Therapist (Department of Surgery - Injury & Violence Prevention Program)

Summary

The purpose of this position is to provide counseling services for a multi-disciplinary, hospital based sexual and domestic violence program, dedicated to enhancing prevention and intervention services to victims and families experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV), domestic violence (DV) and sexual assault (SA).

The Sexual and Domestic Violence Counselor is responsible for providing client-centered counseling, crisis-intervention, safety planning, case management, and referrals for teens and adult survivors of violence. The Counselor must be able to deliver agency services and initiatives in a culturally sensitive manner specific to the person’s race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation,gender, gender identity or expression.

The counselor works as a member of the VCU Health Injury and Violence Prevention Program - Project Empower team to provide services in the counseling office and throughout the health system. How and where a Counselor is deployed is dependent on agency need and source of funding.

Typical Duties

• Provides client-centered individual counseling, employing age and developmentally appropriate therapeutic interventions
• Provide on-call coverage for all client operations on average 1 week per month
• Conduct community groups for survivors of IPV/DS/SA
• Participates in regular training to enhance knowledge and skills per accreditation criteria
• Ensure client and agency records are updated regularly and in compliance with all institutional, state, and federal rules and regulations
• Provide advocacy services for patients as necessary

Required Education and Experience

Must be a licensed social worker or counselor in the State of Virginia. Master’s degree in mental health counseling, marriage or family therapy, social work, or related field and/or 3-5 years of counseling experience; strong organizational skills and experience managing multiple clients; ability to communicate both orally and in writing with team members and clients; demonstrated understanding of the issues of sexual and domestic violence; ability to remain patient, calm, and professional when working in crisis situations, and work and make decisions independently and as a member of a multidisciplinary hospital team; availability to work some evening and weekend hours; must have reliable transportation; Demonstrated experience working in and fostering a diverse faculty, staff, and student environment or a commitment to do so.

Preferred Education and Experience

Previous employment or volunteer work in human services, community agencies or related non-profit or social change organizations a plus; experience with sexual and domestic violence populations preferred Hospital and community experience preferred; EMDR training/certification; Experience using holistic healing approaches to addressing trauma

University Title: Counselor, Health Sciences (Open)

ORP Eligible: Yes

Additional Information

Position will remain open until filled with a priority application date of June 30, 2022.

This is a restricted position and continued employment is dependent upon project need, availability of funding, and performance.

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine is a premier academic medical center located in the heart of Richmond. Accounting for almost half of VCU’s sponsored research, the School of Medicine is internationally recognized for patient care and education. VCU School of Medicine comprises 18 clinical departments, eight basic health science departments, and 11 affiliated institutes and centers, and provides preeminent education to physicians and scientists in order to improve the quality of healthcare for humanity. All full-time university staff are eligible for our generous benefits package that includes choices for health, vision, and dental coverage, life-insurance, short and long-term disability coverage, retirement planning, tax-deferred annuity and cash match programs, flexible spending accounts, tuition benefits, significant paid-time off,12 paid holidays, and more. Explore our benefits further here: https://hr.vcu.edu/current-employees/benefits/university-and-academic-professional-benefits/

The School of Medicine continuously strives for our workplace and learning environment to reflect the demographic and social milieu of the communities we serve. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply.