Open Positions

Description

The Y Team provides mental health services to adolescents (and their families) who attend school in the West Contra Costa Unified district.  The program is funded primarily through a contract with Contra Costa County Mental Health. The Y Team adolescent therapy training program accepts applications for clinical trainee/intern/practicum positions from:

• Students enrolled in Bay Area graduate schools of Psychology, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Social Work (including both Masters and Doctoral programs).
• Post-masters degree registered MFT interns

Application to our 40-week training program (late August through June) can be made by submitting the following materials to the director:

1. Cover letter of application
2. Resume
3. Names and telephone numbers of three references we may call to discuss previous work or training experiences
4. Written references as available

Applicants will then be invited for an interview with program staff.

Training

• Two-hour training each week on a wide variety of topics. Training is facilitated by Y-Team supervisors, and includes trainers from outside the agency.
• Two-hour clinical group supervision and one hour of individual supervision for a total of five hours of training/supervision every week.

Clinical Work
Trainees do up to a maximum of ten hours face-to-face therapy per week.  Most therapy sessions take place at the school site where the trainee is placed.  We have offices at five middle schools and three high schools in West Contra Costa Unified School District.  We also have a clinic near the Hilltop Mall in Richmond, where clients and their families can be seen after school or in the evening.  Most cases are long-term (more than six months duration.)

We at the Y Team have worked successfully with hundreds (if not thousands) of children and families since 1984.  We work with clients from the lower end of the socio-economic range.  Along with therapeutic treatment, YMCA recreation and camp programs are available for children in counseling.  Clients served often exhibit severe symptoms and all have at least one DSM-IV diagnosis.  They are some of the most rewarding clients to work with.  Many come back and tell us that we helped turn their lives around.

Benefits:
(1) Excellent, regular training and supervision.
(2) Stipend: $1,000 per year
(3) Free membership in the Hilltop YMCA fitness facility for trainee, partner, and children for the period of the training.

Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible in the 2008-09 academic year, as historically the Y Team attracts many more applicants than can be accepted.

Contact Information