The Pre-Release Therapist is responsible for engaging participants in the Company's Re-entry
program, conducting manualized 1:1 and group sessions, and facilitating, evaluating, and refining the Participant's Life Plan, within a correctional facility.
This position reports to the EVP, Head of Behavioral Health and Wellness.
Pre-Release Shift Differentials:
As a Pre-Release team member whose primary work will be conducted in the state adult institutions (i.e., prisons), you are offered a Pre-Release Shift Differential stipend of 10% of your base salary. The stipend will be paid bi-weekly (26 times per year) by direct deposit for those pay periods where 20 or more of the working hours in the pay period are performed in the state adult institutions. In addition, as a Pre-Release team member, you will receive a per diem transportation or mileage benefit to cover the cost of travel to and from the adult institutions.
Major Duties:
Primary responsibility is performing 1:1 and group sessions. Frequent, supportive communications with participants is foundational for effectiveness in this role.
Ensures the quality and fidelity of Concordance Re-entry Model content and approaches when delivering training in both 1:1 and group settings:
Review assessments and snapshots prior to conducting first 1:1 or group session.
Prepares for all sessions in advance, including review of all case notes and brings necessary materials and collects them afterwards.
Sessions begin and end on time and handouts are prepared in advance.
Complete Rubric after each session.
Documents sessions (for individuals and groups).
Uploads CAPS documentation prior to going to another prison or within 4 hours after the session, at the latest.
Carefully documents noteworthy participant interactions using the guideline: If it is not documented, it did not happen.
Communicates Team Member Checklist data points in CAPS and to Pre-Release Administrator within four hours of learning latest information.
Works collaboratively with Enrollment and Pre-Release Administrator and Pre-Release Career Coach. Allows Enrollment and Pre-Release Administrator to serve as single point of contact for prison staff and Company team members.
Meeting Participation:
Attends Behavioral Health and Wellness team meetings every two weeks and All Team Meetings.
Meets with supervisor month for 1:1 session to provide updates and review progress toward organizational goals.
Attend all mandatory training sessions throughout the year.
Maintains positive and professional relationships with Company participants, team members, volunteers, community partners; adheres to Company policies.
Works to ensure the accuracy of the master calendar; understands the importance of this schedule to team member efficiency and effectiveness.
Adheres to best practices established for the Pre-Release Therapist role:
Ensure only previously approved materials are transferred to participants in pre-release.
Distributing unapproved materials may put Company programming in jeopardy.
Escalates any instances of missed call outs for each session to prison staff and Company supervisor. Doing so helps keep programming on schedule and participants' experience in-sync with the Company Re-Entry Model.
Refers education issues to the Pre-Release Career Coach and refers case management service issues to the Enrollment and Pre-Release Administrator. Doing so helps ensure participants receive a consistent level of care and that team member workload is equitably distributed.
Provide services only to participants who are active or in good standing.
Involves the assigned Case Manager when community support services outside of therapy are identified (e.g., housing, behavioral health) for a participant. Doing so keeps team member roles distinct and specialized to participant needs.
Involves Enrollment and Pre-Release Administrator if there is a need for any direct communications with participants' family members or trusted contacts.
Learns applicable Company technology and has a computer or mobile device available during business hours. Completes assigned training on time.
Deliver only approved BHW curriculum.
Review and understand the importance of the master schedule to team effectiveness and efficiency and in preparation of your next day's sessions.
As part of an interdisciplinary team supporting participant success, communicates with team members by documenting all case notes through the CAPS participant system, to document participant progress and develop strategies, while protecting sensitive information.
Your work consistently reflects the Company's organizational values: courageous, transformative, compassionate, inclusive, accountable, collaborative, intentional, and always acts with integrity.
Working Conditions:
This position works in a correctional facility and may have to travel between correctional facilities and the Company. A reliable automobile, valid driver's license and vehicle insurance are required for this job.
May work evenings, weekends, or outside core hours.
Physical Demands:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.
Must be able to sit and stand for a reasonable length of time delivering interventions and entering data.
Must be able to sit or stand in a classroom delivering assigned curriculum. Must be able to see, hear, speak, walk, and sit.
Must be able to use hands and fingers to handle or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.
Vision abilities required for this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perceptions, and the ability to adjust focus.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
Budget responsibility:
None
Supervisory responsibility:
None
Qualifications:
Brings a comprehensive knowledge of mental health and substance use symptoms and diagnoses, and best practices for treatment.
Has familiarity with the 12-Step Program, and recovery resources in the community.
Has knowledge of motivational interviewing, acceptance and commitment therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and delivering manualized interventions.
Skilled at obtaining information, identifying key issues and implications, and applying professional judgment to make informed and objective decisions.
Able to resolve conflict in crisis situations, redirect and set boundaries, and pivot as new priorities arise in the day.
Required Education and Experience:
Master's degree in social work, counseling, psychology, or related field.
Minimum of one year of post-master's experience with mental health, dually diagnosed, or vulnerable or high-risk populations.
Minimum of one-year experience working in substance use treatment.
Experience conducting open groups and/or manualized group treatment sessions.
Licensure & Certification:
LCSW, LPC, or another related clinical licensure
Driver's license
Obtain and maintain Department of Corrections' security clearance.
Attributes of a successful Pre-Release Therapist:
Positive Energy
Holds the attention of a group through positive engagement, creativity, and in-the-moment adaptability.
Flexible
Adjusts plans and adapts to the constraints of working in a correctional facility.
Autonomous
Navigates external relationships and effectively delivers programming away from Company.
Self-Awareness
Continuously self-monitors personal thoughts and emotions to understand how others are perceiving you, and how to best respond in the moment.
Self-Control
Maintains professional boundaries while using an approach built on empathy, compassion, discipline, and optimism. Protects participants' sensitive information.
Resilient
Works well with oppositional/reluctant participants within the constraints of a correctional facility.