Youth and Family Therapist

Children's Mental Health Ontario; Scarborough; On-site; GBP 40,000 - GBP 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A youth support organization is seeking a Youth and Family Therapist for their Live-In Treatment Home, focusing on youth mental health and emotional wellness. This permanent full-time position requires providing high-quality psychotherapy, developing treatment plans, and collaborating with care teams. Candidates need a Master's degree in a therapy-related field and experience in trauma-informed care. The role emphasizes equity and working with diverse populations. Starting salary is $65,914, with opportunities for professional growth.

Benefits

Competitive pay

Health & dental coverage

Annual vacation with pay

Authorized absence days for emergencies

Maternity/parental leave top-up payments

Qualifications

• Must have a minimum of 2 years post-masters experience in trauma-informed psychotherapy.
• Experience in facilitating group therapy and psych-educational sessions required.
• Knowledge of family systems and attachment theory important.

Responsibilities

• Provide high-quality individual, family, and group psychotherapy services.
• Develop and implement therapy curriculum for various age groups.
• Collaborate with care teams for treatment planning and assessments.

Skills

Trauma-informed care

Group therapy facilitation

Crisis management

Culturally safe support

Bilingual or multilingual

Education

Master’s degree in a therapy/psychotherapy related field

Licensure in a regulated health college

Job description

Overview

YouthLink believes in the potential of every youth. We are dedicated to providing them with the support, guidance and opportunities they need to make positive life choices. We provide youth with brief and ongoing counselling, in-home wraparound support, shelter, housing, educational support, and safe drop-in spaces. YouthLink works towards equitable outcomes for youth in our community and, as such, is committed to equity-based hiring practices.

We welcome applications from candidates who reflect the communities we serve, particularly candidates from Black communities, Indigenous communities, and racialized people, persons with disabilities, members of diverse gender identities and people with lived experiences. We are seeking candidates who demonstrably operate and practice from an equity and trauma-informed lens. We encourage applications from passionate professionals who will help us dismantle systemic barriers and will embrace working outside of Euro-centric practices.

YouthLink Benefits are Top of Class!

• Competitive pay
• Health & dental coverage for you and your family with 100% premium cost paid by employer.
• Annual vacation with pay at 1.66 working days for each calendar month to a maximum of 20 working days per year.
• 5 ‘authorized absence’ days for family illness or emergency circumstances that prohibit employees from reporting to work.
• 3 paid agency days every calendar year after 3 calendar months’ service.
• Maternity / parental /adoption leave top-up payments (to top-up Canadian government unemployment benefit payments).
• 100% premium cost for long-term disability coverage paid by employee.
• Eligibility to participate in pension plan after 2 years of continuous service with generous matching contribution from employer.

Youth and Family Therapist – Live-in Treatment (LIT)

(Permanent Full-time, 35 hours/week)

Bargaining Unit Position

This position is responsible for providing high quality individual, family and group psychotherapy services for YouthLink’s Live-In Treatment (LIT) Home. Constance House is open to youth aged 14–17 who identify as female, including those who are cis-gendered, gender-fluid, non-binary, or transitioning. The program is for young people who would benefit from intensive live-in treatment looking to address their mental health and emotional wellness.

Reporting to the LIT Manager for day-to-day operations at LIT, and the Senior Clinical Manager(s) for Clinical Supervision, this position develops and implements group therapy curriculum, maintaining confidential and accurate client records for all psychotherapy interactions in the electronic health record (EHR). Attachment and family-focused models of intervention, as well as integrating lenses that are healing-centered, trauma-informed, and prioritize equity, anti-racism, and inclusion are expected.

A flexible work schedule and approach is required to ensure service accessibility. The position assumes responsibility of a caseload primarily from the LIT program, though may support other clinical services as needed (delivered across sites), generating a minimum of 15 attended individual, family and/or group sessions and 17.5 direct client contact hours per week. Based in Scarborough, the successful candidate must be deeply competent in, and committed to, promoting equity and Black excellence in everything YouthLink does.

Your Role

Assessment & Treatment Planning

• Establishes and builds rapport through routine contact to initiate the facilitation of a therapeutic alliance and space.
• Ensures informed consent is received prior to proceeding with assessment and/or external communications; utilizes PHIPA to guide the process.
• Completes a Bio/Psycho/Social/Spiritual Assessment including intergenerational content to formalize case conceptualization.
• Determines appropriate assessment tools to administer to enhance the assessment formulation; risk assessment and safety planning as required.
• Administers, interprets and delivers results of appropriate, specialized, standardized clinical assessments and utilizes this information to enhance the LIT Plan of Care.
• Delivers professional recommendations for level of care and life areas for improvement to LIT team, clients and family members, where appropriate.
• Engages collaboratively with care team, youth and families to create Treatment Plans that enhance LIT Plan of Care, representing therapeutic goals and assessment recommendations.

Individual, Group & Family Therapy

• Creates an atmosphere that allows for client intrapsychic change; supporting clients in attaining goals and a higher quality of life.
• Provides psychotherapeutic and case management/coordination service, informed by a trauma lens, attachment, and family systems theories, as well as an anti-oppression, anti-racism and equity framework.
• Provides clinical services throughout YouthLink’s continuum of care, engaging youth and families in multiple levels of care as part of treatment planning, both internally and externally, to improve individual and family functioning.
• Develops and delivers psychotherapy interventions appropriate for client’s presenting issues.
• Researches and prepares appropriate documents and other resources for clients and the LIT team.
• De-escalates individual, family and group situations as it relates to psychotherapy.
• Directs and implements safety planning for new LIT clients and both suicidal and homicidal outpatient clients.
• Reports to the appropriate person or body any incidents that may jeopardize client, staff or community safety.
• Develops professionally through individual clinical supervision having an isomorphic impact on the client.
• Develops and delivers group psychoeducation and group therapy, for youth and caregivers with similar presenting issues.
• Understands the importance of outcome measures; delivering reliable measures in the process of individual, group and family psychotherapy.
• Provides flexible services that ensure accessibility for youth and families, including evening sessions on at least two evenings per week.
• Takes all necessary precautions to ensure client confidentiality and privacy.

Report Writing and Documentation

• Formulates timely, standardized, succinct, Clinical Reports at the time of Assessment, Treatment Review and End of Service; these reports enhance the LIT Plans of Care for clients who are at LIT.
• Actively participates in, creates, documents and regularly reviews safety plans/risk assessments.
• Prepares Ministry of Health Serious Occurrence reports and internal incident reports, when appropriate.
• Records accurate clinical notes contemporaneously.
• Takes all necessary precautions to ensure client confidentiality and privacy.

Health Record Management

• Maintains records and reports as required by Ministry guidelines, Accreditation and YouthLink policies and procedures.
• Ensures clear, accurate and consistent client file management, including maintaining electronic document filing and physical records.
• Opens and closes clinical files according to best practice.
• Supports data collection and program evaluation by maintaining complete and consistent records.
• Takes all necessary precautions to ensure client confidentiality and privacy.

Meetings, Committees and Collaborative Networking

• Collaborates with the LIT and Clinical team to deliver programs across the continuum of care, contributing to onboarding of new counsellors/therapists in program processes.
• Incorporates an intersectional lens that includes all community members promoting diversity and equity into practice.
• Participates in Community initiatives and engagements.
• Attends and participates in team meetings and internal committees, providing the clinical lens and recommendations to the LIT team for day-to day interactions.
• Collaborates across organizational boundaries to achieve common goals.
• Develops professionally through group supervision, team meetings, case consultations, clinical rounds, community of practice, internal and external training events.
• Contributes to the Agency’s Strategic Plan by participating in initiatives and committees to support the overall plan.
• Takes all reasonable and necessary precautions to protect own health and safety and that of co-workers by complying and demonstrating knowledge of the policies, procedures and safe practices established by YouthLink.

Other duties as assigned.

What You Bring

Education and Training:

• Master’s degree in a therapy/psychotherapy related field.
• Licensure/registration in a regulated health college which permits the delivery of the Act of Psychotherapy.
• Associate or Clinical Membership with the Canadian Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (CAMFT) or Ontario Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (OAMFT) is an asset.
• Coursework focused on family systems and attachment theory, along with relevant training, is considered a strong asset.
• Strong familiarity with, and practical experience using, the ARC framework is considered an asset
• Coursework that demonstrates the ability to provide clinical supervision to Master’s Level students engaged in practicum or internship for psychotherapy is an asset.
• ASSIST Certification is an asset.

Experience:

• Minimum of (2) years post masters experience providing healing-centered engagement practices, trauma-informed individual psychotherapy to youth and/or adults.
• Minimum of (2) years post masters experience facilitating psych-educational and group therapy.
• Experience working in a Live-In Treatment setting is preferred.
• Experience providing service to youth and their families through complex mental health challenges, crisis management and safety planning.
• Experience with attachment and developmental approaches in working with youth and families.
• Experience with substance use/harm reduction theory and practice as applied to youth and families.
• Expertise working with 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and their families.
• Experience supporting BIPOC communities and working with youth and families from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds; providing high quality, culturally safe, anti-racist support.
• Experience working in a Children’s Mental Health setting is an asset.
• Expertise in group curriculum development is an asset.
• Experience providing family therapy from a systemic framework is preferred.
• Experience providing clinical supervision to Master’s Level students engaged in practicum or internship is an asset.
• Bilingual or multilingual is an asset
• Prior involvement in anti-oppressive and anti-Black Racism initiatives or EDI program development is an asset.

Additional Requirements:

• Must be able to obtain a Broad Record Police Check.
• Medical clearances including up to date vaccinations and tuberculosis testing.

Full job description available here: https://youthlink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/JD-Youth-and-Family-Therapist-LIT-Feb-2026.pdf

Work Conditions:

• This position requires evening hours of at least 2 evenings per week with individual and family sessions ending at 8:00 pm. There are some risks involved in this position such as crisis management.
• Time will be primarily spent at the Live-In Treatment Home, though travel to other YouthLink or community locations will be required.
• Minimal travelling required.

Salary: Starting $65,914.

How to Apply

· Submit application to [e-mail] -Please quote posting #1529 in the subject line.

As an organization committed to equity and justice in our community, we believe lived experience and knowledge of equity, diversity, belonging and anti-Black racism is a critical component in our recruitment process. If you have a disability and require accessibility accommodations with the application process, please contact [e-mail].
· Application Deadline: Open Until Filled.