Athletics Therapist

Department: Counseling & Psych Serv
Salary/Grade: EXS/11

Department Overview:

Counseling and Psychology Services (CAPS) is a unit within the Division of Student Affairs at Northwestern University (NU) and is highly utilized by students and other campus community members seeking consultation. CAPS has offices on both the Evanston and Chicago campuses. NU has a total student population of approximately 21,000 students across both campuses, with approximately 18,500 of these students attending classes in the Evanston campus. The Chicago office primarily serves graduate and professional students while Evanston office serves both undergraduate and graduate students. In addition to our clinical services, CAPS reaches over 10,000 NU community members through outreach and educational programming on both campuses. CAPS also has a training program, including an APA-accredited Doctoral Internship in Psychology and a Post-Doctoral Fellowship. CAPS is a learning organization, in that our strategic planning, priority setting, clinical services, and professional development are informed by local data collection as well as benchmarking with national trends and peer institutions.

Department Website: http://www.northwestern.edu/counseling/index.html

Job Summary:

Full-time, 12-month, Athletics Staff Therapist functioning as a Sport Psychologist (Ph.D./Psy.D.) or Athletic Counselor (LCPC, LCSW) position in Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) reporting to the Director of Sport Psychology Services on the Evanston campus. Located at the Sport Psychology office in Walter Athletics Center, this individual conducts initial assessments, brief- and long-term individual psychotherapy, crisis intervention, clinical consultation, mental health educational programming, and individual- and team-related mental performance interventions with Northwestern's 500+ varsity student-athletes, 19 varsity teams, coaches, administrators, and support staff. This individual serves as the point person for mental health and mental performance services for a select number of teams (e.g., 5-6 teams), alongside sports medicine and sports science professionals serving as part of a High Performance Team (HPT). The individual will provide team consultation as needed for their assigned teams, including meeting with coaches to assess the team's well-being and performance needs and educating student-athletes about psychological skills that enhance well-being and performance. Although student-athletes are the focus for this position, this individual provides services to the general Northwestern student population including after-hours crisis intervention and consultation. This position also participates as a member of the training program, with an emphasis on the selection process and provision of clinical supervision for the Sport Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship program.

CAPS is currently seeking qualified candidates with demonstrated experience and expertise serving student-athletes who come from a wide range of different backgrounds in order to champion the development of programs and services designed to meet their unique needs and by advocating for systemic changes to improve mental health and wellness.

This position requires some evening hours and occasional weekend duties. After hours on-call duties typically include 2-3 evenings and up to one weekend of on-call duties per quarter. Sport Psychology staff also frequently attend home competitions and other outreach events for student-athletes on evenings and weekends. This position currently offers some remote work options (1 day per week).

Pay Range: The salary range for the Athletics Therapist position is $106,000-115,000 depending on experience, skills, and internal equity.

Principal Accountabilities:

Clinical Services 65%

1. Provides culturally grounded services including brief and long-term individual psychotherapy, mental performance consultation, crisis intervention, case management, and initial assessment for Northwestern student-athletes (in-person and telemental health).
2. Consults with psychiatrists in conjunction with prescribing and monitoring psychotropic medication for psychotherapy clients.
3. Consults with Sports Medicine staff, Athletics Department personnel, parents, faculty, academic deans, residence life staff, off-campus counseling services, other campus offices and students, when appropriate, and with appropriate authorization to provide quality care to student-athletes.
4. Maintains timely clinical records of therapeutic and other client contacts.
5. Assumes after-hours on call responsibilities.
6. Makes referrals to off-campus clinical services when appropriate.

Community-Based Intervention Programming 25%

1. Provide mental performance consultation to varsity athletic teams and coaches.
2. Attend occasional practices and/or home competitions for assigned teams.
3. Participate on High-Performance Teams (HPT) for assigned varsity teams with other health care and sports science professionals to provide student-athletes with the optimal environment for health, wellness, safety, and performance excellence through best practices, evidence-based strategies, and multidisciplinary collaboration.
4. Conduct community-based intervention programming as requested to the campus community, including mental health programming for student-athletes and Athletics staff, orientation sessions for new students and parents, informal support spaces, and emergency support services.
5. Develop and maintain supportive relationships with campus partners.

Training 5%

1. May provide clinical supervision (including face-to-face case review, review of progress notes, and supervisory feedback) to the Sport Psychology Postdoctoral Fellow.
2. Provides consultation to CAPS trainee(s), as needed.
3. May provide training to CAPS trainees about a variety of clinical topics in consultation with the Associate Director for Training.
4. Provide crisis management consultation and supervision to trainees, as requested.

Other Duties 5%

1. Participate in regular staff meetings, case conferences, and/or in-service training associated with Sport Psychology Services, CAPS, Northwestern Athletic Medicine and Performance, and Northwestern University Department of Athletics and Recreation.
2. Participate in Student Affairs and other university committees, as assigned by the Director of Sport Psychology Services and/or CAPS Executive Director.
3. Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

Education and Experience:

• Hold a completed Master's degree in Social Work, Counseling, or related field from an accredited program or doctoral level degree (Ph.D. or Psy.D.) in clinical or counseling psychology from an APA accredited program.
• 1-3 years post-graduate clinical experience in providing mental health services to college student-athletes or serving as a primary mental health provider/consultant to a collegiate athletic department (applicants currently in engaged in a post-graduate training fellowship are encouraged to apply).
• For psychologists, eligible for licensure in the State of Illinois as a Licensed Clinical Psychologist as demonstrated by a passing score on the EPPP and/or holding a current license as a psychologist in another state. Illinois license must be obtained no later than 12 months after hire date.
• For professional counselors and clinical social workers, currently licensed or eligible to be licensed as an independent mental health provider (e.g., licensed clinical professional counselor or licensed clinical social worker) by the State of Illinois (i.e., at time of application, must have completed all licensure requirements including successfully passing any examinations and completing any clinical supervision hours required for licensure by the State of Illinois). Illinois license must be obtained no later than 12 months after hire date.

Competencies:

• Demonstrate strong culturally appropriate clinical skills and a well-integrated understanding of brief and long-term psychotherapy, crisis intervention, consultation with other health care providers, and outreach programming.
• Knowledge and experience in providing mental health and performance psychology services to athletes.
• Experience consulting with sports medicine professionals, coaches, and other athletics staff.
• Demonstrate comfort and skill with using basic computer software (such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook as well as other Windows based programs).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Currently licensed in the State of Illinois as a Clinical Psychologist, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, or Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
• Demonstrated experience and expertise serving student-athletes from a wide range of backgrounds.
• Credentialed as a Certified Mental Performance Consultant.
• Experience partnering effectively and collegially on an inter-disciplinary team in a university counseling center or other mental health agency.
• Knowledge and experience in providing performance psychology services to athletic teams.
• Demonstrates knowledge and experience in working with athletes with eating, substance use, and/or trauma-related concerns.
• Demonstrates commitment to co-create a community that fosters a sense of belonging, and actively participate in related professional development, including openness to feedback and ongoing self-examination.
• Strong creativity and problem-solving skills.

Benefits: At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans, retirement benefits, tuition discounts and more! Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html to learn more.

Work-Life and Wellness: Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life's challenges and opportunities and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles. We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/work-life/index.html to learn more.

Professional Growth and Development: Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you're interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/learning/index.html to learn more.

Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected characteristics, including disability and veteran status. View Northwestern's non-discrimination statement. Job applicants who wish to request an accommodation in the application or hiring process should contact the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance. View additional information on the accommodations process.