Evening Mental Health Counselor

SCHOOL PROFILE

The SEED School of Maryland is a statewide, public, college-preparatory boarding school that opened in August 2008. The School has enrolled 370 sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth-grade, and tenth-grade boys and girls and will grow to educate and board 400 students in grades six through twelve. The SEED School is an extraordinary educational opportunity for students across the state to receive a tuition-free, college-preparatory, boarding education.

SUMMARY

Under the leadership of the Director of Student Support, The SEED School of Maryland is seeking a Licensed Social Worker to serve as an Evening Mental Health Counselor. The Evening Mental Health Counselor shall provide mental health/counseling intervention and prevention services to students during the Student Life Program hours. This position of Evening Mental Health Counselor identifies and provides developmentally appropriate and individualized supports to students, with the goals of increasing self-esteem, raising student expectations for achievement, enhancing life and social-skills development, encouraging positive self-awareness, and promoting The SEED School character values. The Mental Health Counselor also provides appropriate mental health intervention that will promote student success and academic persistence during The SEED School enrollment and after graduation.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

The Evening Mental Health Counselor will provide:

Direct Student Mental Health and Counseling Services

• Serve as a primary source of mental health/counseling support during the Student Life Program hours (Sunday: 5 p.m.- 9 p.m. and Monday thru Thursday: 12 p.m.- 9 p.m.), primarily within the boys’ dorm.
• Conduct comprehensive mental health needs assessments for students.
• Provide direct services to students through clinical intervention strategies (including individual, family, and group treatments) and individualized student planning based on child and family social work standards, current school data, and The SEED School vision and mission.
• Provide primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention programming within the boarding school setting.
• Encourage family engagement and parent involvement in collaboration with staff specialists.
• Collaborate with the Student Support Team (Director of Student Support/Licensed Psychologist, School Psychologists, School Counselors, Social Workers, and Deans of Students), as well as Student Life Managers, and Directors of Student Life and Academic Programs to determine best practices for clinical intervention, student growth, and academic success.
• Develop and assist with the implementation of effective strategies to support healthy emotional, behavioral, and academic functioning for students within the Student Life Program.
• Assist students in developing long-term academic, career, life planning, personal, and interpersonal goals.
• Maintain appropriate clinical documentation regarding clinical assessment and intervention.
• Collaborate within an interdisciplinary academic team to promote student excellence.

Administrative

• Collaborate with Director of Student Support to develop and maintain a clinical social work internship program in collaboration with local graduate schools of social work and The SEED School Leadership.
• Provide clinical supervision to master’s-level social work interns.
• Operate within the context of the total school environment (college-preparatory boarding education) to provide on-going consultation and liaison services to Student Life and Academic staff. This includes developing an interdisciplinary system for exploring relevant student background information and the development of appropriate behavior plans and strategies to promote adaptive school-based behavioral and emotional functioning.
• Maintain and disseminate current and appropriate resource materials to education stakeholders.
• Work within an academic interdisciplinary environment with teachers, special educators, parents, Student Life staff, and other specialists and faculty members at The SEED School of Maryland.
• Participate in Student Instructional Team (SIT), Student Support Services Team (SSST), and Individualized Education Plan (IEP) team meetings. This includes but is not limited to conducting appropriate assessments and observations, completing student/parent informational interviews, and developing individualized educational goals and accommodations for students.
• Work with the Student Support Team to help determine how to best structure the mental health aspects of the Student Life Program to best meet the social, emotional, behavioral, and academic needs of SEED Maryland students.

Crisis Intervention/Emergency Management

Provide crisis intervention and management of mental health emergencies for all students during the Student Life Program, as needed.

Professionalism/Professional Development

• Attend staff meetings, professional development, in-service programs, and other school-sponsored events as scheduled by the Student Support Team.
• Maintain licensure requirements.
• Complete regular self-evaluations as part of performance review with supervisor.
• Participates in ongoing professional develop programming for staff.
• Commitment to self-care and social support as a model for students and colleagues.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Director of Student Support.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Experience and Education

• Master’s Degree or equivalent working experience in psychology, counseling, social work, or related field.
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker-Certified (LCSW-C), Licensed Graduate Social Worker (LGSW) or equivalent.
• 2-3 years direct experience in adolescent and family counseling, residential/boarding education, college-preparatory academic settings, counseling/psychology, and/or related fields.

Expectations

• Willingness to work evening hours.
• Commitment and alignment to The SEED School mission, vision, and belief that all children can succeed academically and personally. Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills and the ability to inspire others with enthusiasm and encouragement.
• Ability and willingness to be flexible within an innovative boarding school environment.
• Demonstrated leadership in building and sustaining a professional collaborative culture among faculty and staff.
• Commitment to excellence, equity, and high expectations for students and faculty
• Ability to coordinate multiple professional tasks, agendas, and professional leadership in collaborative service to the achievement and development of student success.
• Comfort with working within in a fluid academic environment and the ability to make adjustments both in day-to-day facilitation and larger-scale activities based on newly emerging information and situations.
• Familiarity with unban education issues, preferable direct experience with education within inner-city environments.
• Interpersonal ease.
• Excellent communication skills, both one-on-one and in group settings.
• Unquestioned integrity.
• Clear judgment.
• Openness to collaboration.
• Ability to make fair and equitable decisions.
• Knowledge and skills to support a safe and healthy school environment.
• A strong conceptual grasp of academic discipline and social emotional competence.
• A skill set to develop and utilize theoretical and practical materials to guide instructional design in how students learn best.
• An understanding of how effective interdisciplinary teams work and how to best contribute to team efficacy.
• Expansive understanding of adolescent development and the biopsychosocial characteristics, needs, and strengths of students this age (with a focus on adolescent males).
• Willingness and availability to participate actively in school’s governance system.
• Capacity to engage parents, families, and community members in support of students and The SEED School.
• Considerable knowledge of multicultural issues and gender based academic concerns.
• Knowledge of procedures and policies for addressing learning differences and ensuring appropriate access to the educational curriculum for students with varied learning styles.
• Working knowledge of instructional technologies and adept in Microsoft Office programs (especially Work and Outlook).

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, some standing, walking, sitting, bending and carrying of light items, such as books and papers, is required.

WORKING CONDITIONS

The work involves everyday risks and discomforts which require normal safety precautions typical of such places as classrooms, offices, meeting and training rooms, etc. The work area is adequately lighted, heated and ventilated. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions

This position description may not describe all duties, responsibilities and skills associated with this position. It is intended to portray the major aspects of the job and is not meant to be all inclusive. Other duties or skills may be required.