Description:
Position
Mental Health Clinician
Team
Family Safety and Wellbeing
Role Classification
SCHADS Award Level 6
Employment Type/Hours
Full time, Permanent .
Location
Dandenong office (Bunurong Land), Remote working and outreach as required.
Reports To
Team Leader, Shine and Connect
Effective Date
March 2025
Overview of Program
The SHINE Program is an initiative to improve mental health for children, youth and their families by delivering innovative integrated services of Support, Help, Information Networks and Education. The program provides early intervention support to children from birth to 18 years, with individual behavioural needs or who may be experiencing challenges, posing a risk for continuing mental health problems. The focus of the program is to reduce risk, strengthen protective factors and link to appropriate services for coping with mental illness in families.
Connect is a low intensity peer support mental health program which was guided by the evidence that peer support is a valuable mode of service to community members who need short-term, low intensity interventions. The Connect team works collaboratively with clients, support staff and the community to assist and mentor clients to manage and sustain their wellbeing. Connect supports participants to develop a greater understanding of their symptoms, enhance their skills in self-management strategies; decrease psychological distress, increase connections to their community, reduce stigma and importantly, increase understanding of the broader health care system.
Position Objective
The Mental Health Clinician provides high quality specialist mental health services including, but not limited to, staff consultation and direct support service to support adults, children and families impacted by trauma and mental illness. This service is in line with professional, national and state requirements and involves working with culturally diverse individuals and families. In addition to their primary responsibilities, the clinician will support the team leader, serving as a key point of contact during their absence and managing more complex cases as required.
Key Responsibilities
The key responsibilities include but are not limited to:
- Applying a clinical lens to the provision of support and consultation with members of the SHINE and Connect teams and possibly at times, more widely across the organisation.
- Facilitating regular case review meetings to support the team in identifying, assessing and managing mental health and other concerns to best meet client needs.
- Hold a case load of clients experiencing trauma and complex mental health and other issues.
- Consult and work collaboratively with practitioners on complex cases.
- Collaborate with both internal and external services, with an aligned response to case work.
- Utilise frameworks and therapeutic approaches such as Trauma Informed Practice, Safe & Together, Best Interest, Strength Based Practice etc, while taking a whole-of-family approach.
- Use of a range of evidenced-based interventions to support families affected by mental illness.
- Support the team in broadening their understanding and utilization of various interventions and therapeutic approaches, such as, but not limited to, effective case management, counselling, family work, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), parenting and strength-based support.
- Offer support and serve as the lead practitioner within the team during the team leader’s absences
Key Selection Criteria
- Tertiary qualification in Social Work, Psychology or similar.
- Experience working within a clinical mental health (or similar) setting for a minimum of 2 years.
- Experience and interest in clinical assessment and complex case work.
- Demonstrated competency and experience in assessing potentially at-risk individuals and families.
- Demonstrated skills and experience in working with CALD communities.
- Demonstrated understanding of intersectionality and advanced knowledge of the broader service system.
- Excellent time management skills and responding to enquiries in a timely manner.
- Dedicated, reliable and self-driven individual, who is willing to contribute to a friendly and supportive team environment.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills, including capacity to liaise with and develop productive relationships with relevant stakeholders.
- Information technology skills, including proficiency in Microsoft Office suite and case reporting and Client Information Management Systems.