Black 2slgbtqia+ Clinical Counsellor

**Friends of Ruby**

Friends of Ruby is dedicated to the journey and well-being of 2SLGBTQIA+ youth, aged 16-29 through mental health services, social services, and housing. Friends of Ruby offers Youth Mental Health services, a Youth Drop-In Centre, and a Transitional Home. The Centre provides access to barrier-free counselling and therapeutic groups, case management and a drop-in space with hot meals, community, and comprehensive programming. The Home provides transitional and emergency housing, as well as mental health and life-skills to support youth moving towards independent living.

Friends of Ruby recognizes that a diverse work force is critical to accomplishing our mission. Our goal is to attract and develop highly talented individuals from diverse backgrounds, allowing us to benefit from a wide variety of experiences and perspectives. We strongly encourage applicants from the 2SLGBTQIA+, Black, and ACB communities, and diverse backgrounds that meet the requirements of the role. We welcome applicants to introduce themselves, their stories and lived experiences in their cover letter to the degree they are comfortable with.

**Why Work at Friends of Ruby?**
- A safe space to show up authentically through our workplace culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
- Gain professional and personal development through an engaging and supportive work environment.
- Create positive impact while serving and working alongside the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
- Establish meaningful connections and expand your network in the non-profit sector.
- Produce projects and outcomes that motivate, inspire, and drive you.

**Position Summary**

We are looking for a talented clinician who identifies as Black and a member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community that can provide mental health and counselling support to 2SLGBTQIA+ youth, including those with intersectional identities of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC).

Reporting to the Clinical Program Manager, the Clinical Counsellor will provide single session and short-term counselling, along with utilizing ongoing counselling skills to youth, using evidence-based practices aligned with needs identified at the time of intake and assessment to Friends of Ruby. The counsellor will also work with Drop-in participants and Friends of Ruby’s Home resident.

**Tasks and Responsibilities**

Utilizing strengths-based, trauma-informed and harm reduction approaches, the Clinical Counsellor will:

- Using a harm reduction, ARAO, and trauma-informed approach, create safety plans with 2SLGBTQIA+, BIPOC and ACB participants assessing immediate and longer-term needs and goals
- Formulate treatment plans and provide therapeutic counselling using a range of evidence-based practices, including but not limited to IFS, EMDR, MBCT, DBT, ACT, MBSR, Trauma-informed Counselling, Participant-Centred Therapies and/or Brief Solution Focused Therapy
- Provide short-term counselling, including the delivery of Brief Solution Focused Therapy
- Working from a multi-disciplinary framework partnering with case workers, residential workers, and other mental health professionals to best meet the needs of 2SLGBTQIA+ youth
- Connect participants to other Friends of Ruby's programs when appropriate and liaise with peers from those programs to best support participants to meet their needs; refer to external service providers as needed
- Facilitate Friends of Ruby’s group counselling and therapeutic programs, including but not limited to DBT skills group, Skills for Safer Living and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy
- Actively participate in team meetings and individual/group clinical supervision
- Support students, ensuring confidentiality, collection of data and completion of case file documentation as required
- Occasionally support the overseeing of the Drop In area and monitor the overall physical and emotional safety of the space; managing potentially escalating situations
- Provide same-day crisis counselling, completing risk assessments and safety planning
- Manage crisis, recognize and provide appropriate intervention as needed. Address youth conflict directly and respectfully. Teach and model effective problem solving and conflict negotiation
- Participate in the on-call crisis line rotation
- Work collaboratively with other teams in matters relating to communication, evaluation and different initiatives in support of the Organization’s mission
- Maintain clinical records and completion of administrative tasks
- And other duties, as directed, for the delivery of the department’s strategic priorities and/or to meet key deadlines

**Skills and Experiences**
- Master's degree in Social Work, Psychology, Psychotherapy, Counselling Psychology, or in a related field and/or comparable work experience is considered an asset
- Membership in good standing with the college of Social Workers and Social Service Workers or College of Registered Psychotherapists (RSW or RP), or other counselling co