FFT Therapist - The Atlas Project

About the Role

ATLAS, an initiative of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety in partnership with United Way of NYC, aims to reduce community and interpersonal violence by engaging people in a change process that nurtures hope and strengthens relationships.

Atlas meets people at times of crisis, such as an interpersonal or family conflict, a recent arrest, or a recent court case and connects them to free community-based therapeutic programming.

The therapeutic approaches offered through Atlas are evidence-informed, meaning they have strong evidence of effectiveness in promoting personal change and preventing future involvement in violence or incarceration.

The approaches are culturally competent, trauma-informed, and deeply respectful of the strength, wisdom, and personal agency that resides in people.

Atlas seeks to enhance peace and prevent violence in New York City through transformative investments in families, community-based organizations, and in the systems meant to maintain accountability and public safety.

We recognize the impact “systems” have on the lives of marginalized persons; keeping them in a cycle of involvement that impacts their freedom, self-efficacy, and dignity. Atlas is an investment in the agency and self-reliance of people affected by system involvement and in the community partners that serve them.

Through our work, we are committed to building on people’s strength and agency, and transforming government from enforcement and coercion to avoiding harm and ensuring that we approach people with transparency about racial trauma, economic disparities, the impact of poverty on experiences and behaviors, and social justice as factors that contribute to their true and perceived success.

The FFT Therapist provides FFT (Functional Family Therapy) virtually, to a maximum of 10 voluntarily participating families at a time who reside in NYC. The target population of young adults (16-25 years old), who are referred to us after an arrest.

Rising Ground is participating in a pilot program to offer FFT to families and young people who might otherwise find themselves incarcerated without this alternative. FFT is an evidence-based model which is home-based, intensive, family therapy.

The FFT Therapist participates in all FFT training and consultation activities, and program reviews.

In addition to providing Family Therapy, the FFT Therapist will collaborate with other service providers, including but not limited to the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) and New York City Criminal Justice Agency (CJA).

The FFT Therapist is required to complete all FFT documentation requirements, including meeting appropriate therapeutic and engagement requirements and assessing for family safety and risk

What You’ll Do

• Provide community-based clinical treatment with adherence to the Functional Family Therapy (FFT) model.
• Participate in engagement efforts for referred families.
• Conduct assessment including review of referral information, identifying and engaging key participants, identifying systemic strengths and weaknesses, and developing an analysis of the fit problem behaviors within the ecological context.
• Engage youth, primary caregiver, and other key participants in active change-oriented treatment by identifying and overcoming barriers to engagement.
• Implement a problem conceptualization, treatment planning, intervention implementation, outcome review and strategy revision procedure using the FFT model’s Analytic Process.
• Maintain clear and concise documentation of treatment efforts that promote peer and supervisory review and feedback, and that demonstrate compliance with FFT model Analytic Process. Complete all progress notes, opening and closing of cases and any other reporting/case management requirements in a timely and accurate fashion. When required, submit progress reports to the court or other stakeholders.
• Collaborate with all relevant systems and key participants within each system to ensure their buy-in and cooperation throughout treatment. This could include regular meetings and reports to stakeholders.
• Participate in all agency and FFT model program training, individual supervision and group consultation activities.

Your Qualifications

• Ideal candidate must have a passion and an active drive to dismantle current systems of oppression that have historically caused harm within NYC’s communities of color.
• A master’s degree in social work, or another field in which community, mental health, public health and sociology are at the core of the program, is preferred.
• Some experience in a clinical setting preferred.
• Competency in serving LGBTQIA+ identities is strongly preferred.
• Ability to make connections between the experiences of our families and the impact of systemic oppression.
• Commitment to a strengths-based perspective and helping families identify and access their internal and external resources as a path to growth and change.
• Strong interpersonal skills; an ability to connect with, support, and understand others.
• Ability to set appropriate boundaries and limits for best practice.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Supervisory Responsibility

No

Work Environment

All Rising Ground employees are on a Remote Work Schedule: 3 days in the office, 2 days work remotely (see Agency policy on remote work)

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work

Full time position, scheduled appropriate to the needs of client and families. This position calls for a thirty-five (35) hour work week, but more than 35 hours per week may from time to time be required. Primary work location is 317 Lenox Ave Manhattan NY 10027

Additional Requirements

• Authorized to work in the U.S.
• Ability to work in-person in New York City (NY) for at least 3 days or more per week.
• Ability to travel to other Rising Ground sites (if required)
• Ability to travel to various locations, including home-based clinical treatments. Work-related travel expenses will be reimbursed by agency.

Benefits Offerings Includes

11 Paid Holidays

Paid Sick Time

Paid Vacation

Paid Personal days

Insurance Coverage

Medical - 3 plan options

Dental - 2 plan options

Vision - 1 plan option

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

It is the policy of Rising Ground that the Agency wholly complies with equal treatment of all

employees and applicants for employment without unlawful discrimination as to an individual’s

perceived or actual race, creed, color, national origin, alienate, citizenship status, gender, age, disability, marital status, partnership status, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, or

veteran status in all employment decisions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring,

compensation, training and apprenticeship, promotion, upgrading, demotion, downgrading, transfer, layoff and termination and all other terms and conditions of employment.