Functional Family Therapist

The Atlas Project: Functional Family Therapist (City-wide)

Reports to: FFT Supervisor

Salary: 75,000 annually

Brief Overview:

Looking for visionaries eager to utilize an evidence-based therapeutic model to support youth in understanding how experiences in their personal relationships and world experiences impact how they navigate, survive, and thrive in their worlds. Join us in this ground-breaking initiative to provide Functional Family Therapy to young people, ages 16-24, who have been released on their own recognizance or at-risk for justice involvement. Our goal is to empower young people to identify and utilize skills to strengthen various areas of their lives, all while working to reduce recidivism. Flexible schedule including some nights and weekends, depending on needs of the client. Looking for candidates with strong interpersonal and communication skills and desire to work on a supportive team with constructive oversight. Experience in family systems therapy or behaviorally-based marital and substance abuse treatment therapy preferred. Master’s in a mental health field or related field required. Full-time job with competitive benefits, including tuition reimbursement and free clinical supervision hours. Annual salary starting at $75,000.

Job Description:

The FFT Therapist provides FFT (Functional Family Therapy) virtually, to a maximum of 10 voluntarily participating families at a time who reside in NYC. The target population of young adults (16-25 years old), who are referred to us after an arrest. We are participating in a pilot program to offer FFT to families and young people who might otherwise find themselves incarcerated without this alternative.

FFT is an evidence-based model which is home-based, intensive, family therapy. Although, with the current status of COVID-19 in New York City, we are offering both virtual and in-person sessions with families. This is a hybrid position, combining remote, office and community-based work. The FFT Therapist participates in all FFT training and consultation activities, and program reviews. In addition to providing Family Therapy, the FFT Therapist will collaborate with other service providers, including but not limited to the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) and New York City Criminal Justice Agency (CJA). The FFT Therapist is required to complete all FFT documentation requirements, including meeting appropriate therapeutic and engagement requirements and assessing for family safety and risk. Other duties include but are not limited to the following:

Responsibilities:

• Provide virtual and/or home-based clinical treatment with adherence to the Functional Family Therapy (FFT) model.

• Participate in engagement efforts for referred families.

• Conduct assessment including review of referral information, identifying and engaging key participants, identifying systemic strengths and weaknesses, and developing an analysis of the fit problem behaviors within the ecological context.

• Engage youth, primary caregiver and other key participants in active change-oriented treatment by identifying and overcoming barriers to engagement.

• Implement a problem conceptualization, treatment planning, intervention implementation, outcome review and strategy revision procedure using the FFT model’s Analytic Process.

• Maintain clear and concise documentation of treatment efforts that promote peer and supervisory review and feedback, and that demonstrate compliance with FFT model Analytic Process. Complete all progress notes, opening and closing of cases and any other reporting/case management requirements in a timely and accurate fashion. When required, submit progress reports to the court or other stakeholders.

• Collaborate with all relevant systems and key participants within each system to ensure their buy-in and cooperation throughout treatment. This could include regular meeting and reports to stakeholders.

• Participate in all agency and FFT model program training, individual supervision and group consultation activities.

Qualifications:

The FFT Therapist will hold a Master’s Degree from an accredited university in a field that has professional licensure. The field includes the following disciplines: Social Work, Mental Health Counseling, Psychology, or related degree. They will ideally have experience working with adolescents and knowledge of the juvenile justice and criminal justice systems. Also, preferred experience and skills with the concept and practices of family therapy and behavior management techniques, mental health treatment, as well as knowledge of and experience providing treatment for domestic violence issues and substance abuse issues.

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