Counsellor Therapist

# Summary 

# About the organization 

 Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services (AAMHCS) is a Community Health Centre that aims to provide services and addresses system inequities to improve health outcomes for the most vulnerable immigrants, refugees, and their communities. The Centre envisions a future in which Toronto’s diverse communities achieve health with dignity.

We are looking for a thoughtful, empathic, and organized person to be part of the Centre’s interdisciplinary health services team and work within a collaborative model of clinical and allied health practice, program planning, implementation and evaluation. The Counsellor/Therapist provides assessment, case management and co-ordination, short and long-term counseling and where appropriate advocacy for clients and community members. The position works with all Centre clients, including women, children, youth, adults, seniors and 2SLGBTQI+, who are newcomers, immigrants, refugees and who face multiple and complex health and social issues.

# About the position 

•  Brief and short-term trauma-informed counselling for clients. 

• Support newcomers with mental health needs in any context; culturally appropriate approaches; trauma informed practice; integrating promising and emerging practices. 
• Client care coordination, including orientation, assessment, referrals to internal and external resources, case management and discharge planning.
• Participate actively in the Centre's interdisciplinary team, supporting integrated approaches to client services based on social determinants of health.
• Establish and maintain links with organizations and groups in the community.
• Work with community groups and organization to identify service gaps and needs.
• Network, liaise and jointly advocate with organizations and community groups addressing issues identified by clients and/or community.
• Participating in primary health care program and service delivery within the broader. community context in partnerships with other institutions as may be required from time to time.
• Participating in all organizational systems and structures as required including but not limited to, quality assurance and performance evaluation.
• Ability to travel and provide services throughout the City, at designated sites, and to work flexible hours, including evening and weekend shifts when required/scheduled.

# Qualifications

 Required

• Master's degree in social work and registration or eligibility for registration with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers.
• Minimum 3 years full time work experience in clinical counselling.
• Thorough familiarity and work experience with therapeutic methods and practices based upon a health promotion model.
• Excellent case management, casework, counselling, crisis intervention, group facilitation skills.
• Travel within Toronto and work flexible shifts including evenings and Saturdays. 

Preferred

• Excellent networking and partnership development skills and interest in health promotion and research.
• Strong computer literacy (word processing, internet, data entry in Windows applications, electronic medical record charting).
• Extensive knowledge of issues related to working with refugees, recent immigrants and undocumented populations, particularly low-income, S2LGBTQI+, and racialized groups.
• Superior interpersonal, communication (written and verbal), problem-solving, organizational, time management and self-care skills.

Asset:

• Strong understanding and a commitment to the principles and underlying values of community health and community health centers.
• Ability to work collaboratively within the interdisciplinary health care team which includes physicians, nurses, dietitians, health promoters and community workers.
• An interest and commitment to working in a low-income, multilingual, multiracial community.