Summary

This position is responsible for providing brief counselling for individuals and families. It also may involve providing some case management, psycho-education, advocacy, and consultation to support youth and their families or caregivers presenting with mental health, emotional or behavioural issues. YouthLink serves youth ages 12-24 and their families through our What’s Up Walk-In Clinic and other brief services. This may include carrying a small brief therapy client caseload.

Description

November 10th, 2023                                          Posting #1392

YouthLink believes in the potential of every youth. We are dedicated to providing them with the support, guidance and opportunities they need to make positive life choices. We provide youth with brief and ongoing counselling, in-home wraparound support, shelter, housing, educational support, and safe drop-in spaces.  YouthLink works towards equitable outcomes for youth in our community and, as such, is committed to equity-based hiring practices. 

We welcome applications from candidates who reflect the communities we serve, particularly candidates from Black communities, Indigenous communities, and racialized people, persons with disabilities, members of diverse gender identities and people with lived experiences.  We are seeking candidates who demonstrably operate and practice from an equity and trauma-informed lens.  We encourage applications from passionate professionals who will help us dismantle systemic barriers and will embrace working outside of Euro-centric practices.

YouthLink Benefits are Top of Class!

 

  • Competitive pay
  • *Annual vacation with pay at 1.66 working days for each calendar month to a maximum of 20 working days per year.
  • *5 ‘authorized absence’ days for family illness or emergency circumstances that prohibit employees from reporting to work.
  • *3 paid agency days every calendar year after 3 calendar months’ service.
  • Maternity / parental /adoption leave top-up payments (to top-up Canadian government unemployment benefit payments).
  • Eligibility to participate in pension plan after 2 years of continuous service with generous matching contribution from employer.  
*(pro-rated for part-time employees according to the employee’s full-time equivalency (FTE)

What’s Up Walk-In and Brief Counsellor
(Permanent Part-Time, 21 hours/week)
Bargaining Unit Position

This position is responsible for providing brief counselling for individuals and families. It also may involve providing some case management, psycho-education, advocacy, and consultation to support youth and their families or caregivers presenting with mental health, emotional or behavioural issues. YouthLink serves youth ages 12-24 and their families through our What’s Up Walk-In Clinic and other brief services. This may include carrying a small brief therapy client caseload.

Highlights of Your Role

  • Provides brief counselling sessions to individual youth and or their caregivers utilizing a Brief Solution Focused framework and/or Narrative Therapy approaches.
  • Researches and coordinates external services; works with multidisciplinary professionals, such as child protection, youth justice and the broader Youthlink team.
  • Makes appropriate referral recommendations if further services are needed in collaboration with clients.
  • When providing service to a client that presents with suicidal or homicidal ideation, counsellor completes a full suicide assessment, creates a safety plan and disseminates to client and parents if appropriate; making immediate referrals if warranted, supporting the client through the process of accessing hospital and/or psychiatric services in the moment.      
  • Prepares documents and other resources for clients and disseminates appropriately.
  • Documents clinical case notes to capture the contents and recommendations of each single session counselling session, ideally in a contemporaneous fashion.
  • Completes referral process, organizes, attends and case manages Tele-Mental Health appointments with Sick Kids for those youth that require a psychiatric assessment and are between the ages of 0-18.
  • Reports to appropriate person or body any incidents that may jeopardize client or staff safety.                                                                                                                                      
  • Develops professionally through clinical supervision, team meetings, case consultations, external training events.                                                                                          
  • Increases awareness of Youthlink by attending community events.          
  • Actively contributes to the Agency’s Strategic Plan by participating in initiatives and committees to support the overall Plan.
  • Takes all reasonable and necessary precautions to protect his or her own health and safety and that of co-workers by complying with and demonstrating knowledge of the policies, procedures and safe practices established by YouthLink.
  • Any other duties as assigned.

Supports Organization’s Strategy:
Actively contributes to the Agency’s Strategic Plan by participating in initiatives and committees to support the overall Plan.

Takes all reasonable and necessary precautions to protect his or her own health and safety and that of co-workers by complying and demonstrating knowledge of the policies, procedures and safe practices established by YouthLink

Highlights of What You Bring

Education:

  • Master’s Degree in Counselling Psychology, Mental Health Counselling, Social Work or other directly related discipline.
  • Knowledge of a variety of treatment modalities (such as; CBT, SFT, DBT, Narrative Therapy, etc.) and training in evidence-based, trauma informed practices.
  • Familiarity with single session model required.
  • Additional training related to cultural humility, diversity, anti-oppression and Anti-Black Racism preferred.
  • Full member in good standing with a relevant governing body or RP (qualifying).

Experience:

  • Knowledge of community services, relevant legislation, social justice issues, child and youth mental health.
  • Familiarity with suicide/risk assessment and crisis support services.
  • Significant understanding and knowledge of systemic barriers and oppression rooted in colonization, racism, transphobia, classism, misogyny, moralism, ableism, and how they impact young people.
  • Ability to bring an Afrocentric lens to the role is a definite asset.
  • Operates using and ABR/AOP lens.
  • Demonstrated ability and experience in working with marginalized youth, their families, newcomers and diverse youth populations living in under-served communities.

Additional Requirements:

  • Must be able to obtain a Vulnerable Sector Police Check.
  • Proof of full vaccination for COVID-19 is required.
  • This position requires evening hours of up to 2 evenings per week
  • There are some risks involved in this position such as crisis management.
  • Minimal travelling required.

Working days:
Position 1: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (hours TBD). 
Position 2: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (hours TBD). 

Salary Range: $59, 063- $67,043 (pro-rated based on hours worked)

Full job description available here: https://youthlink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/JD-WUWI-and-Brief-Counsellor-Nov-2023.pdf

How to Apply

  • Submit application to counsellingposting@youthlink.ca –Please quote posting #1392 in the subject line.
  • As an equal opportunity employer, we encourage applications from qualified candidates who reflect the diversity of our communities. If you have a disability and require accessibility accommodations with the application process, please contact accessibility@youthlink.ca.
  • Position open until filled