Youth and Family Therapist

Scarborough, ON, Canada

Full Time

Counselling Services

Experienced

Permanent, Full-time (35 hours/week)
Bargaining Unit Position

Who we are

YouthLink believes in the potential of every youth, and we are dedicated to providing them with the support, guidance and opportunities they need to make positive life choices. We provide youth with brief and ongoing counselling, in-home wraparound support, shelter, housing, educational support, and safe drop-in spaces.

Guided by our mission and inspired by the potential to make a profound impact, Youthlink works closely with youth, families and partners in our community. We come together to highlight and develop strengths, aspirations and positive actions that improve the health and well-being of all who live, work, study and play in our community. As a service delivery organization, we leverage data-driven decision-making and grassroots engagement with youth advisory councils to create an inclusive, innovative, and responsive agency that provides the best fit and most needed services for our communities.

If you are seeking a meaningful opportunity and want to play a key role in bringing our vision for a stronger Scarborough where all youth and families thrive, join us.

Who we need

Reporting to the Senior Manager, Clinical Services, we are looking for a Youth and Family Therapist to join our Counselling Services program. In this role, you will provide exceptional individual, family, and group therapy to youth aged 12-24 and their families, helping them navigate mental health, emotional, and behavioral challenges. As our new Youth and Family Therapist you will build trusting, therapeutic relationships that create a safe and supportive space for healing. Utilizing attachment-based, family-focused, trauma-informed, and healing-centered approaches—through an equity, anti-racist, and inclusion lens—you will deliver impactful care tailored to client needs.

This is an onsite role based at our head office, requiring a schedule that includes at least two evenings per week, ending at 8:00 pm.

What’s in it for you

Impact. You will directly contribute to YouthLink's vision of building a community where all youth thrive. By providing individual, family, and group therapy, you will play a key role in addressing complex needs, creating early, life-changing interventions that empower youth and families in Scarborough.

Support. You will join a passionate team aligned with YouthLink’s commitment to collaboration, equity, and inclusion. Together, you will foster a culture of support, learning, and care—one where team members lift each other up and thrive. With built-in supervision and mentorship, you will feel supported every step of the way.

Growth. You will have the opportunity to grow within an organization that values innovation and continuous improvement. You will receive professional development, training, and opportunities to expand your expertise, ensuring meaningful growth in your career.

How you will make an impact:

Conduct assessments. You will complete biographical, psychological, social, and spiritual assessments, including intergenerational content, to formalize case conceptualization and interpret the results to enhance treatment planning and risk and safety planning.
Plan treatments. You will engage collaboratively with youth and families to create treatment plans that represent therapeutic goals and assessment recommendations.
Deliver impactful therapy. You will provide individual, group, and family therapy for youth and caregivers, using trauma-informed, attachment, and family systems approaches. You will lead safety planning for clients in crisis and ensure incidents impacting client, staff, or community safety are appropriately reported.
Report. You will create clear and concise clinical reports at key service milestones, including assessments, treatment reviews, and closures. You will maintain accurate, timely clinical notes and manage client files with precision, both digitally and physically and prepare Ministry of Health and internal incident reports as needed.
Collaborate. You will champion diversity and equity by integrating an intersectional lens into practice. You will partner with clinical teams, schools, and community stakeholders to design and deliver impactful programs to advance our mission.
Develop professionally. You will expand your knowledge and skills through group supervision, team meetings, case consultations, clinical rounds, community of practice, and internal and external training events.

What you bring:

The education and training. You have a Master’s degree in a therapy or psychotherapy-related field. You are registered or licensed to practice through a regulated health college which permits the delivery of the Act of Psychotherapy. An Associate or Clinical Membership with the Canadian Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (CAMFT) or Ontario Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (OAMFT) would be considered an asset.
The experience. You bring at least 2 years of post-Masters experience delivering trauma-informed, healing-centered psychotherapy to youth and adults, as well as facilitating psycho-educational and group therapy. You have experience supporting youth and families through complex mental health challenges, including crisis management, safety planning, and substance use using harm reduction approaches. You are skilled in working with diverse populations, including 2SLGBTQIA+ youth, BIPOC communities, and individuals from varied cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, providing high-quality, culturally safe, and anti-racist care.
The practice-based knowledge. You have an exceptional ability to build rapport with youth and their families. You have profound experience with treatment assessments and planning, systemic formulation, individual psychotherapy, family therapy, and case management. You demonstrate a commitment to evidence-based and evidence-informed psychotherapy practices. You have an in-depth understanding of how trauma often affects families and the implications for mental well-being, resilience, safety, etc.
The integrity. You consistently navigate ethical considerations with diverse client populations, adapting your decision-making processes to each situation. You prioritize measurable outcomes in individual, group, and family psychotherapy, ensuring effective, accountable care. You are confident in your ability to empathize and connect with people and manage stressful situations with tact, diplomacy, and professionalism. You have high standards of accountability and prioritize professionalism and respect. You are open to feedback and coaching.
The technical skills. You are proficient with technology used to engage youth and families (e.g. mobile phone, text, and video call platforms) and to complete clinical documentation (e.g. EHR, Microsoft Word, Adobe, and Outlook).
The communication skills. You may speak one or more languages in addition to English, ideally related to cultural communities in the Scarborough area. You have exceptional listening skills and mental attentiveness, and you can focus on the needs of individuals. You embrace the opportunity to work with groups from diverse backgrounds and experiences and can adapt your communication style to ensure transparency, authenticity, and understanding.

Compensation: $65,914 per year

Join us.

YouthLink's core values define what we stand for and how we operate, helping us to work together in the most fulfilling ways.

We value leadership, acting in ways that exemplify what we expect of each other and our clients. We work together, bringing out the best in each other and creating strong working relationships. Our professional ethics are evident in all the work we do and the decisions we make.

We value humanity and show consideration for people, their abilities, skills, diversity and perspectives. We create an inclusive workplace that celebrates individual differences and, through our actions, demonstrates empathy, goodwill and honesty.

We value innovation, demonstrating flexibility and changeability in adapting to our work and community dynamics. We show courage in developing service initiatives that will improve the well-being of our clients and their families.

We value respect for people for who they are and for their knowledge, skills and experience as individuals and team members. We treat clients with respect and fairness and encourage the same in return.

We value excellence, demonstrating competence and accountability in delivering client services. We display clear judgment and exhibit clear thinking and reasoning in all situations. We continually strive to accomplish all tasks and provide an outstanding service for our clients.

Benefits

At YouthLink, we understand the nature of our work and the deep commitment every team member offers. We strive to provide a rewarding compensation and benefits package to support our people. This includes:

Comprehensive health and dental coverage for you and your family, with 100% of the premiums fully covered.
Annual vacation with pay at 1.66 working days for each calendar month to a maximum of 20 working days per year.
5 ‘authorized absence’ days for family illness or emergency circumstances that prohibit employees from reporting to work.
3 paid agency days every calendar year after 3 calendar months service.
Maternity / parental /adoption leave top-up payments (to top-up Canadian government unemployment benefit payments).
100% premium cost for long-term disability coverage paid by employee.
Eligibility to participate in the pension plan after 2 years of continuous service with a generous matching employer contribution.

What you can expect from our hiring process:

A virtual interview with a Talent Advisor to discuss your interest in joining the company and in the role.
An interview with the hiring manager to share your experience and knowledge and expand on your approach to actively building trust and supporting an environment and programs through an anti-Black racism lens.
A Vulnerable Sector police check and references will be conducted before an offer of employment.

Apply now.

We welcome applications from candidates who reflect the communities we serve, particularly candidates from Black communities, Indigenous communities, racialized people, persons with disabilities, members of diverse gender identities and people with lived experiences.

We are seeking candidates who demonstrably operate and practice from an equity and trauma-informed lens. We encourage applications from passionate professionals who will help us dismantle systemic barriers and embrace working outside of Euro-centric practices.

If you meet 70% of the qualifications we are looking for and share 100% of our passion and commitment to supporting youth and their families, please submit your application. We can’t promise to hire you; we can promise to review your lived and learned experiences fully.

We are committed to providing equitable employment opportunities and a workplace free from discrimination and harassment. We are equally committed to providing an inclusive and accessible workplace. If you require accommodations at any stage of the interview process, please email us at [email protected].

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Help us maintain an inclusive culture.

We want anyone, anywhere to have the same chance and opportunity to build a life they love and that they are proud of. We are proactive in creating a belonging environment that anyone can be a part of. Thoughtful, data-driven decision-making is core to this success. We ask these questions to strengthen our practices by using data to identify and mitigate unconscious bias in our hiring process.

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