Summary
The Behavioral Health Clinician I provides the clinical intervention, discharge coordination, and milieu support on the psychiatric units. The Behavioral Health Clinician is responsible for providing high quality patient care, displaying effective skills in assessment, treatment planning, and counseling models and modalities to include individual, group, and family counseling. Additionally, he or she is expected to assist with care coordination and discharge planning to access patients needed medical, psychiatric, social, educational, vocational, and other supports essential to meet their basic needs. The Behavioral Health Clinician also performs direct and indirect patient care activities for mental health patients, including duties in support of the delivery of psychiatric nursing care and assists in the milieu management to ensure a safe, therapeutic environment for patients and staff.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
These duties and responsibilities described below represent the general tasks performed daily; other tasks may be assigned.
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Provide comprehensive assessments to identify cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning and risk assessment, using a biopsychosocial approach.
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Attend treatment team huddles and coordinate care in close collaboration with other treatment team members (i.e., physician, psychiatrist, nurse, community service board clinician, case manager, etc.)
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Completes progress notes on interventions conducted and patient response. This includes daily documentation of patient mental status, behaviors, activities, and incidents.
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Engaging patients at their level of functioning with recreation, movement, art, music, psychoeducation, and/or other empirically supported therapeutic intervention.
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Provides appropriate crisis intervention as necessary by anticipating and responding quickly to escalating behaviors, utilizing de-escalation techniques to diffuse the situation, correctly prioritizing safety concerns, following proper restraint technique guidelines, and displaying neutral emotions.
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Uses appropriate counseling skills to include active listening skills, appropriate voice tone, and volume of voice, providing a high frequency and variety of positive reinforcements, maintaining appropriate boundaries, and promoting a positive peer culture.
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Complete petitions for emergency custody order or temporary detention orders, if deemed necessary and coordinate with local community service board clinicians. Assist physicians in navigating the medical temporary detention orders, when needed.
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Enhance community integration by contacting other entities to arrange community access and involvement, including opportunities to learn community living skills, and use vocational, civic, and recreational services.
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Work in close conjunction with patient, family, nursing staff, attending physician, and referral sources.
flexible work scheduling to the psychiatric units (i.e., inpatient and CPEP) when necessary to ensure patient care.
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Oversee patient engagement and morale, maintaining a warm and positive environment that is supportive of individual choices, enriching, homelike, safe, and nurturing for people in mental health crisis receiving emergency stabilization services.
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Directly address the behavioral support needs for patients and provide a variety of support services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, mental illness, substance use, and challenging behaviors including physical aggression.
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Observe patient progress during treatment, monitor leisure time, recreational, and social activities of choice within the unit for each patient.
Required Knowledge
Persons providing case management services must have knowledge of:
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Demonstrate a sound understanding and assist in the management of a therapeutic milieu, providing structure, social support, patient-education, safety, and social skills training.
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Assessment, diagnosis, and treatment for individuals with mental illness, intellectual and developmental disability, and substance use.
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Humanistic, cognitive, expressive, and behavioral therapies as well as treatment modalities and intervention techniques, such as behavior management, independent living skills training, supportive counseling, family education, crisis intervention, verbal de-escalation, discharge planning, and service coordination.
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Services, systems, and programs available in the community including primary health care, support services, eligibility criteria and intake processes, generic community resources, mental health, intellectual and developmental disability community resources, and substance use treatment programs.
Required Skills
Persons providing case management services must have skills in:
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Using information from assessments, evaluations, observation, interviews, and individual service plans to develop an appropriate discharge plan.
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Identifying services and resources within the community and established service system to meet the individual's needs; and documenting how resources, services, and natural supports, such as family, can be utilized to achieve an individual's personal habilitative/rehabilitative and life goals; and
Required Abilities
Persons providing case management services must have abilities to:
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Utilize sound judgment and crisis intervention skills, including physical restraint, to prevent or reverse situations which, may be potentially harmful.
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Must be able to meet the physical demands of the position to include standing, bending, walking, pushing/pulling, lifting 50 pounds or ¼ of your body weight, and intervening with aggressive behaviors.
Education and Experience
Minimum: a degree in human services or related field (social work, psychology, psychiatric rehabilitation, sociology, counseling, vocational rehabilitation, human services counseling, nursing, or other degree deemed equivalent to those described) from an accredited college or 4+ years of equivalent work experience.
Preferred: Equivalent to a master’s degree in psychology, social work, counseling, or a related field from an accredited college or university.
Experience: 2+ years’ work experience in behavioral health assessment and treatment; must have a good working knowledge of mental health treatment, resources, assessment, referral, and civil mental health procedures in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Certificates, Licenses, Registrations
Required:
Preferred: Licensed-eligible for Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) or Licensed-eligible as a Professional Counselor
PI270702454
