Careers
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Helping people from diverse backgrounds pursue self-awareness, personal development, and healthy, fulfilling relationships.
A bit about us
Here at Optimum Joy, we seek to create a connected and collaborative environment. Private practice can easily become isolating. We combat this through celebrations, staff retreats, and team-wide get-togethers. Outside of staff meetings, our therapists enjoy and consult with each other between sessions in our office spaces. The sense of team drives our culture. Enjoyment may not be an official value, but it is emphasized in every aspect within our office. We believe people should enjoy where and with who they work.
Individuals and families need different skills and expertise from clinicians. We strive to provide diverse services to meet a broad array of clinical issues. Outside of theoretical orientation and trained models of therapy, this includes considering skills in language, culture, client’s gender and ethnicity preferences, and any other important factors contributing to the therapeutic relationship. We believe there is strength in diversity! We work to support each other as a team and provide well for our client’s needs through diversity. Also, we’ve made it our goal to increase representation in mental health providers and are working through our non-profit Resonate Joy to make sure that is becoming a reality.
In our line of work, we are hopeful for change and continued growth in the lives of our clients. Because of this, we seek to create a rich therapeutic environment through excellent services! Our own personal and professional growth work is important to this process. A desire to continue growing as a healthcare provider is woven into the fabric of who we are and what we do. If you are a learner, we’ll help you continue to grow.
Who We Serve
Service Type
Gender Identity
Faith
Why work with us
Optimum Joy prides itself on offering a collaborative environment, incentive income structure, and flexibility to hours and daytime clients.
Benefits Provided to Clinical Staff
Benefits
- Base hourly wage per clinical hour + commission percentage on fees collected
- Medical benefits for full-time employee
- Employee W-2 status
- 401(k) benefit
- Paid leave: accrued for each clinical hour
- Holidays
- Dec 24-Jan 1 – Additional payment on fees collected
- Martin Luther King Jr Day
- Memorial Day
- Juneteenth
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Indigenous Peoples’ Day
- Thanksgiving Day
Professional Development
- Group and individual supervision
- Learner consultation groups
- Couples counseling
- Working with minors & their family
- Trauma informed care
- Therapist coaching on case management
- Team structure for connection & focused development by leaders
- Structured internal pathway for career development positions, including supervision & managing team of clinicians
Business Marketing
- Employer paid digital marketing
- Professional photos & bio video filming
- Business & referral cards
- Collaborative content creation geared towards your caseload goals
- Profile listing on a highly trafficked website
Furnished Office Space & Remote Work Options
- Office Locations:
- Chicago, IL
- Denver, CO
- Bloomington, IL
- Hybrid & virtual positions
- Dedicated support staff
- Intakes
- Billing
- Insurance
- Digital marketing
- Electronic health record software
Open positions
We currently have an opening for a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Therapist who specializes in working with children, adolescents, and families.
Optimum Joy strives to help children, families, and parents heal and grow through providing exceptional and specialized mental health services. Guiding children and parents through the challenges of life at home, school and with friends is a priority of this practice. Currently accepting applications from clinicians meeting the basic qualifications below:
Our ideal candidate possesses a background in working with children, adolescents, and families using an attachment-based and trauma-informed lens, flexibility working across levels of the systems (e.g., individual, couple, family, subsystems) and competence incorporating evidence-based treatment modalities (such as play therapy, art therapy, TF-CBT, PCIT, TBRI, Theraplay, etc) into their practice. In person availability preferred. After-school and weekend availability preferred. Openness to coordinating with schools, psychologists, psychiatrists and other touch-points in family’s life.
Child Therapist
- Priority given to fully licensed clinicians (LCPC, LCSW, LMFT)
- Prior experience working with children and families in private practice, schools, residential, clinic, hospitals, and or community mental health required
- Two evenings of availability. The many of our clients cam come during the daytime hours, there are some who seek our services and are unable to come during regular business hours.
- Candidates should be proactive, self-assured, independent, flexible, attuned, highly attentive; engaging clients with solid clinical judgment and decision-making ability
- Has experience and clear interest in working with children, adolescents and families
- Interest in working in private practice setting and willingness to partner in building and maintaining a caseload
- Supportive, collaborative mindset towards Optimum Joy staff
- Priority given to clinicians seeking fuller caseload
- Willingness to educate community and build brand through some writing content and media engagement, etc.
- Interest and experience in working with multicultural issues
- Drive to be curious and continue learning
- Ability to manage time and administrative tasks such as note taking
- Preferences:
- 2 years of experience.
- In person availability would be preferred.
- After-school and weekend availability preferred.
Optimum Joy exists to help men and women heal and grow through providing exceptional and specialized mental health services. Currently accepting applications from clinicians meeting the basic qualifications below:
Mental Health Therapist
- Priority given to fully licensed clinicians (LCPC, LCSW, LMFT)
- Two evenings of availability. The majority of our clients come during the daytime hours, but a few couples and working professionals seek our services and are unable to come during regular business hours.
- Candidates should be proactive, self-assured, independent, flexible, attuned, highly attentive; engaging clients with solid clinical judgement and decision-making ability
- Has experience and clear interest in working with specific populations (e.g. eating disorders, trauma, couples’ therapy, sexuality, etc.)
- Interest in working in private practice setting and willingness to partner in building caseload over time
- Supportive, collaborative mindset towards Optimum Joy staff
- Priority given to clinicians seeking fuller caseload
- Willingness to educate community and build brand through writing content and media engagement, etc.
- Interest and experience in working with multicultural issues
- Drive to be curious and continue learning
- Ability to manage time and administrative tasks such as note taking
The 2025-2026 Cohort is closed. Please look for our residency to reopen for applications in August 2025 for the 2026-2027 Cohort.
Optimum Joy exists to help men and women heal and grow through providing exceptional and specialized mental health services. Each year, we take on 4-6 clinical residents for one year as a cohort model to increase development among student peers. We interview MA candidates in the January-February prior to a start date of summer or fall semester. It is recommended that students apply December/January to be included in the interview process. Our clinical residents are with our organization for the length of 3 semesters composed of any order of summer, fall and spring semesters. It is our strong preference that students do both practicum and internship with Optimum Joy because we have seen students be most successful in their learning through committing to both.
Clinical Residents will be rewarded a $1000.00 scholarship through out partner non-profit Resonate Joy. Additionally, all clinical fees collected through our clinical residents will be donated towards and help complete the mission of Resonate Joy.
Summer Start Dates: June 1- May 31
Fall Start Dates: August 1 – July 31
MA Level Clinical Experience Description
Practicum:
Optimum Joy agrees to take on advanced clinical interns in order for them to gain clinical experience. This experience will include:- Direct Hours: Intakes, observation of at least one session either in-room or via HIPAA compliant video technology, individual/group sessions. During practicum our office works to build a caseload of 8 clinical session a week.
- Indirect Hours: Training, staff meetings, administrative work, blog writing, etc. Note writing will be left to your own time management and is due each week.
- Supervision: Individual supervision in accordance with practicum requirements 1 hours weekly, and 1 hour weekly of Peer supervision at “Intern Hour”, Live supervision will be offered for 12 weeks at the beginning of clinical experience
- Trainings: Once a month a staff member will lead a training for Clinical Residents during the Intern Hour time slot. A schedule of topics will be provided upon request. Practicum students will occasionally view sessions either in the counseling room with the Optimum Joy staff therapist, or via HIPAA compliant video technology. Depending on the assessment of the supervising clinician around the development and readiness of the student to see clients individually, the student will start seeing a caseload of clients during their practicum experience.
During the practicum experience, the student intern agrees to read material required by Optimum Joy and complete Interaction Transcription Assignment. - In total, the student intern agrees to spend between 10-15 hours a week in practicum in order to obtain clinical experience and meet program requirements.
- Evaluation will be done between Optimum Joy and the practicum student at the end of the practicum
Internship 1 & 2
Optimum Joy agrees to take on advanced clinical interns in order for them to gain clinical experience. This experience will include:
- Direct Hours: clinical interviews, individual, group, couples/marital, and family counseling, crisis intervention, and phone calls with clients. The bulk of direct hours come from counseling sessions. During internship our office works to build a caseload of 15 clinical session a week.
- Indirect Hours: Administrative and note writing, trainings, staff meetings, blog writing, staff retreat, etc. Note writing will be left to your own time management.
- Supervision: 1 hour weekly individual supervision, and 1 hour weekly of Peer supervision at “Intern Hour”, individual consultation with our entire staff is available upon request based on specific client needs
- Trainings: Once a month a staff member will lead a training for Clinical Interns during the Intern Hour time slot. A schedule of topics will be provided upon request.Internship students agree to begin seeing a caseload of 15 clinical hours weekly, as well as complete all necessary documentation to manage caseload. This means carrying a caseload of 15-20 clients, and learning case management and scheduling of caseload. Optimum Joy will provide student with enough clients, mixing the population between marginalized communities and private practice populations, in order to meet their direct hour program requirements.
- Clinical Residents agree to turn in 3 forms of content (bio video, written blog, etc.) The students will collaborate with clinical staff and support staff in order to determine topics of need and interest. This helps interns develop their clinical voice alongside their counseling skills.
- Student interns agree to attend all meetings which include: quarterly team meetings, 1-1 monthly therapist caseload coaching, and intake coordination meeting if applicable. Student interns also agree to regularly attend their individual supervision with their assigned supervisor.
1 time mostly Clinical Residents will show 10-15 minutes of a session to their individual supervisor for feedback and development - Students will also participate in regular evaluations with Optimum Joy supervisor and staff at the end of each semester. Additional collaborative evaluation will take place when a student records segments of their sessions via video or audio, seeking supervisors’ feedback and input on the process.
- In total, the student intern agrees to spend between 16-25 hours a week in internship in order to obtain clinical experience and meet program requirements.
- Clinical interviews, individual, group, couples/marital, and family counseling, intakes, crisis intervention, on-call coverage, and phone calls with clients all count towards direct hours.
Requirement Summary:
- Attend initial trainings and onboarding’s, as well as watch an example of a first counseling session provided by our office.
- Submit 3 pieces of media in collaboration with staff, starting with a Bio Video filmed in-office
- Commit two evenings, Thursdays mandatory, to seeing clients and doing live supervision.
- Completing Interaction Transcription Assignment.
- Maintain administrative structures in a timely and responsive manner.
Clinical Experience interviews will only be offered to applicants who complete all items in the application submission process.
The 2025-2026 Cohort is closed. Please look for our residency to reopen for applications in August 2025 for the 2026-2027 Cohort.
Clinical Supervision: This position will provide clinical insight and feedback to provisionally licensed therapists via individual and group supervision. At times, a Clinical Supervisor will report on the supervisee’s development as a clinician to their Team Clinical Director.
- Clinical Supervisors are required to have an accurate working knowledge of Optimum Joy’s internal processes and policy. It is from a working knowledge that staff therapists can feel empowered in navigating the system of Optimum Joy. Also, when a staff member has difficulty navigating or upholding job requirements and policy, then collaboration and reporting to the Team Clinical Director in order to plan how to appropriately support any difficulty or concern within our teams.
- At times, the Clinical Supervisor will assist with onboarding to further a new hire’s ability to assimilate into office culture and process. This requires an ability to work collaboratively with the Support Staff, bridging the communication between what is happening clinically and administratively. Support Staff can then help create solutions or pathways for staff therapists to be supported and enjoy their jobs.
- Clinical Supervisors are required to maintain confidentiality and communicate with discretion according to HIPPA and Human Resources best practices. The leadership position has privileged access to data and information that is not public knowledge to the wider staff at Optimum Joy or others outside the organization.
- This position requires a terminal license in able to provide qualifying supervision and clinical oversight
Continuing Development
- Clinical Supervisors are recognized within our organization as leaders and future development to higher level positions.
- Clinical Supervisors will have the opportunity to read clinical notes submitted by supervisees, working with the Clinical Director they report to developmentally as a supervisor in training.
- Will engage in leadership training and development
Compensation Stipend
- Individual Supervision: This position is compensated via a monthly stipend for each clinician supervised. Each clinician supervised equals a $200/month payment for all supervision duties required which include meetings for clinical supervision, collaborating with Team Clinical Director and Admin Lead, attending leadership meetings and Clinical Supervisor meetings, reading and signing notes, and any other supervision or administrative duties related to the position.
- Every other week supervisor for 1 clinical hour (2 supervision hours per month)
- Weekly reading & signing notes (approximately 30 minutes per week). Reading clinical notes requires assessment skills around safety, best practices, professionalism, and clinical insight.
- Group Supervision: This position is compensated via a monthly stipend for each facilitated weekly group supervision. Each group equals a $100/month payment for all supervision duties required, which include facilitating virtual weekly group supervision for 2-3 clinicians for 1 clinical hours. All outside group needs can be referred to the Individual Supervisors for followup.