Mental Health Counsellor, Family and Youth Program

Since 1985, Hope +Me - Mood Disorders Association of Ontario has supported the recovery and healing of individuals and families affected by mood disorders and mental illness. With our extensive range of Peer Support groups, recovery programs, and counselling, we have helped many people on their journey across Ontario.

Hope+ Me provides awareness, education and training, family and youth clinical support, and recovery programs. Through our own lived experiences, we honour a client's experiences and help support their needs. We value our clients that our new name, Hope and Me, was created by and for those seeking us out.

We provide free counselling and peer support for adults, youth, and their families affected by depression, anxiety, bipolar, or youth who experience their first episode of psychosis and a mood disorder. As a leader in recovery programs, group-based and one-on-one peer support for individuals and their families, we offer a recovery-oriented framework as a powerful pathway to hope, healing, and recovery.


THE OPPORTUNITY

This tremendous opportunity for the successful candidate will depend on their five-plus year's clinical experience in mental health, their experience practicing in an early psychosis intervention program, their impact, and their outcomes.
The incumbent will have to demonstrate their experience and motivation, enthusiasm, flexibility, willingness to learn, and ability to engage and empathize at a variety of levels.

They need to collaborate and communicate effectively with clients, families, and all members of the health care multidisciplinary team, peer support workers, and volunteers; participate in programs that model and promote a safe and healthy client-centered environment and contribute to quality improvement and risk management initiatives.

The Mental Health Counsellor provides a specialized mental health service that responds to the early intervention needs of 14 to 35-year-old clients; uses skills in assessment and psycho-education to deliver innovative client-centered services to individuals and families experiencing the first episode of psychosis.

The mandate is to provide direct clinical support for youth, including assessment, counselling, and information and counselling support for families. A caseload of 30 youth, individuals, or families per month ensuring sufficient skills, accountability, and learning about the needs of families is required.

The incumbent will also work closely with The Early Psychosis Intervention Ontario Network (EPION). MDAO is open from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm Monday to Thursday; therefore, this position requires the incumbent to work two evenings a week.

QUALIFICATIONS:

KNOWLEDGE

  • Masters in Social Work with 5+ years' clinical experience in mental health.
  • Adept clinical skills in family counselling and youth are preferred.
  • Established knowledge of psychosis and mood disorders treatment and recovery


SKILLS

  • Proven ability to effectively conduct an assessment, develop collaborative care plans, educational tools, and programs, and facilitate youth learning experiences
  • Experience with community development and mobilization, including training and sustaining youth volunteers, leadership development, and organizing events.
  • You have demonstrated the ability to effectively deal with conflict situations and proactively and efficiently resolve issues impacting quality and continuity of care.
  • Excellent communication/interpersonal/teamwork skills
  • Excellent time management, organizational, and prioritization skills
  • Ability to work independently with flexibility, creativity, and innovation
  • Able to function well under pressure and in a fluid environment.
  • Demonstrated knowledge of computer applications (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Experience practicing in an early psychosis intervention program
  • Current Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) Nonviolent Crisis Intervention training
  • Bilingualism (French/English) and proficiency in a second language

A completed resume and cover letter demonstrating how you meet this post's minimum requirements, with salary expectations to be considered for this position.
We thank all applicants, but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

MDAO is committed to inclusive and accessible employment practices. Please notify us if you require an accommodation to participate in the hiring process fully.

Visit our website: www.mooddisorders.ca