Mental Health Clinician, Addictions

Are you passionate about empowering individuals to overcome challenges and achieve their potential? As a Mental Health Clinician, you'll have the unique opportunity to make a tangible difference in people's lives, forging connections as you guide them on their journey to mental wellness. This is a great opportunity for those seeking to expand their expertise within an interprofessional, collaborative academic hospital setting. Sinai Health’s Psychiatry Department offers an opportunity to provide direct patient care across a variety of clinical programs, utilizing therapeutic modalities such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Motivational Interviewing (MI) and mindfulness-based interventions.

This opportunity is within the Addictions program.

Is this you?

You are a highly empathetic and compassionate individual with a deep understanding of the complexities surrounding mental health. Your calm and engaging demeanor allows you to connect with patients from diverse backgrounds, building trust and fostering a safe space.

Do you believe in meeting individuals where they are at in their recovery journey, utilizing harm reduction principles to support positive change? Are you skilled at motivational interviewing and change management? This role allows you to provide compassionate, evidence-based, trauma-focused care, to those struggling with substance use disorders. It requires flexibility and adaptability to determine the best approach for a specific client relative to the clinical context.

You are a lifelong learner, committed to staying at the forefront of evidence-based practices and expanding your therapeutic toolkit. This role enables you to utilize a wide range of clinical skills, including intake/triage, individual and group therapies, and resource connection. In the field of mental health, innovations and new discoveries are ever-present, ensuring your work remains stimulating, purpose-driven, and constantly evolving to meet the needs of those you serve.

You value interprofessional collaboration and thrive in an environment where effective communication between members of the team (both internal and external) is key. You are organized, self-sufficient, and possess excellent time management skills, allowing you to navigate the demands of a dynamic health care setting.

About this team

Our addictions team supports and empowers patients experiencing the effects of substance use disorders serving both the Mount Sinai and Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital campuses. Applying a harm-reduction, trauma informed approach, we work with inpatients and outpatients to develop care plans that are tailored to meet individual needs. This includes the change process, where the patient is encouraged to take responsibility for the outcomes they seek to achieve. Services include harm reduction support/supplies, medication-assisted treatment for substance use including intramuscular injections, transition pain medication, counselling, community resources, and education and support for family members and loved ones.

In this role you will:

• Coordinate and provide clinical care for clients that facilitates and supports recovery for patients facing a broad range of mental health and addictions challenges in the Emergency Department, inpatient, outpatient and post-ED settings
• Triage, complete mental health assessments, formulate and develop treatment plans, provide resource navigation and psychosocial interventions with ongoing collaboration and communication with the inter-professional team and with the client’s social network and community circle of care
• Utilize and demonstrate a comprehensive theoretical knowledge base and clinical competence in caring for patients with substance use disorders and psychiatric illness
• Provide both individual and group treatments in various modalities in a supportive and culturally sensitive manner
• Develop linkages within Sinai Health and with non-hospital community services and organizations to enhance continuity of care for patients
• Adapt your approach to meet the demands and needs of constantly changing conditions, situations and people
• Promote and support a trauma-focused, equity-centred client care approach
• Contribute to program development, provide education and support to learners of all disciplines
• Participate in ongoing professional development activities, and engage in reciprocal relationships of learning with colleagues to stay current in the field. A focus will be on helping colleagues work with people who use drugs
• Provide care to inpatients through the addictions consultation service, Emergency Department and to outpatients through both drop-in clinic and booked appointments
• Perform other duties consistent with the job classification, as required

Job Requirements

Job Requirements:

Mandatory

• Successful completion of either a Bachelor of Nursing or a Master’s Degree in a health-related discipline (including Social Work, Occupational Therapy or Psychology)
• Current member in good standing with a relevant regulatory college: College of Nurses of Ontario, Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario, College of Psychologists and Behavioural Analysts of Ontario (authorized for autonomous practice), or College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (authorized for independent practice)
• 3 years relevant work experience in a mental health setting

Skills and Knowledge

• Thorough knowledge of substance abuse, cause and effects, evidence-based models of treatment intervention and their application to diverse populations, including; harm reduction principles, 12 step programs, addiction medicine and withdrawal management
• Ability to complete Addiction Medicine Assessments
• Knowledge of psychiatric disorders, crisis intervention skills, support for addiction issues, interventions for severe and persistent mental illness
• Excellent organizational, communication, time management and interpersonal skills, along with ability to work effectively as a team member in a dynamic, inter-professional environment
• Knowledge of the Ontario Mental Health Act, mental health reform principles, the Substitute Decisions Act, the Health Care Consent Act and PHIPA requirements
• Proactively able to identify opportunities for and make continuous process improvement to prevent harm and improve client outcomes
• Demonstrated decision making, problem recognition, problem solving skills, negotiation and conflict resolution skills
• Familiarity with therapeutic techniques targeting mood, anxiety, trauma, substance use and motivation for change through both individual and group modalities

If this sounds like you and you’re ready to build your career within mental health, apply now and let us know why you would be a great addition to our team.