Clinical Therapist I ES

Salary: $62,899.01 - $80,974.48 Annually
Location : Portsmouth, VA
Job Type: Full-Time Regular
Job Number: FY2025-01418
Department: Behavioral Healthcare Services
Opening Date: 06/10/2026
Closing Date: 6/24/2026 11:59 PM Eastern


General Statement of the Job & Essential Functions
An exciting career path is waiting for you at the City of Portsmouth! You may be eligible for a $5000 sign on bonus upon completion of one year's employment as the Clinical Therapist I - Emergency Services.


GENERAL STATEMENT OF JOB

Under general supervision, this position provides crisis intervention and short term counseling services to children, adolescents and adults in acute care psychiatric facilities and regional crisis stabilization residential programs. Reports to the Program Administrator.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Conducts intake assessments and diagnostic evaluations; provides coordination and consultative services in cooperation with other community agencies; consults with psychiatrists and/or psychiatric nurses regarding medication and diagnoses; documents case records.
Conducts crisis intervention, responds to emergency situations; assists other units as needed and implements and maintains rules to provide for consumer safety; assesses disposition of consumers to determine level of intervention required and conducts group, individual and family therapy and works closely with school and hospital personnel on appropriate referrals.
Serves as a liaison to staff members to discuss consumers' progress; adjusts treatment plans accordingly and maintains accurate consumer records; serves as a liaison with other agencies to maintain consumer care and case management; ensures that consumers receive appropriate services and treatment; and works closely with families to develop interventions, referrals, and linkage into the community.
Performs other duties as assigned. Individual assignments will be determined by supervisor based on current workload and department needs.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Knowledge of Job: Has thorough knowledge of the principles, practices, and techniques of therapy, crisis intervention, case management, and children, adolescent and adult crisis intervention. Has considerable knowledge of the literature, trends and developments in the field of human services. Has skills in promoting the integration of services among a variety of service agencies. Skilled in assisting, coordinating, and supervising the activities of CMI, SED and at-risk children. Is able to compile information from a variety of sources and prepare clear and concise reports. Ability to respond quickly and effectively in a variety of emergency and non-emergency situations. Able to effectively express ideas orally and in writing. Able to exercise considerable discretion in handling confidential files and cases. Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships as necessitated by work assignments.

Quality of Work: Maintains high standards of accuracy in exercising duties and responsibilities. Exercises immediate remedial action to correct any quality deficiencies that occur in areas of responsibility. Maintains high quality communication and interacts with co-workers, consumers and the general public. Provides clinical services without ongoing clinical supervision.

Quantity of Work: Maintains effective and efficient output of all duties and responsibilities as described under "EssentialJob Functions."


Dependability: Assumes responsibility for doing assigned work and for meeting deadlines. Completes assigned work on or before deadlines in accordance with directives, department policy, standards and prescribed procedures. Accepts accountability for meeting assigned responsibilities in the technical, human and conceptual areas.

Attendance: Attends work regularly and adheres to department policies and procedures regarding absences and tardiness. Provides adequate notice to higher management with respect to vacation time and time-off requests.

Initiative and Enthusiasm: Maintains an enthusiastic, self-reliant and self-starting approach to meet job responsibilities and accountabilities. Strives to anticipate work to be done and initiates proper and acceptable direction for the completion of work with a general level of supervision and instruction.

Judgment: Exercises analytical judgment in areas of responsibility. Identifies problems or situations as they occur and specifies decision objectives. Identifies or assists in identifying alternative solutions to problems or situations. Implements decisions in accordance with prescribed and effective policies and procedures with a minimum of errors. Seeks expert or experienced advice and researches problems, situations and alternatives before exercising judgment.

Cooperation: Accepts supervisory instruction and direction and strives to meet the goals and objectives. Seeks clarification on instruction and direction when the results or consequences is justified i.e., poor communications, variance with department policy and/or procedures, etc.


Relationships with Others: Shares knowledge with supervisors and staff for mutual and departmental benefit. Contributes to maintaining high morale among all department employees. Develops and maintains cooperative and courteous relationships with department employees and managers in other departments, to project a good departmental image. Tactfully and effectively handles requests, suggestions and complaints from other departments and persons in order to maintain good will within the city. Emphasizes the importance of maintaining a positive image within the city. Interacts effectively with fellow employees, service administrator, professionals, consumers and the general public.


Coordination of Work: Plans and organizes daily work routine. Establishes priorities for the completion of work in accordance with sound time-management methodology. Avoids duplication of effort. Estimates expected time of completion of work and establishes a personal schedule accordingly. Attends meetings, planning sessions and discussions on time. Implements work activity in accordance with priorities and estimated schedules. Maintains a calendar for meetings and deadlines.

Safety and Housekeeping: Adheres to all safety and housekeeping standards established by the department and various regulatory agencies. Ensures that standards are not violated. Maintains a clean and orderly workplace.

Education, Experience & Special Requirements
EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

Requires a Master's Degree in Social Work, Psychology, Human Services, Education or a related field and 1-3 years of experience providing clinical services or an equivalent combination of education and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

Certified Pre-Screener eligible at the time of employment or Certified Pre-screener Preferred. Certification status must be approved by Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) within 90 days post-employment.
Requires a professional certification in the State of Virginia as a Qualified Mental Health Professional (QMHP) or Licensed Mental Health Professional (LMHP). Qualified Mental Health Professional Adult (QMHP-A) preferred. Applicants may apply that are not currently licensed or certified but hold the appropriate educational attainment and minimum experience while being registered or in supervision with the appropriate professional board to become certified or licensed.
An acceptable general background check to include a local and state criminal history check and sex offender registry check.
A valid driver's license with an acceptable driving record.
Individuals in this position cannot be listed as having a founded child abuse or neglect complaint.
Must possess Red Cross First Aid and CPR certifications or have the ability to obtain certifications within 90 days from date of hire and maintain them as a condition of employment.
In the event of a declared emergency in the city of Portsmouth, individuals in this position may be called on to perform duties as required to provide for the safety and care of the citizens of the community.

Physical Demands
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS OR STANDARDS REQUIRED TO PERFORM ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Physical Requirements: Must be physically able to operate a variety of automated office equipment which includes telephones, calculators, copiers, computer terminals, facsimile, etc. Must be able to exert up to 20 pounds force occasionally and up to 50 pounds to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects or resisting individuals.


Data Conception: Requires the ability to compare and/or judge the readily observable, functional, structural, or compositional characteristics (whether similar to or divergent from obvious standards) of data, people or things.

Interpersonal Communications: Requires the ability of speaking and/or signaling people to convey or exchange information. Includes giving assignments and/or directions to unit members, volunteers or assistants. Includes receiving instructions from immediate supervisor.

Language Ability: Requires the ability to read a variety of correspondence, reports, documents, evaluations, assessments, summaries, forms, charts, etc. Requires the ability to prepare consumer records, reports, charts, reviews, and treatment plans, using prescribed formats and conforming to all rules of punctuation, grammar, diction, and style. Requires the ability to interact with individuals and groups of people with poise, voice control and confidence.

Intelligence: Requires the ability to apply principles of logical thinking to define problems and emergencies, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions; to interpret a variety of technical or medical instructions in verbal or written form.

Verbal Aptitude: Requires the ability to record and deliver information, to explain procedures, to follow oral and written instructions. Must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in a variety of medical or professional languages, including counseling terminology.

Numerical Aptitude: Requires the ability to add and subtract, multiply and divide, and calculate percentages.

Form/Spatial Aptitude: Requires the ability to inspect items for proper length, width and shape.

Motor Coordination: Requires the ability to coordinate hands and eyes rapidly and accurately in using automated office equipment.

Manual Dexterity: Requires the ability to handle a variety of items, office equipment, control knobs, switches, etc. Must have minimal levels of eye/hand/foot coordination.

Sensory Discrimination: Does not require the ability to differentiate between colors and shades of color.

Interpersonal Temperament: Requires the ability to deal with people beyond giving and receiving instructions. Must be adaptable to performing under stress when confronted with persons acting under stress.

Physical Communication: Requires the ability to talk and/or hear: (talking - expressing or exchanging ideas by means of spoken words; hearing - perceiving nature of sounds by ear). Must be able to communicate via telephone.
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) REQUIREMENTS

The City of Portsmouth is an Equal Opportunity Employer. ADA requires the city to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Prospective and current employees are invited to discuss potential accommodations with the employer.

This is a class description and not an individual position description. A class specification defines the general character and scope of duties and responsibilities of all positions in a job classification but is not intended to describe and does not necessarily list all the essential job functions for a given position in a classification.

This class description does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and employee and is subject to change by the employer as needs of the employer and the requirements of the job change.
The city of Portsmouth offers a complete and comprehensive benefit package to full-time employees including: medical, dental, vision, legal, Flexible Spending Accounts, basic and optional life insurance, short-term disability insurance, Virginia Retirement System (includes a mandatory 5% employee contribution), holidays, vacation, sick leave, deferred compensation plan, and Chartway Credit Union. To learn more details, visit
01


Please select the highest level of education completed.

• Less than High School
• High School Diploma or GED
• Some College
• Associates/Vocational/Technical
• Bachelor's Degree or Higher

02


Do you have a Master's degree in Social Work, Psychology, Human Services or a related field?

• Yes
• No

03


Do you have a valid driver's license with an acceptable driving record?

• Yes
• No

04


Are you a Certified Pre-Screener or able to obtain State Certified Pre-Screener certification within 90 days of employment? Certification status must be approved by Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS).

• Yes
• No

05


Do you have any of the following: a professional certification in the Commonwealth of Virginia as a Qualified Mental Health Professional (QMHP) or Licensed Mental Health Professional LMHP)? Qualified Mental Health Professional Adult (QMHP-A) preferred.

• Yes
• No

06


Do you have 1-3 years of experience providing clinical services or an equivalent combination of education and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities?

• Yes
• No

Required Question