Advanced Psychosocial Support Clinician

Deadline: 25 Jul 2025, 5:00 pm

ABOUT US

Arche Health is a not-for-profit, GP-member based organisation with a well-established history in providing quality primary healthcare services in metropolitan Perth. Arche Health delivers a range of services that aim to raise awareness and improve health outcomes of the community adding value to the local primary health care as the frontline of our health care system. Arche Health proudly boasts a consistent strength in delivering non-funded and funded services, including the highly successful lead agency for headspace Armadale, and headspace Cannington.

headspace is the National Youth Mental Health Foundation providing early intervention mental health services to 12–25-year-olds, along with assistance in promoting young people’s wellbeing. This covers four core areas: mental health, physical health, work and study support and alcohol and other drug services.

headspace Armadale provides a welcoming and positive team, centred around shared ideas, decision making and accountability. We work in consultation with a youth reference group, consortium and family and friends group with a strong focus on responsivity to community needs. 

To find out more about headspace visit http://headspace.org.au/

 

Advanced Psychosocial Support Clinician – 0.6 FTE 

THE ROLE

The Advanced Psychosocial Support Clinician is responsible for delivering evidence-based, community-focused suicide prevention activities within the headspace Centre. The role supports individuals at risk of suicide, including during critical transition periods (e.g., post-hospital discharge), and foster a collaborative and holistic approach to suicide intervention support. The CBSP worker will engage with the young person’s support network, including but not limited to, family, friends, caregivers, cultural groups, doctors and clinicians to foster a collaborative approach to suicide intervention support. The suicide intervention support outcomes will include best practice risk assessment, case and safety planning, brief intervention and referral with proactive assertive follow up. In consultation with the young person, case planning includes but is not limited to linking in with supports such as work and study, alcohol and other drug intervention and physical and sexual health counselling.

 

PRIMARY DUTIES

• Support Individuals: Provide support to young people and their support network particularly during transition to community care after hospital discharge or following presentation to community-based specialist or primary care services after a suicidality emerges.

• Risk Assessment, Safety and Case Planning: Undertake risk assessment, safety and case planning with young people and their support network, including the enhancement of support networks where required.  

• Brief Intervention: Providing brief intervention counselling to clients presenting with moderate suicidality risk.

• Community Engagement: Establish professional relationships with the community as an integral part of enhancing service provision.

• Facilitating Timely Access: Ensure all referrals for young people requiring support are seen preferably in person, or by telephone or telehealth within seven days of referral.  

• Provide Enhanced Engagement: Deliver accessible and flexible engagement including providing services in the community and other settings where practicable.

• Comprehensive Assessment: Undertake comprehensive assessment as recommended in the National Safety and Quality Mental Health Standards to determine severity of risk and complexity of need. To escalate acute risk to the appropriate service when required. Use best practice assessment tools including but not limited to the K10/5, SDQ and AOD screening. Utilising these assessments to inform case planning formulation.

• Engagement with Vocational and Recovery Support: Assist with connection to work and study initiatives support enhancement and recovery focused activities.

• Developing Partnerships and Referral Pathways: Support a community specific, multidisciplinary approach by developing and strengthening a variety of partnerships and referral pathways.

• Family and Support Network Capacity Building: Strengthen family and support network capacity to support to assist the young person’s recovery.

• Completing Referrals and Active Follow up: When referrals and transfers of service ensure there is active follow up in the handover of care to another service provider.

• Facilitating an Integrated Care Model: Participate in an integrated care model of practice which includes a ‘step up, and step down’ approach to referrals to ensure pathway connectivity.

• Monitoring, Evaluation and Data Integrity: Comply with data recording, monitoring and evaluation as required by Funding grantors and Arche health including supporting headspace data compliance through hAPI.   

 

SELECTION CRITERIA

Essential

• Tertiary level qualifications in Psychology, Social Work, Occupational Therapy, Mental health Nursing or Counselling.

• Current full registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Authority (AHPRA), AASW or ACA/PACFA with relevant level of registration (ACA Level 2+ or PACFA membership).

• Demonstrated experience in youth mental health and suicide prevention.

• Experience working with young people in complex psychosocial environments using person-centred, trauma-informed and culturally informed approaches.

• Knowledge of local community resources and referral pathways.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to work collaboratively in a multidisciplinary team.

Desirable

• Previous experience in community-based or outreach mental health roles.

• Post graduate qualifications in an area related to youth mental health.

Experience 

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in a mental health, youth, or community service setting.

• Experience in suicide risk assessment and intervention.

• Trauma-informed and culturally secure care practice.

• Demonstrated experience and advanced level clinical skills in a range of mental health service settings including acute care or crisis support.

• Experience in service development and maintaining continuous quality improvement. 

• Experience working with young people and knowledge of youth mental health issues.

Knowledge and Skills

• Proficiency in using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10 or K5) and/or the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for young people under 18 years old, as well as assessment of AOD-use issues.

• Ability to provide individual or group brief intervention sessions via office/centre-based settings (e.g., community centre), or video conferencing.

• Deliver clinically appropriate counselling modalities including but not limited to motivational interviewing, CBT, ACT, DBT, IPT, SFBT, Narrative Therapy, mindfulness-based interventions, family-based and group therapy interventions.      

• Excellent organisational and time management skills.

• Highly developed verbal and written communication skills.

• Exceptional interpersonal skills with the ability to work with a diverse range of people.

• Essential computer skills including word processing, spreadsheets, electronic recording systems and working with database applications.

• Ability to coordinate and maintain relationships with GPs, Local HSPs and various other stakeholders.

 

Apply now