Therapeutic Support Staff Job Description
Therapeutic support staff are healthcare professionals who provide one-on-one mental health services to at-risk patients. They commonly work with children and young adults who may be going through a difficult season in life. A therapeutic support staff member will work together with the young person’s teachers, parents, and mental health professionals to help them transition into a better life.
Employees in this role may perform a variety of tasks to help their patients. They might support the person emotionally, teach them alternative strategies for unhealthy behaviors, and encourage social interaction as well as participation in group activities. In this way, the therapeutic support staff member acts as a kind of mentor for a troubled person.
Therapeutic Support Staff Job Description Template
We are searching for a skilled therapeutic support staff member to join our team. In this role, you will be responsible for working directly with at-risk young people. It will be your job to identify their problem areas and to recommend behavioral changes and treatments that can help the young person live a better life.
The exact nature of your responsibilities will vary based on the needs of the patient. For example, you may need to recommend social activities and group outings to individuals who are anti-social. You may also need to help the patient with anger management and to instruct them on appropriate behaviors they can begin utilizing to replace inappropriate ones.
To do well in this role, you will need to have a good understanding of the best treatment options for young people who are struggling to live healthy, happy lives. You should also be capable of connecting with children and adolescents from various backgrounds.
Therapeutic Support Staff Responsibilities:
- Identify the unique problems facing each of your patients
- Come up with targeted solutions that help a patient move away from their most problematic behaviors
- Refer a client to other mental healthcare professionals as needed
- Recommend socializing activities to clients who are anti-social
- Track the progress of patients and make adjustments to the care provided as necessary
Therapeutic Support Staff Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree in social work, psychology, or a related field
- Previous experience in working directly with young patients is preferred
- All state and federal licenses required to practice
- Ability to connect with young people from various backgrounds
- Strong communication skills
- Knowledge of the best treatments for patients who are struggling with a variety of different issues
Therapeutic Support Staff FAQ
What tasks does a therapeutic support staff member do?
A therapeutic support staff member helps at-risk children and adolescents replace problem behaviors with healthier alternatives. They need to identify the specific issues that are facing a young person and then create targeted support designed to help the individual live a healthier, happier life. This job also involves liaising with other mental healthcare professionals and making referrals as necessary.
What should I include in my therapeutic support staff help-wanted ads?
We recommend that you use the same general outline that we’ve shown above. That means starting with a general description of the job before getting more specific. It’s important that you start with the information that you believe your applicants will be the most interested in before bogging them down with excessive details. Following what we’ve written above will allow you to do that.
Can I use your therapeutic support staff job description template?
Yes, feel free to use our job description templates however you see fit. Just make sure that you’re adding any information about your position that we haven’t captured here. Doing so is an important part of appealing to as many qualified applicants as possible.