Community Partner Therapist (Bilingual)

Job description

Community Partner (Contractor) Mental Health Therapist Job Description Job Title: Contractor Therapist Program Department: OMHC Department Job Type: Contractor Report To: Clinical Supervisor Location: Hybrid; Langley Park Service Center (2 days on site required, Telehealth, Office, Home and/or Community) **Requirement: minimum caseload of 12 active clients weekly** Position Summary Synergy Family Services is seeking a skilled, responsive, and growth-oriented Outpatient Mental Health Therapist to provide high-quality therapy within our community-based OMHC program. This role is designed for a clinician who understands that excellent care includes both what happens in session and the consistent work surrounding it: engagement, treatment planning, documentation, care coordination, timely communication, and follow-through. The Community Partner Therapist manages an assigned caseload, provides individual and family therapy, monitors whether clients are receiving services at the frequency identified through intake and treatment planning, and works collaboratively across Synergy programs. The successful candidate is clinically grounded, comfortable learning technology, accountable to deadlines, open to supervision and feedback, and motivated to continually strengthen their practice. What It Means to Be a Clinician at Synergy To clients: Provide consistent, responsive, person-centered care, build a strong therapeutic relationship, honor client preferences and treatment goals, and respond appropriately when safety, engagement, or care needs change. To the workplace: Be dependable, communicative, organized, and accountable. Learn and use agency technology, complete quality documentation on time, respond to requests, and follow through on commitments that affect clients and colleagues. To the profession: Remain curious and coachable. Participate in supervision, training, feedback, and continuing education to strengthen clinical judgment, therapeutic skill, cultural responsiveness, and ethical practice. Core Clinical Responsibilities Provide individual and family therapy using evidence-based, trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and person-centered approaches. Assess client needs, strengths, risks, diagnoses, functioning, and progress, and translate findings into measurable treatment goals and clinically appropriate interventions. Maintain continuity of care by providing sessions at the frequency established through intake, clinical need, and the treatment plan—such as twice weekly, weekly, every other week, or monthly. Monitor attendance and engagement. When a client is not being seen at the expected frequency, promptly conduct and document outreach, identify barriers, collaborate with the treatment team, and follow agency re-engagement, transfer, or discharge procedures. Coordinate care with supervisors and relevant internal or external partners, including Psychiatry, PRP, case management, interpreters/Family Support Workers, schools, probation officers, medical providers, and community resources. The therapist is required to provide on-site services at the designated community partner location at least two days per week. Include parents, guardians, or family members when clinically appropriate and consistent with client consent, treatment goals, and agency family-session policy. Recognize and respond to safety concerns, complete required risk assessments, safety plans, incident documentation, consultation, and escalation within established timeframes. Support access to appropriate psychiatric, rehabilitative, case-management, and community resources when additional services are indicated. Documentation, Technology & Workplace Accountability Learn and use Credible and other required agency systems for scheduling, service documentation, communication, reporting, and workflow completion. Schedule services accurately, maintain an up-to-date calendar, and complete required check-in/check-out and signer workflows. Complete clear, accurate, individualized, and clinically defensible documentation. Progress notes and GAP notes are due within three days of the service, cancellation, reschedule, or no-show. Complete treatment plans, transition summaries, reassessments, outcome measures, referral reviews, PRP referrals/reauthorizations, collaboration notes, transfers, discharge documentation, consents, and other assigned records within agency deadlines. Correct returned documentation within three business days or the timeframe communicated by the supervisor or management. Document clinically relevant calls, texts, emails, collateral contacts, outreach, barriers, and care-coordination activity in the client record. Respond to agency email, telephone calls, and messages within one business day and communicate early when support or clarification is needed to meet a deadline. Protect client privacy and comply with HIPAA, professional ethics, payer requirements, licensure standards, and Synergy policies and procedures. Learning & Professional Development Participate meaningfully in clinical supervision and bring cases, questions, documentation needs, ethical concerns, and skill-development goals forward for consultation. Complete required onboarding, systems training, policy training, and knowledge checks by assigned deadlines. Receive and apply feedback from supervision, quality review, and performance monitoring; demonstrate measurable improvement when coaching or corrective guidance is provided. Maintain all required licensure, continuing education, background checks, and human-resources or contracting documentation. Independent Contractor Expectations Maintain a minimum caseload of fifteen active clients and a maximum of 12 client sessions per week and communicate current capacity and availability for referrals. At least two days must be on site at Langly Park Multi-Service Center Arrange services within the availability accepted by the contractor and the scheduling needs of assigned clients, while maintaining the agreed frequency of care and continuity of services. The contractor must be on-site at the designated community partner location at least two days per week. Submit accurate invoices for eligible completed services and required compensated activities in accordance with the contractor agreement and invoice schedule. Documentation must be complete and services checked out before approval. Promptly communicate anticipated absences, capacity changes, transfer needs, or other circumstances that may interrupt client care. Complete required agency onboarding, compliance training, and case-related coordination as outlined in the contractor agreement. Independent Contractor Arrangement This is a 1099 independent contractor opportunity and does not include employee benefits. Compensation is based on eligible services and other compensated activities identified in the contractor agreement and current rate schedule. Contractors are responsible for maintaining the professional credentials and other requirements applicable to their independent practice and engagement with Synergy. Required Qualifications Master’s degree in social work, counseling, psychology, marriage and family therapy, or another related behavioral-health field from an accredited program. Active Maryland license appropriate to the services provided, such as LMSW, LCSW, LCSW-C, LGPC, LCPC, LAMFT, or LMFT. Knowledge of ethical, trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and person-centered behavioral-health practice. Ability to assess and respond to clinical risk, maintain professional boundaries, protect confidentiality, and seek consultation appropriately. Reliable access to the technology and communication methods necessary to perform the role and the ability to become proficient in an electronic health record system. Bilingual proficiency in English and Spanish needed by the community served is required. Preferred Qualifications One or more years of direct mental-health counseling or psychotherapy experience. Experience in an outpatient, private practice, community-based, school-based, or Medicaid-funded behavioral-health setting. Experience providing therapy to children, adolescents, adults, and/or families with diverse clinical presentations and cultural backgrounds. Training or demonstrated skill in one or more evidence-based therapeutic approaches. Bilingual capability is required; multilingual capability is welcomed and valued.