About the Agency
The Parents Center is a non-profit agency that has been providing culturally sensitive, trauma-informed, integrated mental health services to youth and families for over 30 years. We provide counseling/therapy services to our most vulnerable families throughout Santa Cruz County, utilizing a wrap-around model in multiple settings, including families, homes, schools, community and our offices in both north and south county.
Job Requirements and Duties
The Parents Center is currently hiring a licensed or license-eligible therapist to provide counseling services for parents with open child welfare cases. Position involves assisting parents in meeting their court-ordered case plan requirements; extensive collaboration with other service providers to support family treatment goals; and working with parents who have experienced trauma, both in the past and currently with their involvement in the child welfare system.
Minimum Qualifications
● Master's level education in Social Work, Psychology or related field
● A high level of flexibility, reliability, and organization
● Writing and computer skills, including writing professional case notes
● Adherence to all confidentiality requirements
● Knowledge of:
○ Symptoms and behaviors of mental health
○ Principles and methods of interviewing, counseling, crisis intervention and assessing psychosocial behaviors
○ Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) Criteria
○ Strength based and culturally appropriate services
Preferred Qualifications
● Previous experience providing therapy
● Previous experience working with mandated clients
● Ability to provide CBT, DBT, and/or EMDR or other trauma-informed treatments
● Bilingual in English/Spanish
At the Parents Center, we believe that hiring staff that reflect the populations that we serve is essential, and that historically marginalized communities - including BIPOC humans, LGBTQ humans, women, and humans with lived experience related to this work - must be centered in the work that we do. As such, we strongly encourage applications from people with these identities or who are members of other marginalized communities.
We Provide
● A supportive, anti-racist, trauma-informed, learning-oriented work environment alongside a highly engaged and compassionate team of colleagues
● An opportunity to do meaningful work in our community
● Signing bonus after 90 days of employment
● Competitive pay, with a pay increase after first 90 days of employment
● Flexible schedules
● Hourly pay differential for bilingual skills awarded upon qualification
● Weekly clinical supervision / clinical hours for license-track clinicians
○ Our clinical supervisor is highly experienced and passionate about their role in supporting clinicians who are new to the mental health field
● Diverse training opportunities
● Benefits including:
○ Dental insurance
○ Health insurance
○ Vision insurance
○ Retirement plan
○ Paid time off
Extra Details
Job Type: Full-time preferred
Starting Pay:
Unlicensed: $29/hour; $30/hour if bilingual
Licensed: $31/hour; $32/hour if bilingual
Potential to negotiate based on experience
Work Location: Offices in Santa Cruz and Watsonville
