Crisis Clinician, Mobile Crisis Unit (Full-time)

Department: Counseling & Psych Serv
Salary/Grade: EXS/10

Job Summary:

The Mobile Crisis Unit is dedicated to providing immediate, expert mental health support to community members experiencing crisis. Our mission is to ensure timely and compassionate intervention, promoting safety and well-being while fostering a supportive campus environment.

The Crisis Clinician responds as part of a team to provide in-the-field crisis intervention and mental health services to the University community using strengths-based, person-centered, and trauma-informed intervention and de-escalation techniques. The Crisis Clinician partners with the Dean of Students Office, Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS), Northwestern University Police (NUPD), and other University and community colleagues to determine appropriate responses and follow-up in a timely manner, ensuring a seamless transition to additional support and services.

The Crisis Clinician reports to leadership within the Counseling & Psychological Services. This role includes the use of an office touchdown space when not actively deployed in the field.

Please Note: The primary work location will be the Evanston campus. This position may require travel between Evanston and Chicago campuses and off-campus locations. 37.5 hour/week schedule with non-traditional hours (evening, overnight, and/or weekend work). As NU reviews community demand, times and days may change quarterly and will remain nontraditional.

Pay: The pay range for the Crisis Clinician position is $96,000-102,000 depending on experience, skills, and internal equity.

Department Overview:

CAPS is a unit within the Division of Student Affairs at NU and is highly utilized by students and other campus community members seeking consultation. CAPS has offices on both the Evanston and Chicago campuses. NU has a total student population of approximately 21,000 students across both campuses, with approximately 18,500 of these students attending classes on the Evanston campus. The Chicago office serves primarily graduate and professional students while Evanston office serves both undergraduate and graduate students. In addition to our clinical services, CAPS reaches over 10,000 NU community members through outreach and educational programming on both campuses. CAPS also has a training program, including an APA-accredited Doctoral Internship in Psychology at our Evanston office and a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Sport Psychology. CAPS is a learning organization, in that our strategic planning, priority setting, clinical services, and professional development are informed by local data collection as well as benchmarking with national trends and peer institutions. We have made a commitment to engaging in ongoing anti-racism work. This commitment is realized through our efforts to identify and disrupt aspects of White dominant culture embedded in our practices, processes, and structures. CAPS also identifies very closely with the vision, values and guiding principles of our umbrella organization, the Division of Student Affairs.

Department Website: https://www.northwestern.edu/counseling/index.html

About Student Affairs: By pursuing justice, equity, and belonging, Student Affairs cultivates student programs, services, and skills; disrupts barriers; and partners across Northwestern and neighboring communities to create an inclusive culture in which all students can thrive. Learn more about the Division of Student Affairs here: https://www.northwestern.edu/studentaffairs/about/strategic-plan/objectives.html

Specific Responsibilities:

Clinical Services (40% of time)

• Conduct triage and crisis evaluations and provide crisis intervention therapy for the Northwestern community.
• Work closely with EMT, NUPD and/or local law enforcement in response to emergency calls in which fire or law enforcement are the primary first responders.
• Provide brief and immediate mental health services or referral, linkage, and consultation with other mental health service providers.
• Maintain clinical records and necessary statistics of psychotherapeutic and other client contacts in Titanium Electronic Record System.
• When onsite assessment is needed or requested, drive to the location of the crisis.
• Consult with parents, physicians, faculty, academic deans, residence life staff, the Behavioral Consultation Team, off-campus counseling services, other campus offices and students, when appropriate, and with appropriate authorization in order to provide quality care to students.
• Make referrals to off-campus therapists, clinics, or hospitals, and facilitate voluntary and involuntary hospitalization when appropriate.
• Provide case management and follow-up in consultation and collaboration with relevant campus partners.
• Develop close working relationships with other MCUs and agencies with those services in the Evanston and Chicago area.
• Report to assigned program supervisor and actively seek consultation whenever necessary or requested by supervisor, including when emergency petitions are clinically indicated, and the individual is crisis is unwilling to enter a lighter level of care on a voluntary basis
• Provide clinical assessment and recommendations to relevant Student Affairs offices in accordance with Northwestern University's policies for leaves of absence.
• Consult with staff therapist and care coordinators for effective continuity of care when appropriate.

Community-Based Intervention Programming (30% of time)

• Develop and maintain supportive relationships with campus partners.
• Conduct other outreach and educational programming, as requested, including community of care trainings, orientation sessions for new students and parents, workshop presentations and emergency support services to the campus community.

Other Duties (30% of time)

• Maintains collaborative relationships with NUPD officers and participates in joint trainings, meetings, and team-building activities.
• Builds relationships and maintains trust with academic partners.
• Attend and participate in regular CAPS staff meetings, case conferences, and in-service training.
• Participates in Student Affairs and other university committees, as assigned by the Director.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Hold a completed Master's degree in counseling, social work, or related field OR a doctoral level degree (Ph.D. or Psy.D) in clinical or counseling psychology from an APA accredited program.
• Doctoral candidates must have completed a pre-doctoral internship at an APA accredited site.
• Currently licensed or eligible to be licensed as an independent mental health provider (e.g., psychologist, licensed clinical professional counselor, or licensed clinical social worker) by the State of Illinois (i.e., at time of application, must have completed all licensure requirements including successfully passing any examinations and completing any clinical supervision hours required for licensure by the State of Illinois). Illinois license must be obtained no later than 12 months after hire date.
• Three years post-graduate clinical experience, with one year specifically engaged in the provision of crisis services as a mental health clinician.
• Must meet eligibility requirements for Certified Drivers: 1) Have a valid driver's license; 2) Meet Northwestern's Safe Driver requirements

Minimum Competencies:

• Comfort and ability to drive into various areas around the Evanston and Chicagoland area.
• Comfort using basic technology, including laptops, mobile devices, and relevant software applications, to document case notes, access resources, and communicate effectively with team members.
• Demonstrates strong culturally appropriate clinical skills as well as competency and extensive experience in crisis intervention and consultation with collateral parties within multi-layered and complex systems.
• Candidate's must demonstrate a commitment to providing culturally appropriate and responsive services to clients with historically marginalized and oppressed identities related to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, ability, and socioeconomic status.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in understanding the unique mental health issues/needs of individuals in mental health crises. Previous experience working in a Managed Care (ACT, CST, Williams/Colbert decree, CPS) or Mobile Crisis Unit preferred
• Previous experience working in a comprehensive university counseling center.
• Demonstrated experience partnering effectively and collegially on an inter-disciplinary team in a university counseling center and Student Affairs.

Preferred Competencies:

• Experience working collaboratively with law enforcement agencies.
• Knowledge of relevant laws including Title IX, FERPA, HIPAA, and other federal and state laws.

Required Application Materials:

• Cover letter outlining your interest in the position and addresses how you meet the specific job requirements and which population(s) your experience and expertise you are uniquely prepared to serve.
• A current CV

Working Conditions:

• Evenings, nights and weekends required.
• Ability to transport self to a variety of different settings (on and off campus)
• Ability to operate a motor vehicle

To view this job posting and/or apply for this job, visit https://careers.northwestern.edu

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The Northwestern campus sits on the traditional homelands of the people of the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa as well as the Menominee, Miami and Ho-Chunk nations. We acknowledge and honor the original people of the land upon which Northwestern University stands, and the Native people who remain on this land today.

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