STAFF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST 2 (MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES)

Definition

Under direct professional supervision of a clinical psychologist of a higher level in a state institution, community mental health center, or other setting in a state department, has responsibility for providing direct psychodiagnostic, psychotherapeutic, and other psychological services to residents in accord with professional and administrative standards, and may represent the psychology staff in contacts with other professional, agencies, and the community; does related work as required.

Examples of work

• Provides direct psychodiagnostic, psychotherapeutic, and other psychological services to residents.
• Assists in developing, evaluating, and training for programs of psychological services which are appropriate to the needs of clientele served by the organizational unit.
• As requested by the Chief Executive Officer, may assist in representing the psychology staff in an official capacity in contacts with other professionals, agencies, and the community including serving on various committees of the organizational unit, serving in a liaison capacity regarding professional matters, and providing orientation concerning matters related to psychology.
• Participates in multidisciplinary staff meetings whose functions are to create individual prescriptive programs of treatment for patients and residents.
• Administers professional services and trains in their administration in the areas of individual and group psychotherapy, behavior modification programs, and psychological consultation.
• Administers, scores, and interprets a wide variety of psychodiagnostic instruments including projective techniques to patients or residents.
• Provides for the application of and staff instruction in crisis intervention techniques in treating clients whose behavior threatens their own safety or the safety of others.
• Interacts with psychiatric residents and encourages therapeutic interaction between other staff members and residents including responsibility for organizing meetings with the units involving both residents and staff.
• Leads group sessions with residents dealing with issues of medication compliance, selfmedication programming, and community reentry concerns.
• Functions as a key participant in postdischarge planning.
• Assists in developing and providing clinical training programs for members of the psychology staff, psychology interns, and other members of the organizational unit.
• Actively participates in conferences regarding the placement activities of patients or residents who have been or are about to be admitted or released.
• In connection with community education, interprets the psychological and mental health programs of thedepartment and may make presentations before organizations and groups interested in or concerned about the problems of mental health and/or developmental disabilities.
• Prepares clear, technically sound, accurate, and informative psychological, statistical, diagnostic, and other reports containing findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
• Assists in the establishment and maintenance of essential unit records, histories and files.
• Will be required to learn to utilize various types of electronic and/or manual recording and information systems used by the agency, office, or related units.

Education

Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Master's degree in psychology and completion of a one (1) year of supervised full-time clinical internship or one (1) year of extensively supervised clinical experience. Graduate course training shall have included at least thirty (30) semester hour credits in a psychology program consisting of six (6) semester hour credits in counseling/psychotherapy and three (3) semester hour credits in each of the following areas: individual intelligence testing, objective and/or projective testing, and abnormal psychology. At least fifteen (15) semester hour credits should be in courses relevant to clinical psychology such as: learning theories, human motivation, personality theories, human growth and development, psychopharmacology, and statistics and research.

Experience

One (1) year of experience or one (1) year of residency program in addition to the supervised clinical internship in the field of clinical psychology in a community mental health center, mental hospital, school for the developmentally disabled, or penal, correctional, or juvenile institution, or other setting involving the use of psychodiagnostics, psychotherapy, projective techniques, and other clinical methods.

License

Appointee will be required to possess a driver's license valid in New Jersey only if the operation of a vehicle, rather than employee mobility, is necessary to perform in essential duties of the position.

Knowledge, skills and abilities

• Knowledge of the discipline of psychology as demonstrated by the attainment of appropriate educational credentials, approved internship, and professional work experience as specified above, and capable of demonstrating, for purposes of serving clients, high quality professional skills in the areas of individual and group psychotherapy, behavior modification and therapy, crisis intervention, psychodiagnostic testing, psychological consultation, and research.
• Knowledge of the theories and approved practices and procedures of modern clinical research and abnormal psychology including familiarity with the problems involved in administering, scoring, and interpreting varied psychodiagnostic instruments.
• Knowledge of the difficulties involved in the carrying out of courses of individual and group psychotherapy,crisis intervention techniques, and behavior modification approaches.
• Ability to apply to specific cases the rules, regulations, policies, standards, organization, and procedures of the department with particular reference to the administration of various types of psychodiagnostic instruments and the carrying out of various psychotherapeutic techniques.
• Ability to work effectively with medical staff, custodial staff, superior officials, associates, child and adult patients or inmates, and others interested in or connected with the work of the unit.
• Ability to keep current with new developments, trends of thought, and literature in the general fields of psychology, mental health, developmental disabilities, psychotherapy, and psychodiagnostics.
• Ability to assist in preparing accurate and informative case histories, research studies, and statistical and other reports containing findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
• Ability to assist in the establishment and maintenance of essential psychology records, studies, and files.
• Ability to learn to utilize various types of electronic and/or manual recording and information systems used by the agency, office, or related units.
• Ability to read, write, speak, understand, or communicate in English sufficiently to perform the duties of this position. American Sign Language or Braille may also be considered as acceptable forms of communication.
• Persons with mental or physical disabilities are eligible as long as they can perform the essential functions of the job after reasonable accommodation is made to their known limitations. If the accommodation cannot be made because it would cause the employer undue hardship, such persons may not be eligible.
• CODES: 21/P21 - RKR/hw 3/19/94

Note

The definition and examples of work for this title are for illustrative purposes only. A particular position using this title may not perform all duties listed in this job specification. Conversely, all duties performed on the job may not be listed.

Thirty (30) additional semester hour credits beyond the Master's degree in psychology from an accredited college or university may be substituted for one (1) year of required experience or residency program which must be earned subsequent to the supervised full-time clinical internship.