Position Description
Adventure Therapist
POSITION TITLE: Adventure Therapist
TEAM: Program Team
LOCATION: Ballina, NSW and travel within the Northern Rivers Region
MANAGER: Clinical Manager
STATUS: Full Time/Part Time neg.
HOURS: Min 0.8 FTE (4 days per week)
REMUNERATION: This position is classified as Level 5 under the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010.
About Us
Human Nature Adventure Therapy (HN) is an independent, non-profit organisation uniquely supporting young people ages 14 – 18 struggling with mental health issues across the Northern Rivers region. Based in Ballina NSW, our mission is to empower our most at-risk young people to navigate life's challenges – transforming trauma and disadvantage into healing and growth through innovative nature-based adventure therapy programs.
Position Summary
The Adventure Therapist is a key member of a small team of mental health professionals charged with ensuring young people participating in our therapeutic programs receive the best possible holistic, therapeutic support. The role works collaboratively with our Team Leader, Clinical Manager and Therapeutic Mentors to coordinate, deliver, and contribute to the ongoing development of our suite of programs.
Key Accountabilities
Program Planning & Delivery
Work with the Program Team to strengthen and build capacity across HN's program offerings, contributing to the strong, evidence-based therapeutic knowledge base and model.
Provide expert advice to other staff on therapeutic strategies, techniques and modalities.
Implement Human Nature's Practice Framework and Model of Care.
Adhere to established work practices and exercise initiative and judgement where practices and direction are not clearly defined.
Pro active involvement in establishing organisation programs and procedures.
Undertake responsibility for organisational projects,including planning, coordination, implementation and administration.
Supervise other employees and/or volunteers as required.
Therapeutic Work
Provide trauma-informed, healing-integrated, culturally safe, and supportive outreach therapy to young people participating in Human Nature's programs, primarily in nature-based settings, integrating adventure therapy techniques with clinical mental health interventions to foster safe and positive relationships through meaningful conversations, trust-building, and fun, playful, shared activities.
Manage a caseload of young people with varying degrees of complexity and need, delivering therapeutic outreach support (including home and school visits), counselling, mental health assessment, intervention, and monitoring of treatment outcomes, utilising focused psychological strategies such as cognitive-behavioural techniques, skills training, psychoeducation, relaxation strategies, and solution-focused interventions to support their emotional, social, and behavioural development.
Deliver high-quality evidence-based mental health treatment and support across individual, small group, and family contexts, and occasionally in group adventure settings.
Undertake therapeutic care processes including holistic and specialised assessment, treatment planning, clinical escalation, and the development of individual therapeutic plans with each young person.
Conduct and implement client assessments using outcome measurement tools (e.g., MyOutcomes, MyMindStar, HoNOSCA, etc.) to evaluate progress and support mental health recovery and skill development.
Develop Positive Response Intervention Plans (PRIPs), safety plans, family support plans, or other therapeutic interventions as required to address risks and support recovery.
Conduct regular case reviews, care planning, and integrated treatment delivery as part of a team-based approach.
Support young people in developing life skills, education, training, and employment goals, providing guidance, role modelling, and a positive influence through a therapeutic case management approach.
Engage clients in structured one-on-one and group therapeutic interventions to promote mental health recovery, facilitate healthy social connections, and model teamwork, teaching and modelling social skills and conflict resolution techniques as needed.
Build trusting long-term therapeutic relationships with participants.
Incorporate the intrinsic therapeutic benefits of nature and other non-clinical settings into session planning and delivery, being led by the young person's interests and choices.
Develop and deliver culturally appropriate and culturally safe services; actively strengthen Human Nature's cultural safety for Aboriginal young people.
Provide therapeutic consultation to therapeutic mentors as appropriate.
Work collaboratively with the care community for each young person (family members, carers, case workers, teachers, etc.) to ensure holistic support.
Collaborate effectively with other agencies and interagency networks to create a supportive network and ensure warm, supported referrals.
Transport young people to and from therapeutic sessions as needed.
Maintain detailed clinical case notes, adhere to privacy and confidentiality requirements, and provide agency/stakeholder reports, Medicare billing, and NDIS documentation as appropriate.
Report risk-of-harm concerns to the Program Team Leader and follow Mandatory Reporting Procedures (as per Child Protection Policy).
Ensure the physical and emotional safety of participants at all times and abide by all workplace health and safety policies and procedures.
Group Adventure Therapy Expeditions and Camps
Collaborate with the program team and Elev8 mentors to design, deliver, and evaluate multi-day expeditions and overnight camps.
Collaborate and coordinate with the Elev8 mentor to support group events and activities.
Participate in all pre-program briefings and post-program debriefings.
Facilitate and model healthy social connections and teamwork during expeditions and camps, managing conflicts and teaching/modelling social skills and conflict resolution techniques.
Deliver therapeutic support to program participants over the duration of the event.
Evaluation and Program Development
Contribute to a robust monitoring and evaluation system by maintaining all client records as required and using outcome measurement tools.
Contribute to the evidence base, reporting on outcomes, and the ongoing adaptation and design of program offerings.
Participate in general program development, implementation, and innovation as required.
Supervision and Professional Practice
Receive regular clinical supervision from qualified mental health professionals to ensure quality and compliance with peak body practice standards, while working under guidance from the Team Leader and Clinical Manager to provide evidence-based interventions within agreed areas of professional competence and qualifications.
Participate in, and at times lead, peer supervision and therapeutic case reviews, and engage in organisational and clinical supervision.
Key Skills
Highly developed therapeutic casework skills, with demonstrated experience in providing effective and evidence-based therapies to vulnerable young people ages 14 – 18 with multiple support needs.
Experience working autonomously to develop/manage effective case plans for multiple young people.
Demonstrated experience and expertise in natural, outdoor and adventurous environments, and the capacity to work therapeutically in a non-clinical, nature-based context.
Experience and willingness in measuring program outcomes and incorporating evaluation feedback into programs.
Strong interpersonal and team skills/behaviours including verbal and written communication, flexibility, resilience, problem solving, decision making, and the maturity to ask for support when needed.
High level of culturally appropriate interpersonal skills for working with Aboriginal young people, families and services.
Highly skilled in time management, and in organising and prioritising workload.
Competency using and integrating a wide range of IT platforms.
Demonstrated ability to adapt to changing circumstances and organisational requirements.
Personal Attributes
Strong and genuine commitment to providing meaningful support for vulnerable young people.
Desire to work collaboratively as part of a small, high energy team.
Strong work ethic, trustworthy, reliable and resilient.
The courage to share new ideas and to welcome challenges as valuable learning opportunities.
Selection Criteria
In context of the Key Accountabilities above, amongst many skills candidates should possess:
Essential Criteria
One of the following tertiary qualifications: Psychologist, Occupational Therapist or Social Worker or post graduate Counselling and current full registration with relevant professional body.
Demonstrated experience in working with young people in the context of moderate to increasing acuity mental health issues including best treatment options, support services, co-morbidities, and co-occurring contexts .
Demonstrated ability and willingness to undertake case management and work in
partnership with other services and agencies, including an understanding of referral
processes and the value of those services to the wellbeing and recovery of the young
people and their family/carers.
Demonstrated capacity to work therapeutically in an outreach, non-clinical, and/or
nature-based context, or willingness to do so.
A level of physical fitness and capacity suitable for multi day hiking, and other adventure
therapy activities such as stand-up paddle boarding, bike riding and kayaking.
Demonstrated ability to work in culturally safe ways with Aboriginal young people.
Demonstrated understanding of NSW Child Safe Standards and how to apply them in the work.
Valid unrestricted drivers licence for use in NSW/Australia and willingness to travel across the Northern Rivers in the course of employment.
Australian residency.
NSW Working with Children Check, and clear Federal Police Check.
Desirable Criteria
Experience in the development and implementation of engaging therapeutic youth programs.