Social Worker

Objective: The Veterinary Social Worker’s (VSW) primary responsibility is to provide a social work program for 2 veterinary hospitals and their clients and staff. The program will provide many facets of emotional support to clients of the hospitals (owners of the pets), consultation regarding clients to veterinary staff, and supportive services, short term interventions, psychoeducational programs and trainings for employees of the hospital. The VSW will provide assessment and treatment planning for clients and staff members regarding mental health issues and needs. The VSW program will provide grief counseling on a regular basis to clients, quality of life counseling, short term family counseling, and group counseling. For staff and clients, the VSW will regularly provide crisis counseling, assessment of clinical disorders, suicide assessment and prevention, assessment and clinical intervention with domestic violence concerns. The VSW will provide referral to staff and clients for ongoing, longer term counseling. The VSW will also serve as field instructor for a social work internship program for the hospital. Interns may provide many of the tasks of client care when accepted. This is a full-time position, but since the hospital is 24/7, hours of work will be flexible. The hours of work will vary from week to week as per need for the VSW.

Skills/Abilities:

Necessary Skills:

• Qualities needed in personality:
• Confident
• Approachable
• Emotionally stable and mature
• Energetic, proactive person
• Authentic and flexible
• Dependable
• Good sense of humor/tolerant of dark humor
• Value animals in humans’ quality of life
• Leadership ability, organizational ability, good speaker/trainer.
• Must be comfortable using direct communication with strong personalities.
• Must have experience with de-escalation and debriefing.
• Should have high tolerance for graphic medical procedures and information.
• Excellent self-care skills.
• Excellent communication skills both written and verbal.

Preferred Skills:

• Able to patiently mentor social work interns while also being able to delegate tasks and teach skills.
• Experience with attachment to pets and pet euthanasia in personal or professional life.
• Bi-lingual is preferred.

Education and Experience:

• Master’s Degree in Social Work, Counseling, Marriage/Family Therapy is required.
• Minimum three years post-Master’s experience
• Any of these will satisfy some of the post-Master’s experience and enhance candidacy
• extensive training in an established VSW program
• near completion or completion of VSW Certificate
• relevant professional experience (e.g. veterinary experience, animal welfare experience, other)'

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Work Remotely

• No

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $19.00 - $48.00 per hour

Work Location: Multiple Locations