Psychologist - Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health (Trauma Informed)
JOB SUMMARY
St. John's Community Health (SJCH) is seeking a licensed Psychologist to establish, grow, and ultimately lead trauma-informed psychological services for children, youth, and transition-age youth (TAY) within an integrated primary care model. This is a program-building role: the successful candidate will begin by delivering direct clinical care and, as the service line matures, take on responsibility for clinical protocols, workflow design, and oversight of the child and adolescent psychology service within the clinic.
The Psychologist will work closely with SJCH's pediatric and behavioral pediatric providers, primary care team, and non-medical Behavioral Health staff to deliver developmentally appropriate, family-centered, trauma-informed care to children ages 0-18, TAY 18-25, and their families, including perinatal patients and their children.
QUALIFICATIONS
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Education:
- Doctoral degree (Ph.D. or Psy.D.) in Clinical Psychology, Child Clinical Psychology, or School Psychology from an APA-accredited program.
Licensure / Certification
- Current, unrestricted license as a Psychologist issued by the California Board of Psychology (or license-eligible with active tracking toward licensure).
- Current CPR certification.
- Board certification/eligibility as applicable to specialty.
Experience & Clinical Competencies
- Experience providing trauma-focused treatment with children, adolescents, and families (e.g., Trauma-Focused CBT, Child-Parent Psychotherapy, play therapy).
- Experience conducting developmental, psychological, and cognitive assessments with pediatric populations.
- Experience delivering behavioral health services within a pediatric primary care or other integrated medical setting.
- Knowledge of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), early childhood development (e.g., Healthy Steps), and family systems approaches.
- Comfort and experience working with children and families affected by community or interpersonal violence, and knowledge of trauma-informed and recovery-oriented approaches.
- Experience or strong interest in building, refining, or scaling a clinical program or service line.
- Experience collaborating with pediatricians, behavioral pediatricians, schools, child welfare agencies, and community health workers.
- Experience or willingness to provide case consultation and clinical mentorship to junior clinicians as the program grows.
PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT AND CLINICAL LEADERSHIP
- Partners with the Chief of Integrated Behavioral Health to design and stand up child and adolescent psychological service workflows, intake pathways, and level-of-care protocols for the clinic.
- Develops trauma-informed, developmentally appropriate assessment and treatment protocols addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), early childhood development, and family system needs.
- Establishes referral pathways with pediatrics, behavioral pediatrics, and psychiatry to ensure timely access to services and appropriate step-up/step-down care for children, youth, and families.
- As the program grows, provides clinical guidance, case consultation, and eventual supervision to additional psychologists, associates, and trainees joining the child and adolescent service line.
- Tracks and reports on productivity, visit volume, and clinical outcomes to support grant compliance and quality improvement metrics.
- Represents child and adolescent psychological services in clinic leadership, quality improvement, and grant-related meetings as needed.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Performs a combination, but not necessarily all, of the following duties:
- Provides outpatient psychotherapy to children, adolescents, and families using evidence-based, trauma-informed modalities (e.g., Trauma-Focused CBT, family therapy, play therapy).
- Conducts psychological, developmental, and cognitive assessments, including test administration, interpretation, and recommendations for children and youth.
- Devises and implements individualized, family-centered treatment plans addressing ACEs, developmental milestones, and psychosocial needs of the child and family system.
- Collaborates with pediatric, behavioral pediatric, primary care, and psychiatric providers to plan and direct integrated care for pediatric patients.
- Develops and facilitates psycho-educational groups and caregiver support sessions (e.g., parenting support, developmental milestones, ACEs education).
- Provides crisis assessment and intervention for children and youth, including collaboration on safety planning and higher-level-of-care referrals as needed.
- Prepares timely intake summaries, treatment plans, and progress notes in accordance with state, federal, grant, and payor documentation requirements.
- Coordinates with schools, child welfare agencies, and community partners as appropriate to support the child's care and family engagement.
- Participates in staff case conferences, clinical supervision, and quality improvement activities.
- Performs other duties as assigned.
St. John's Community Health is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer