13 full-time clinicians:
- LMHC – 6 years experience (been at the agency four years)
- LMHC – 3 years experience (formally employed in a different role within the institution)
- Psychiatrist – 10 years experience (been at the agency for 4 years part-time – mainly oversees the psychiatric nurse practitioner)
- Psychiatric nurse practitioner – 8 years experience (has been there for 3 years)
- Psychologist – PhD 15 years of experience (has been there for 10 years)
- Psychologist – PhD – 7 years of experience (been at the agency two years)
- Psychologist – PsyD – 4 years of experience (been at the agency 4 years, plus internship)
- Psychologist – PsyD – Was a former intern, now post-doc waiting for results on licensing exam
- Social Worker -LCSW 30 years experience (been at the agency 25 years)
- Social Worker – LCSW 17 years experience (been at the agency 12 years)
- Social Worker – LCSW 8 years experience (been at the agency for 7 years, plus internship)
- Social Worker – LCSW 8 years experience (been at the agency for 7 years plus internship)
- Social Worker – LSW 1.5 year of experience – another former intern working towards independent licensure
Interns:
- 3 Social Work Interns
- 3 Psychology Interns
The Psychiatric Nurse Prescriber is full-time at the school and sees 70 out of the 120 children at the school. She is overseen by the psychiatrist who is there only to supervise her.
The clinicians at the school, no matter the discipline, are responsible for the following tasks:
- Individual therapy with the child (weekly or several times a week)
- Family therapy with some or all of their families
- Case management both for the school-based team and the collateral contacts
- Group therapy
- Providing support to the various units within the school
- Those that are appropriately licensed are to provide supervision for interns on an individual and group basis
- More experienced social workers provide supervision for those who need it for licensure
- There is group supervision lead by the clinical director twice monthly
- There is group peer-supervision twice monthly
- Each clinician receives supervision with the clinical director weekly
In addition, psychologists perform psychological testing.
The clinical department, usually the rock of the program, has also begun to show signs of unhappiness, although no turnover, yet. The clinical department is fairly seasoned and cohesive, but the clinicians have been unhappy with little to no supervision by their director, the frequent absence of the director, and the lack of direction of the overall department, especially in light of increased caseloads and the increased intensity and acuity of the students and their families. Not to mention the decision by the administration that every family would now be offered family therapy (before it was on a case-by-case basis) the expectation is that every clinician will have sessions with all parents/guardians once a month. There has also been talking of instituting a fairly prescribed clinical intervention method with all clients, something most clinicians in the school are worried about. Furthermore, the constant turnover for staff is worrisome to both children (and triggering for some) and their families and outside providers. It has placed additional strain on the system for hiring and training new frontline employees and likely contributes to some of the behavioral outbursts of the children as the staff is less familiar with them, their plans, and specific idiosyncrasies. It has created an undue burden on the clinicians as they have to help bring the new staff up to speed, help to deescalate the children, work with upset parents, and often help the classroom team manage their own group dynamics.
The Clinical Director has been dealing with some ongoing and persistent family issues and has announced that they are leaving at the end of the current school year, but will remain on through the summer if a replacement has not been hired.
