Mental Health Clinical Practitioner – Childhood Trauma Program

About Us: Established in 1987, and integrated into Heartland Alliance International in 2012, the Marjorie Kovler Center (Kovler Center) is a national leader in the provision of mental health and psychosocial support services. Kovler Center provides high quality, culturally and linguistically responsive, trauma-informed clinical services and supportive interventions to best meet the needs of individuals, children, and families from over 93 countries who have been impacted by war, forced migration, resettlement, family separation, and/or torture. Kovler Center has three integrated programs: the Survivors of Torture (SOT) program, the Child Trauma Program, and the Family Support Program.

Kovler Center is currently increasing capacity across all three program areas to support the large number of Afghan refugees and humanitarian parolees who have recently resettled in the Chicago area. Many of these individuals have experienced trauma in their home country, or during the evacuation and resettlement process, and can benefit from the tailored, culturally-responsive, mental health and psychosocial support services Kovler Center provides.

More about the Child Trauma Program: The Child Trauma Program is a Category III Center within the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. This program provides direct clinical and case management services to immigrant and refugee youth and their families from diverse backgrounds. These services are evidence-based and culturally-adapted to the population served. During the period of COVID-19 these services are primarily provided via telehealth, with some services happening in person either in the community, schools, or at the Kovler Center, depending on the needs of the youth and family.

Position Summary: The Mental Health Clinical Practitioner at the Child Trauma Program will provide trauma-informed individual and/or group therapy to best meet the needs of Afghan youth who have been impacted by war, forced migration, resettlement, family separation, and/or torture. Individual accountabilities and work volume will be established through the development of annual Success Objectives within the framework outlined below. This position will be 100% FTE.

This position is governed by a Collective Bargaining Agreement for which the employee, as a condition of employment, shall be required to remit dues or fees to the Union for administration of the contract.

This is a one year contract, pending future funding.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provides direct high quality, culturally and linguistically responsive, trauma-informed clinical services and interventions to best meet the needs of Afghan youth. This includes conducting screening, assessment, trauma-informed individual therapy, and group therapies (social-emotional learning and expressive therapy groups). Clinical services will take place via telehealth, at the Kovler Center, in the community, and/or in home settings.
• Receives case assignments and establishes and implements client treatment plans to ensure that realistic goals and deadlines are met in conjunction with clinical supervisor. Will write assessment reports and notes and psychological affidavits as needed.
• Develops and engages in professional relationships with social service, health, legal, and other governmental providers and agencies.
• Participates in regular supervision meetings, team meetings, and in-house trainings.
• Provides advocacy, crisis intervention, and social support services and referrals when needed.
• Participates in local and national immigrant and refugee serving coalitions and workgroups.
• May present and train on immigrant and refugee trauma and child trauma across multi-disciplinary settings and with community partners. This also may include outreach for developing referral bases.
• Other duties may be assigned.

Qualifications: A Master’s degree (M.A./M.S.) in social work, psychology, or related human service equivalent, or a Doctoral degree (Ph.D./Psy.D) in psychology; experience and/or training working with youth and families who have experienced complex trauma, preferably with a refugee and immigrant population; Dari and/or Pashto language ability preferred.

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit; use hands to handle or feel and reach with hands and arms.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; climb or balance and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.

Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Heartland Alliance makes all hiring and employment decisions, and operates all programs, services, and functions without regard to race, receipt of an order of protection, creed, color, age, gender, gender identity, marital or parental status, religion, ancestry, national origin, amnesty, physical or mental disability, protected veterans status, genetic information, sexual orientation, immigrant status, political affiliation or belief, use of FMLA, VESSA, military, and family military rights, ex-offender status (depending on the offense and position to be filled), unfavorable military discharge, membership in an organization whose primary purpose is the protection of civil rights or improvement of living conditions and human relations, height, weight, or HIV infection, in accord with the organization’s AIDS Policy Statement of September 1987.