Coaching and College Navigation Clinician

The Clinician partners with individuals to identify strengths, needs, preferences, and self-directed goals; develop practical pathways toward goal attainment; and build skills related to executive functioning, emotional regulation, communication, relationships, independent living, community participation, wellness, employment, and higher education. Using Positive Behavioral Supports, trauma-informed practice, motivational approaches, and other approved evidence-informed interventions, the Clinician provides individualized coaching, safety planning, curriculum-based services, and collaboration with DDS, families, natural supports, campus personnel, providers, and interdisciplinary team members.

Essential Responsibilities

Engagement, Assessment, and Person-Centered Planning

• Establish trusting, person-centered, trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and nonjudgmental relationships with individuals receiving services.
• Use individualized engagement strategies, including rapport building, preference exploration, Motivational Interviewing, and Stages of Change approaches, to support participation and reduce barriers to engagement.
• Complete required intake documentation and assessments within established program and funder timelines.
• Collaborate with each individual to develop meaningful, self-directed goals, measurable objectives, incremental action steps, milestones, and timelines.
• Use task analysis, collaborative problem solving, and regular progress reviews to support goal attainment and adjust strategies when needs or priorities change.

Coaching and Skill Development

• Provide individualized coaching in homes, community settings, college campuses, agency locations, and virtual environments across the Central West region of Massachusetts, including South Valley, North Central, and Worcester areas.
• Teach and reinforce executive-functioning skills, including organization, prioritization, time management, flexible thinking, problem solving, task initiation, planning, and use of individualized schedules or organizational tools.
• Support the development and practice of communication, self-advocacy, emotional-regulation, coping, interpersonal, relationship, community-navigation, and independent-living skills.
• Provide in-the-moment coaching to help individuals understand and navigate social expectations, relationship boundaries, online communication, community participation, academic environments, and workplace settings.
• Support individualized wellness strategies addressing areas such as sensory regulation, stress management, sleep, nutrition, physical activity, health routines, and self-care.
• Incorporate Positive Behavioral Supports, including Universal Supports, and other approved evidence-based or evidence-informed practices into assessment, coaching, and service planning.

College Navigation

• Assist students in identifying strengths, needs, and goals related to academic success, campus engagement, independent functioning, and social participation.
• Support students with class and assignment organization, study planning, homework completion, time management, note-taking, online learning, communication with instructors, and balancing academic, social, recreational, and wellness responsibilities.
• Help students identify and access campus resources, including disability and accessibility services, academic advising, tutoring, learning centers, counseling, career services, transportation, recreation, clubs, and student organizations.
• Coach students in navigating campus environments, residential expectations, personal-care routines, peer interactions, classroom behavior, friendships, and other social aspects of college life.

Clinical Coordination

• Collaborate with individuals and their chosen supports to develop, implement, practice, and update Safety Plans and Cope Ahead Plans.
• Provide clinical case management, consultation, referral, and care coordination when individuals experience mental health, engagement, wellness, or safety concerns.
• Coordinate with existing behavioral health and medical providers, within the limits of the role and appropriate authorizations, to promote continuity and alignment of supports.
• Participate in crisis assessment, consultation, response, and follow-up as assigned and consistent with agency procedures.
• Facilitate or co-facilitate therapeutic, skill-building, educational, and social curricula, including Friendship and Dating and the DBT-informed Skills System.
• Develop or deliver training in collaboration with team members to address identified clinical and service-learning needs.
• Support each individual in deciding whether and how family members, natural supports, providers, and other stakeholders will participate in services.
• Maintain confidentiality and obtain appropriate authorization before sharing information with family members, campus personnel, DDS, providers, or other parties.
• Facilitate person-centered conversations when differences arise concerning goals, priorities, supports, or service strategies.

Documentation, Outcomes, and Quality

• Maintain timely, accurate, confidential, and funder-compliant electronic records, including assessments, plans, contact logs, service notes, authorizations, progress updates, and other required documentation.
• Document each service interaction and the individual’s progress toward goals, objectives, milestones, skill development, community participation, academic success, wellness, and other identified outcomes.
• Collect and report required program data and contribute to service evaluation, satisfaction measurement, fidelity review, and continuous quality-improvement activities.
• Participate in supervision, consultation, team meetings, training, communities of practice, and committees as assigned.
• Maintain required professional qualifications, training, and competency in autism-informed, trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and evidence-informed practice.
• Perform other duties consistent with the position’s purpose and service requirements.