Lev Initiative Specialist Social Worker

PURPOSE:

The Center for Jewish Mental Health provides culturally responsive outpatient mental health care within the Seymour Askin Counseling Center/Brooklyn CCBHC. This position includes a defined responsibility to provide individual and group psychotherapy through The UJA Funded - Lev Initiative, which serves Jewish survivors of intimate partner violence and their families. The clinician will also maintain a broader outpatient caseload serving clients with diverse backgrounds and clinical needs. 

POSITION OVERVIEW: 

The social worker will provide assessment, treatment planning, psychotherapy, crisis intervention, care coordination, and documentation in accordance with agency and regulatory standards. A portion of the role will focus on Lev Initiative clients, including individual and group services for survivors of intimate partner violence and, when clinically appropriate, affected family members or children. Services should be trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and coordinated with relevant community, legal, housing, safety-planning, and clinical supports. The role is not limited to Lev clients; the clinician may also serve a diverse outpatient caseload. 

KEY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS :

• Conduct comprehensive evaluations, psychosocial assessments, and risk assessments for clients referred to the Center for Jewish Mental Health.

• Develop, review, and update treatment plans in collaboration with clients and, when clinically appropriate, family members or other supports.

• Provide culturally responsive individual, family, group, collateral, and crisis services, including individual and group psychotherapy through The Lev Initiative.

• Integrate Jewish cultural context into assessment and treatment when clinically appropriate, while maintaining a client-centered, non-assumptive, and respectful approach.

• Work effectively with clients across a broad spectrum of Jewish identity, background, affiliation, observance, language, family structure, and community experience.

• Treat presenting concerns including trauma, grief, intimate partner violence, safety needs, family stress, anxiety, depression, and life transitions. 

• Coordinate care with psychiatric, medical, school, legal, housing, domestic violence, Jewish communal, and other collateral supports as clinically indicated. 

• Collaborate with OneCall, CIAD, Jewish Community Services, The Lev Initiative, psychiatric services, care coordination, and other internal partners to support referrals, assignments, group enrollment, and continuity of care.

• Facilitate or co-facilitate Lev Initiative psychotherapy groups and document participation, progress, risks, and follow-up needs.

• Participate in clinical meetings, staff meetings, CJMH/Jewish Services team consultation, required trainings, and supervision.

• Maintain timely, accurate documentation according to standards and time frames established by The Jewish Board, Article 31/OMH, CCBHC, payer, regulatory, and funding requirements.

• Maintain professional behaviors and ethical standards as established by licensing boards, relevant professional associations, and Jewish Board policies and procedures.

• Support timely access to care by accepting appropriate referrals, maintaining an active caseload, and meeting expected productivity and kept-visit standards.

• Other duties as assigned.

ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS MAY INCLUDE:

• Attending case conferences as needed

• Maintaining a steady and active caseload

• Meeting the minimum expectations for kept visit

EDUCATIONAL / TRAINING REQUIRED:

• Master’s degree in counseling, creative arts, or social work from an accredited program AND a New York State License in Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW).

EXPERIENCE REQUIRED / LANGUAGE PREFERENCE:

• Experience providing outpatient mental health treatment in a clinic, community behavioral health, or comparable setting preferred.

• Experience with intimate partner violence, trauma, grief, family stress, or culturally specific mental health services preferred.

• Demonstrated cultural humility and ability to serve diverse Jewish communities while also working with clients across broader backgrounds and identities

• Group therapy experience preferred.

• Ability to provide culturally responsive care without stereotyping or making assumptions about clients’ beliefs, practices, gender roles, family systems, or community expectations.

• Comfort discussing sensitive topics that may intersect with Jewish identity, including religious conflict, family/community pressure, antisemitism, grief, trauma, intimate partner violence, sexuality/gender-related concerns, and disclosure-related concerns.

• Ability to build trust with clients who may be hesitant to seek mental health treatment due to stigma, privacy concerns, communal visibility, or prior negative experiences.

• Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian, Ukrainian, or other language capacity relevant to New York City’s Jewish communities preferred.

COMPUTER SKILLS REQUIRED:

• Experience with documenting in electronic health records and using Microsoft Office software

• Experience with tele mental health platforms a plus

VISUAL AND MANUAL DEXIERITY:

The candidate should be able to read paper and electronic documents and perform significant data entry into various computer programs

WORK ENVIRONMENT / PHYSICAL EFFORT

Hybrid work setting. Position entails a combination of in-person and remote work, with in-person services based primarily at the Seymour Askin Counseling Center in Brooklyn and remote/telehealth services as clinically and operationally appropriate. Allocation of time and locations will be developed in collaboration with program leadership and based on the needs of the program and clients served. Travel may be required between program locations, Jewish Board sites, and community partner settings as needed.