Mental Health Practitioner
Send a resume and cover letter to info@freedomstl.org in order to apply.
Position Title: Mental Health Practitioner
Reports to: Director of Alternatives to Incarceration
Location: Saint Louis City, MO
The Freedom Community Center (FCC) is a Black-led organization in North St. Louis that was founded to dismantle systems of oppression that inflict harm and trauma on Black communities in St. Louis City, particularly the police and the criminal punishment system. We ground ourselves in the knowledge that the Black survivors of St. Louis have the solutions to the question: What will keep us safe? We seek to build a community-based approach centered in power, healing, accountability, and repair. Given the resources to alleviate immediate economic needs, the space to facilitate communal healing, and the time to dream collectively of alternative approaches, our community of survivors will meaningfully address harm happening in St. Louis City at the individual and systemic level. We dismantle mass incarceration by modeling alternative responses to the criminal punishment system.
The current punitive approaches to violence such as police and incarceration do not prevent future violence, they create it. At FCC, we take a survivor centered approach to build solutions that interrupt violence at its root. In the place of violence, we make peace and build power. Our approach fosters accountability, healing, repair and transformation. The cornerstone of our peacemaking work is the Free Us Project which is made up of several different transformative justice processes. One of our transformative processes is a restorative justice program that seeks to intervene and work with people who are experiencing or perpetuating harm before they interact with the police or at the beginning of their interaction with the criminal punishment system. In addition, we intervene with individuals who have experienced a violent injury in order to promote repair and reduce the likelihood of retaliation or re-injury.
At FCC, we have an opportunity to seek a different path, one marked by healing, true accountability, and reparative solutions that will transform those involved so that they might participate in imagining an alternative future for themselves and our community. This work is materialized through our Free US project but also through our community organizing branch called Power Builders, where we build power within our community members. We interrupt violence both systemic and interpersonal by forging a different path toward reconciliation, transformation, healing, and freedom.
Position Summary:
The Mental Health Practitioner (“MHP”) will primarily be responsible for providing clinical-based therapeutic support for FCC participants. The MHP will deliver direct clinical services, including individual and group therapy, rooted in evidence-based practices and a trauma-informed framework. In their work with FCC’s Alternatives to Incarceration Program (“ATI”), the MHP will coordinate with ATI participants to develop and implement individualized therapeutic interventions, ensuring services meet professional standards of care. The MHP will provide 1:1 therapy sessions and facilitate group therapy classes for Stride I participants, maintaining clinical documentation consistent with licensure requirements. In addition, the MHP will conduct mental health screenings of potential participants, including clients housed in the City Justice Center.
Part of the MHP role is also to support case advocacy within the judicial system. Providing clinical based assessments to support case diversion. The MHP will be expected to respond to mental health crises, providing clinical de-escalation and intensive support during crisis situations, in coordination with the ATI team and other FCC staff.
Responsibilities:
Clinical Intervention with Participants: Provide clinical-based mental health counseling to participants enrolled in FCC’s ATI program, including weekly 50-minute individual therapy sessions focused on developing coping skills, addressing trauma, and exploring the roots of harmful behavior.
Mental Health Screenings: Conduct thorough mental health assessments of potential participants, including clients detained at the City Justice Center, to determine eligibility and develop appropriate treatment plans.
Group Therapy Facilitation: Design and lead weekly clinical group therapy sessions for Stride I participants, applying trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and evidence-based therapeutic models.
Community Therapy Engagement: Host monthly community-based group therapy sessions for supporters (e.g., Pods) of Stride I participants, promoting collective healing and resilience.
Restorative Justice Clinical Preparation: Support Stride I and Stride II participants in building the emotional regulation, accountability, and relational skills necessary to engage in restorative justice processes, providing therapeutic preparation and follow-up.
Healing Modalities to Address Root Causes: Practice and integrate multiple healing modalities — such as somatic therapies, narrative therapy, mindfulness-based interventions, and trauma-focused approaches — to address the root causes of violence and harm in responsible parties, supporting their transformation and accountability.
Crisis Response and De-escalation: Act as a first responder for participants experiencing mental health crises, providing clinical de-escalation, crisis intervention, and connection to higher levels of care when necessary.
Daily Operations: Participate in weekly supervision, team meetings, referral meetings, and other ATI programming sessions to ensure coordinated and effective therapeutic care.
Clinical Documentation and Administrative Duties: Maintain up-to-date clinical documentation in Salesforce and Simple Practice, ensuring detailed, timely, and confidential notes that meet clinical and legal standards
Qualifications:
You are driven, highly organized, and have a deep commitment to FCC’s mission to practice transformative justice responses to community harm and commitment to Black liberation. You have a strong historical analysis of race and class and its impact on the oppression of Black and poor people – and ultimately all people. You are activist/organizing minded and invested into St. Louis’ political framework with bold ideas to change it. We’re looking for someone who is comfortable working independently and in a team-based setting. You have experience building out and strengthening new programs and have the ability to adapt to new or changing environments. We’re looking for a creative individual who thrives under pressure and is comfortable working independently or in a team-based setting. A sense of humor and willingness to adapt to the change inherent to a startup are essential. You value efficiency, hard work, and self-care.
To excel in this role, you should have:
Master’s degree (or higher) in social work, counseling, psychology, marriage and family therapy, or a related clinical field. Full or partial licensure (LCSW, LPC, LMFT) strongly preferred;
Demonstrated clinical expertise in addressing the impacts and root causes of serious violence, including work with individuals who have caused harm and survivors of harm.
At least 2–4 years of experience providing clinical therapy and crisis intervention services, preferably with populations impacted by incarceration, violence, or systemic oppression.
Deep commitment to transformative justice, abolitionist values, and Black liberation, with a strong historical analysis of race, class, and structural violence.
Experience facilitating both individual and group therapy sessions using trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and evidence-based healing modalities.
Familiarity with restorative justice principles and the therapeutic preparation necessary for accountability and healing processes.
Highly organized, self-motivated, and able to thrive in fast-paced, evolving environments, both independently and as part of a collaborative team.
Strong verbal and written communication skills, with an ability to maintain detailed and confidential clinical documentation.
Deep investment in the St. Louis political landscape, with a creative and activist-minded approach to systemic change.
What Else You Should Know:
This is a full-time non-exempt position based in St. Louis, MO with a hybrid work schedule. The salary for the position is $60,000. Freedom Community Center offers competitive health benefits, dental and vision plans, flexible PTO, and life insurance.
How to Apply:
Interested applicants should submit a resume and cover letter to info@freedomstl.org. In the cover letter, please address the following:
Why do you want to work for Freedom Community Center?
Please share 1-2 experience(s) that highlights why you would be a strong candidate for the Mental Health Practitioner position?
No faxes or phone calls please. Applicants will be notified regarding whether or not they have been selected for an interview. Applications without cover letters will not be processed.
The Freedom Community Center is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and actively seeks the candidacy of people of color, women, LGBTQIA people and formerly incarcerated individuals. We are committed to inclusive hiring and dedicated to diversity in our work and staff.