Mental Health Therapist #63888

Information on the Mental Health Therapist #63888 position

Vacancy

Eligible List may be used to fill vacancies which may occur within the Cattaraugus County Department of Community Services, Olean, NY.

Fee Required:

The State Civil Service Law requires our office to collect a processing fee from each applicant. The amount of the fee is ten dollars ($10.00) per applicant for Each examination applied for, payable at the time of filing of the application form, by check (personal or certified) or money order, payable to the “Cattaraugus County Treasurer”. Cash Will Not Be Accepted. Applicants whose personal checks are returned for insufficient funds will not be considered as candidates. Applicants must record the Examination Number(s) and Title(s) on their checks. Refunds of fees will not be issued to applicants who are disqualified for not meeting the minimum qualifications for admittance to the examination or who do not appear for testing on the scheduled test date. Therefore, Do Not Apply for an examination if you are not sure that you meet the minimum qualifications. Application Fees shall be waived for candidates that are unemployed and primarily responsible for the support of a household or are receiving public assistance. Please contact this office for an Application Fee Waiver Request and Certification Form.

Residency:

Preference in appointment may be given to successful candidates who have been, at the time of examination and for at least one month prior thereto, a resident of the of the jurisdiction in which the vacancy exists.

Duties:

The work involves the use of counseling and therapeutic techniques in helping patients with social, emotional and related difficulties associated with their disability. The work is performed within prescribed routines in assisting the patient to adjust to his/her environment. The work is performed under the direction and in periodic consultation with a Supervising Social Worker. A Mental Health Therapist does related work as required.

Minimum Qualifications:

Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a Bachelor’s Degree and either:

1. A Master’s degree in Social Work from a graduate school of social work approved by the New York State Department of Education; OR
2. A Master’s degree from an accredited program in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, community counseling, school psychology or psychiatric nursing, which must have included a supervised clinical field experience/practicum as a requirement of the degree program; OR
3. A Master’s degree in psychology or psychiatric nursing from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university and at least five (5) months of clinical counseling experience in a setting where psychiatric, psychological or medical supervision or consultation regarding the patient is provided to the employee rendering therapeutic services, through regular structured sessions using a treatment plan whose goal is to modify attitudes and behavior which stem from diagnosed mental health conditions; OR
4. A current registration and license to practice as a Registered Professional Nurse in New York State and possession of a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing and four (4) years of clinical counseling experience using a treatment plan whose goal is to modify attitudes and behavior which stem from diagnosed mental health conditions.

Note: Applicants who will complete educational requirements by May 31, 2010, will be permitted to take the examination but will not be eligible for permanent appointment unless proof of fulfilling the education requirements has been furnished to this office prior to the establishment of the eligible list.

Subject of Examination:

A written test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas:

1. Characteristics and problems of individuals with mental illness - These questions test for knowledge and understanding of the symptoms, causes, characteristics, and treatment approaches associated with mental illness.
2. Developing & implementing treatment in a social work program - These questions test for knowledge, understanding, and ability to apply social work concepts, theories, principles, and practices in a mental hygiene program which provides services to clients who have various mental hygiene conditions such as mental illness, developmental disabilities or addiction. Questions may cover such topics as assessment, development, and implementation of treatment; coordination of treatment; evaluation of treatment; coordination of services; social work standards; roles of treatment team members; individual, family, and group counseling; community services; behavior management; crisis intervention; and patient/client advocacy.
3. Individual and group counseling - These questions test for knowledge and understanding of the principles and practices of individual and group counseling. Questions may cover such topics as establishing, maintaining, and terminating client/counselor relationships; organizing and facilitating group counseling; recognizing, interpreting, and responding to individual and group behaviors; and assessing the effectiveness of counseling.
4. Preparing written material - These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.

Candidates are permitted to use quiet, hand-held, solar or battery powered calculators. Devices with typewriter keyboards, spell checkers, personal digital assistants, address books, language translators, dictionaries or any similar devices are prohibited.

PARTICIPATION IN MULTIPLE EXAMINATIONS: If you have applied for any other civil service examination to be given on the same test date for employment with New York State or any other local government jurisdiction excluding New York City, you must make arrangements to take all the examination at one test site.

If you have applied for both State and local government examinations, you must make arrangements to take all your examinations at the State examination center by calling (518) 474-6470 in the Albany area or toll free at 1-877-697-5627 (press 2, then press 1), no later than two weeks before the test date. If you have applied for another local government examination with another local civil service agency, call or write each civil service agency to make arrangements. You must make your request for test arrangements no later than two weeks before the date of the examinations. You must notify all government civil service agencies with whom you have filed an application of the test site at which you wish to take your examination.

SATURDAY SABBATH OBSERVERS - HANDICAPPED PERSONS: If special arrangements for testing are required, please indicate this on your application(s).

CANDIDATES PLEASE NOTE: Your application for this test is part of the examination process. Applications must be completely filled out with all pertinent information stated. The Commission does not refer to other applications on file for additional information. Applications which do not show training and/or experience to meet the minimum qualifications will be disapproved. Vagueness and ambiguity will not be resolved in your favor.

VETERANS: Disabled and non-disabled war veterans who are eligible for additional credits must submit an application for veterans' credits. Candidates who wish to claim veterans' credits on an examination should request an application and information sheet from the Cattaraugus County Civil Service Commission. Veterans' application forms will also be available upon request at the examination center. The completed forms must be received before the eligible list for the examination is established in order to utilize additional credits. Effective January 1, 1998, the State Constitution was amended to permit a candidate currently in the armed forces to apply for and be conditionally granted veteran's credit in examinations. Any candidate who applies for such credit must provide proof of military status to receive the conditional credit. No credit may be granted after the establishment of the list. It is the responsibility of the candidate to provide appropriate documentary proof indicating that the service was in time of war, as defined in Section 85 of Civil Service Law, and that the candidate received an honorable discharge or was released under honorable conditions in order to be certified at a score including veteran's credits.

In conformance with Section 85-a of the Civil Service Law, children of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty shall be entitled to receive an additional ten points in a competitive examination for original appointment in the same municipality in which his or her parent has served. If you are qualified to participate in this examination and are a child of a firefighter or police officer killed in the line of duty in this municipality, please inform this office of this matter when you submit your application for examination. A candidate claiming such credit has a minimum of two months from the application deadline to provide the necessary documentation to verify additional credit eligibility. However, no credit may be added after the eligible list has been established.

This examination is being prepared and rated by the New York State Civil Service Department in accordance with Section 23-2 of the Civil Service Law. The provisions of the New York State Civil Service Rules and Regulations dealing with the rating of examinations will apply to this examination.

Applications

Applications for Mental Health Therapist #63888 will be accepted up to Wednesday, February 10, 2010, and may be obtained by downloading from the following links or from the Civil Service Commission, 303 Court Street, Little Valley, New York 14755 or phone 938-2281 or 938-2317.

Application Forms

• Examination and Job Application Form
• Application Fee Waiver Request and Certification Form

Cattaraugus County an Equal Opportunity Employer