Job Title: Trauma Counselor Child Specialist
Status: Full-Time Exempt Staff
Supervisor: Lead Trauma Counselor
The Trauma Counselor position requires an experienced and empathic trauma-informed Social Worker/Counselor, bilingual in English and Spanish (preferred), to provide individual, group, family, children’s counseling, and telephonic support to survivors and their children who have been impacted by domestic violence. The Trauma Counselor will utilize several therapeutic techniques including, but not limited to, cognitive-behavioral therapy, parent child interaction therapy, solution-focused therapy, family-systems therapy, feminist therapy, and empowerment and strengths-based perspective when working with clients. The candidate needs to be a fully licensed Counselor, Social Worker, or Psychologist with advanced degree.
For over 40 years, AVDA has served families experiencing abuse in the greater Houston community. Victim safety will always be paramount in therapeutic practices.
Responsibilities
- Facilitation of weekly Victim Support and Domestic Violence Awareness groups with a focus on healthy parenting, which is a psycho-educational support group, in English and Spanish, as needed (most groups are on-site)
- Conduct intakes/assessments for individuals seeking counseling services, and admission into the Victim Support and Domestic Violence Awareness group
- Individual counseling for children who have been impacted by abuse, which will consist of the counselor using specialized clinical knowledge and advanced skills to conduct an assessment, diagnosing, and treatment of mental, emotional, and behavioral conditions as related to domestic violence, as well as providing safety planning
- Development and implementation of a children’s counseling program that will address the dynamics and impact of domestic violence
- Provide peer support and mental health guidance and training to AVDA colleagues to assist in their service to AVDA clients in our Legal Advocacy and Battering Intervention programs
- Case management for clients in order to gain access to needed community resources and referrals
- Provide supervision to counselors and interns
- Documentation, which will include, progress notes and reports documenting services rendered
- Participation in outreach activities that increase awareness of AVDA services, including counseling
- Collect data on children served, therapy outcomes, conduct and or participate with program evaluations for grant support and reporting
- Provide back-up intake for victims seeking legal assistance
- Have flexible hours to accommodate, as appropriate, client needs (typically one to two evenings per week)
- Develop and update curriculum, presentation, and outreach materials, in support of counseling program
- Complete and submit reports, timesheets, and other paperwork in a timely manner and in accordance with agency procedures
- Maintain accurate case records, statistical data and metrics for group and individual participants
- Perform other duties as assigned
Qualifications
- Master’s Degree in Social Work or Counseling
- Fully licensed Counselor, Social Worker, or Psychologist with advanced degree from an accredited institution required
- Minimum of two (2) years relevant experience counseling adults, children, and youth required
- Bilingual in English and Spanish (preferred)
- Knowledge of domestic violence preferred
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Proficiency with PCs, including desktop publishing, databases, word-processing, and spreadsheets
- Appreciation of diversity and a sensitivity to people of varying lifestyles, ethnicity and religious groups
- Dependable transportation
- Ability to work flexible hours, manage stress and conflict well, and to adapt to ever-changing and challenging needs of multiple priorities and fluctuations in work load
