Licensed School Based Mental Health Clinician - Galloway, NJ

Job description

Lead Clinician – Tier 2 School-Based Clinic Model
Location: Atlantic Community Charter School – Galloway, NJ

About ESS
Effective School Solutions (ESS) is a national leader in school-based mental health services for K-12 students, supporting more than 6,000 students across 120+ districts in 12 states. We bring higher acuity care—typically found in private practice—into public school settings. As student mental health needs continue to rise, ESS has expanded its impact to include both direct clinical services and consultative and professional development support for schools and districts.

Role Overview
The Lead Clinician provides weekly therapy sessions for students identified with mild-to-moderate mental health needs, typically managed in outpatient care. This role carries a caseload of approximately 20 to 30 students and includes conducting assessments, providing individual and family therapy, developing treatment plans, and diagnosing students for insurance purposes. Clinicians are supported by a collaborative management team and receive comprehensive training in ESS’s therapeutic protocols. The position also involves building strong working relationships with school staff and district leadership, coaching and training caregivers on mental health issues, and ensuring students receive the appropriate level of care when additional services are needed.

Qualifications
Candidates must have at least three years of experience treating children or adolescents with significant behavioral and emotional challenges and hold a full independent clinical license in New Jersey, such as LCSW, LPC, or LMFT. Applicants must either already have or be willing to apply for an NPI and CAQH number. Familiarity with trauma-attuned modalities is essential, and prior experience in outpatient mental health settings or working in collaboration with schools is strongly preferred. Effective communication and problem-solving skills are required, along with proficiency in electronic medical records, clinical documentation, and Microsoft Office. Experience with insurance billing is also preferred.

Responsibilities
In this role, the Lead Clinician is responsible for managing the assigned caseload of students and delivering therapeutic services in alignment with ESS’s model of care. This includes completing assessments, leading weekly or biweekly individual sessions, providing family therapy on a monthly or as-needed basis, and facilitating treatment planning. Clinicians are expected to document all services in a timely manner using ESS’s electronic medical record, maintain active licensure and ethical standards, and participate in supervision and professional development opportunities provided by ESS. The role requires consistent attendance, professional conduct, and participation in school meetings, ESS town halls, clinical supervision sessions, and treatment team discussions. The clinician will also collect data, prepare reports, and contribute to administrative processes to ensure quality of care and accountability.

Why Join ESS
This position offers the chance to make a meaningful difference in addressing one of the most pressing challenges of our time: youth mental health. ESS provides competitive compensation, with an $80,000 salary and signing bonus, as well as extensive time off aligned with the school calendar and minimal summer hours to support work-life balance. Clinicians have access to career growth opportunities within an innovative and expanding organization and are encouraged to contribute their perspectives and feedback through multiple channels. ESS is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.

• 20-30 Student Caseload
• Light Summer Hours on School Calendar Schedule
• Sign-On Bonus