The Clinician strives for clear, objective, constructive communications in all internal and external interactions. Her/His written work products are accurate, complete, and timely. She demonstrates effective verbal, non-verbal, and written communication skills. She/He is an active listener. She/He is able and willing to confront individuals and situations constructively, with care and an eye on the larger purpose (the end in mind). She/He keeps other staff members informed and in the loop. The Clinician abides by agency communication protocols.
Teach. The Clinician takes advantage of the “teachable moment” to address with youth their patterns of negative behavior and to offer positive behaviors to replace them. He/She imparts to youth social, problem solving, and conflict resolution, skills. He/She creates opportunities to learn empathy.
Manage. The Clinician is responsible to manage her/his work assignments. She/He is well organized and her time and resources are optimized. She/He may have opportunities to help youth with the management of their daily tasks and assignments.
9. “Whatever It Takes”. The Clinician does not recognize the words, “That’s not my job.” He/She is committed to the success of the agency, their program, and the youth in his charge. He/She willingly applies his skills and energy to any task that needs to be done.
TREATMENT / SERVICE TASKS
1. Resident Orientation. The Clinician warmly welcomes new residents and helps them feel at ease. As opportunities present themselves, she/he assists new residents with understanding and following resident rules and their daily schedule. She/he plays the important role of helping residents understand the change process and therapeutic expectations.
2. Resident Supervision. The Clinician has responsibility to provide direct supervision to individual youth or groups of youth during his shift. Responsible for medication management. Responds appropriately to individual and group crisis, abiding by IYR behavioral management policies and practices. If the clinician observes or learns of harassment or abuse by youth or staff, he/she intervenes immediately, takes appropriate action to stop it, reports the incident to his/her supervisor and takes any other steps required by agency policy.
3. Therapy. The Clinician formulates and implements treatment strategies for each youth resident. He/She participates in the service plan process, provides individual, group and family therapy sessions and completes all required documentation. He/She is well versed in the program’s different treatment modalities and associated curriculum. He/She is responsible for the organization, coordination, and the therapeutic/educational sessions provided during “family weekends,” which are held each quarter. He/She directs team members in how to implement treatment strategies and provides them with constructive feedback.
4. Balanced Approach Restorative Justice (BARJ). The Clinician is well versed in BARJ. She/He ensures that all program employees apply BARJ practices in their work with youth residents. She/He is supportive of a youth’s efforts to restore their victim(s), because of the importance restoration plays in the treatment process. She/He supports program measures that manage, reduce and alleviate the risk youths pose to themselves, within their program, homes and the larger community.
5. Reintegration. The Clinician is aware of the reintegration plans of each individual youth in his program. He/She understands that residential care is a transition period for youth. From day one, he/she encourages residents to begin thinking about what changes they need to make in their lives in order to have lasting success when they return to their homes/communities. He/She supports the Reintegration Specialist’s work with families.
6. Performing Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs). The program has SOPs that prescribe the specific way that tasks are to be performed. The Clinician must carry out his duties and tasks in accordance with his program’s SOPs.
OPERATIONAL TASKS
1. Human Resources. The Clinician abides by all agency personnel policies and procedures. He/She takes responsibility to ensure her own personnel record contains the information required by licensing, contracting and accreditation standards. She/He confronts all discrimination and harassment in the work place by reporting all incidents in accordance with agency policy. She/He completes and maintains required training, certifications and skills courses.
2. Supervision. Although the Clinician does not directly supervise other employees, he/she provides therapeutic direction to team members. She/He provides supervisors with feedback about the performance of their direct reports in relation to implementing treatment strategies. The Clinician supports his own supervisor by asking for help or guidance when he needs it. She/He asks for regular feed back on his own job performance. She/He evaluates his own performance, makes improvements and works with his supervisor to establish annual performance goals.
3. Financial Management. The Clinician abides by all agency and program fiscal policies and procedures. She/He optimizes therapeutic resources.
4. Employee/client safety. The Clinician conducts all of his/her duties and responsibilities in a safe manner. Actively promotes a safe work environment by confronting any unsafe behavior he/she observes. Reports unsafe work conditions/equipment to supervisor. Abides by all agency safety policies and practices. Reports all accidents and injuries to supervisor in accordance with agency policy.
5. Risk Management. The Clinician is continually aware of risks in work environment, especially as they relate to youth behavior. Remains constantly aware of youth who are experiencing psychological crisis, have suicidal ideation, or are psychologically fragile. Takes the appropriate steps to reduce or eliminate those risks through careful assessment, planning for appropriate levels of treatment, supervision and structure, and clinical direction to team members.
6. Facility Management. The Clinician works with his team members and residents to manage the upkeep of their facility, equipment and other assets. Takes pride in the condition of facility, and helps instill this pride in the youth that reside there.
7. Quality Assurance & Improvement. The Clinician views quality assurance and improvement as an every day opportunity. Constantly looks for ways to improve own performance and team’s performance. Actively participates in the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) meetings. Carries out CQI strategies, tasks, and assignments directed by team, program and the agency.

CLINICIAN

PROGRAM OUTCOMES RELATED TO THIS POSITION

FUNDAMENTAL QUALITIES (The Essence of the Job)

TREATMENT / SERVICE TASKS

OPERATIONAL TASKS

OPERATIONAL TASKS

MINIMUM POSITION QUALIFICATIONS

INSTRUCTIONS