DESCRIPTION

The California Smokers' Helpline (Helpline), also known as 1-800-N0-BUTTS, is a statewide counseling service operated through UCSD Moores Cancer Center. The Helpline was established in 1992 and currently provides telephone-based cessation counseling in English and Spanish for all California residents, and through the Asian Smokers' Quitline, counseling in Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Korean, and Vietnamese for the whole country (N=30,000 enrollees/year).

The Helpline became the first in the nation to offer free, telephone-based services for tobacco users wanting to quit. The Helpline has served as a model for similar services that are now available in all 50 states. Since its inception, the Helpline has provided free, personalized and confidential services to Californians from diverse communities throughout the state. The Helpline also provides training and technical assistance to a wide variety of organizations throughout California to increase their capacity in tobacco cessation, including health professionals working in tobacco control, public health, health education, behavioral health, health care, and health system administration.

The Helpline is renowned for its quality intervention research that has consisted of large randomized trials testing various counseling protocols designed to help smokers quit. These trials have repeatedly proven the effectiveness of the standard telephone counseling protocol as well as more targeted protocols such as for pregnant smokers, teens, and Asian-language speakers. The Helpline has also been the setting for conducting research on novel interventions such as using financial incentives to increase counseling adherence among low-income smokers, helping smokers quit through intervention with non-smokers, or determining the role of nicotine replacement therapy in helping smokers quit smoking. The Helpline is expanding its intervention model to include vaping cessation protocols for adults and teens as well as internet and technology-based protocols like texting, chat, mobile applications and online videos.

The Assistant Clinical Director is a licensed psychologist who will help the Clinical Director manage the clinical operations of the California Smokers' Helpline. The Assistant Clinical Director will apply behavioral change theory with an in-depth understanding of the modification of addictive behaviors in the Helpline setting. The Helpline serves a range of tobacco users and non-tobacco users from varying ethnic, socioeconomic and psychiatric health backgrounds and includes populations such as teens, American Indians, LGBTQ tobacco users, tobacco users with mental health conditions, First 5 clients (pregnant tobacco users and smokers living with children 0-5), nonsmoking family members and friends of smokers (proxies) and those using e-cigarettes and vaping nicotine.

Under general direction from the Helpline's clinical director, the Assistant Clinical Director will: 1) maintain a clinical caseload, and provide clinical consultation to Helpline counselors and supervisors; 2) provide triage, emergency care and consultation; 3) provide counseling and risk management/crisis intervention and mandated reporting for clients across the state; 4) assist with hiring, training and consultation for clinical staff; 5) help develop, manage, assess and maintain counseling and tech-based cessation interventions for tobacco smoking, nicotine vaping and other tobacco products; 6) offer technical assistance and training for medical and behavioral health care providers through the Helpline's Center for Tobacco Cessation; 7) assist with creating clinically-related psychoeducational and promotional materials and preparing scholarly works for presentation or publication; 8) contribute to the conceptualization, design, implementation and monitoring of intervention studies and: 9) function as acting Clinical Director during temporary absences of the Clinical Director. Specialized knowledge of industry standards for teen, young adult, and adult tobacco cessation intervention and behavioral health care and technology-based interventions is preferred.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Doctoral degree in clinical or counseling psychology or related field.

• Three (3) or more years of relevant experience.

• A valid California license as a psychologist in good standing.

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