Recreation Therapist, Adolescent Intensive Services

Click here to apply as an internal applicant.

Company : IWK Health

Req ID: 161687

Department/Program: AIS Trauma Day Stream , Mental Health & Addictions Program

Location: Halifax

Type of Employment: Temporary Hourly FT long-assignment ( 100% FTE) for 1 year x 1 position(s)

Start Date: August 2023

Union Status: NSGEU Hlthcare , Healthcare Bargaining Unit

Compensation: $ 33.1047 - $ 43.2665 /hour

Closing Date: July 26, 2023 (Applications are accepted until 23:59 Atlantic Time)

IWK Health is a respected academic health sciences centre located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, providing tertiary and primary care for two million children, youth, adults and families each year across the Atlantic region. We have a team of approximately 4000 employees, physicians, volunteers and learners at sites across Nova Scotia . People build careers with IWK Health with our focus on training and mentorship opportunities. We recognize each other’s talent and celebrate our successes. We collaborate in modern facilities or virtually from home, align our work to our values , and enjoy access to enhanced benefits and wellness programs. We are proud to support our patients, families and communities and are grateful for the generous donor support we receive.

Promoting an anti-racist environment, and calling out discrimination as we work and provide care, is important to us. We are located in Mi’kma’ki, the unceded and ancestral territory of the Mi’kmaq people. Working in Mi’kma’ki and providing care to those across Atlantic Canada is a shared privilege with the original inhabitants who have lived here for many thousands of years prior to colonization. There are 13 First Nation communities across Nova Scotia, and more than 50 historic African Nova Scotian communities who also have a long, deep, and complex history dating back over 400 years. We have the highest percentage of people with disabilities in the country. Nova Scotia has the highest proportions of transgender and non-binary people than any other province or territory in the country. We are active in our work to eliminate discrimination, but have more work to do to build that trust, acknowledge our biases and reduce the barriers our diverse communities face. We want IWK Health to be a safe and supportive space of equity and belonging in the care we provide and the employment we offer. We welcome all interested persons who self-identify as Indigenous, Black/African Nova Scotians, Persons of Colour, Immigrants/Newcomers, Persons with Disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ to apply to support our goal for our workforce to be representative of the patients, families, and communities that we care for at all job levels.

The Opportunity

Accountable to the Manager of Adolescent Intensive Services, the Recreation Therapist works with adolescents and families as part of an inter-disciplinary treatment team. AIS is a voluntary treatment program that treats adolescent who are harmfully involved with substances, have a mental disorder(s) or who may present with concurrent mental health disorders. The Recreation Therapist will be actively involved in program development with the goal of enhancing the development of life-long leisure skills and attitudes, eliminating barriers to leisure, and optimizing the leisure involvement of adolescent clients in partnership with families, therapists and community groups. The Therapist will promote and enhance leisure lifestyle development for AIS clients through individual, family and group assessments and interventions. The Recreation Therapist is responsible for the assessment of an adolescent’s recreation and leisure needs, setting realistic goals with clients, designing and implementing appropriate interventions and plans, including appropriate documentation/recording of the plan, as well as evaluating the interventions in an efficient manner. These interventions are completed with the client and family within an interdisciplinary team approach.

Hours of Work

Monday – Friday; Days with Occasional Evenings.

Your Qualifications

• Demonstrated ability to establish and promote interpersonal and community relationships.
• Experience working with adolescents of various ages and degrees of harmful involvement with substances and/or gambling and concurrent mental health diagnosis.
• Knowledge of leisure education and leisure counselling process.
• Certified as a Therapeutic Recreation Specialist by the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC).
• Minimum two (2) years experience as a Recreation Therapist, required. Experience working with adolescents in Mental Health and Addiction settings, preferred.
• Knowledge and experience working within a Harm Reduction Approach, Connect Model and Trauma Informed Practice preferred.
• Demonstrated understanding of, and commitment to, family centred care.
• Training and experience in Motivational Interviewing (MI) preferred.
• Current successful completion of CPR-Level C Health Care Provider or Basic Life Support (BLS) course within the last 12 months required.
• Demonstrated ability to work as part of a collaborative, interdisciplinary team, as well as the ability to work independently.
• Baccalaureate degree in Recreation, Leisure Studies with an emphasis in Therapeutic Recreation.
• Effective counselling and communication skills (verbal/written).
• Valid Class 5 Nova Scotia driver’s license and ability to drive program vans.
• Knowledge of various signs and symptoms of harmful involvement and the resulting impact on health, well-being and quality of life.
• Competencies in other languages considered an asset.
• Demonstrated knowledge of best practices in leisure/recreation assessment and intervention for adolescents and families where an adolescent is, or is at risk of, harmful involvement with substances and/or gambling and often presents with a concurrent mental health diagnosis.
• Excellent time management, organization and problem-solving skills; demonstrated ability to set priorities as required.

T hank you for your interest in IWK Health.

Please note that we only contact applicants selected for interview/testing. If we invite you to participate in an assessment process (such as an interview or testing) you have the right to request accommodation. Please discuss your needs when invited to the assessment process.

This is a Healthcare bargaining unit position. Preference is given to bargaining unit employees for unionized positions. Successful applicants changing unions, bargaining units or employment status, are advised to seek clarification regarding their seniority, benefits, and vacation entitlement and/or usage, prior to accepting the position.

An offer of employment is conditional upon the completion and satisfactory results of all applicable background checks and confirmation of credentials. Additionally, as per Nova Scotia’s COVID-19 Vaccine mandate, any offer of employment will be conditional upon submitting proof of full vaccination status. Medical exceptions or any other kind of requested exception based upon the Health Centre’s obligations pursuant to the Nova Scotia Human Rights Code will be considered on a case-by-case basis

I f you are an employee of IWK Health , please apply through the internal careers page to ensure you are flagged as an internal applicant.