Behavioral Health Licensed Clinician

Location: Harrisonburg Healthy Community Health CentersPosition:Behavioral Health Licensed Clinician 
Join our mission to provide patient-centered healthcare that is accessible and affordable for all.
About HCHCHCHC is a non-profit 501(c)3 federally qualified health center, a true universal access medical facility. HCHC brings together an exceptional team of health care providers, a responsive and helpful administrative staff and a supportive Board of Directors to fulfill our mission of providing comprehensive primary care health services to anyone in the community regardless of their financial situation.
Position SummaryThe Behavioral Health Licensed Clinician works as part of the primary care team, identifies triages and manages patients with behavioral health care needs within the primary care setting.
The Behavioral Health Licensed Clinician provides behavioral health services to patients referred for services. These services include counselling for Depression; Anxiety; Grief; Trauma; Anger; Chronic Disease; Self/Behavioral management; Children and Family Counseling; Life Stage coaching and counseling; Marital / Couples Therapy; Substance Abuse Assessments and Substance Use Counseling; mental health assessments; management of care of patients within the field of mental health, crisis management; counselling and connection to community based resources designed to facilitate the ability of the patient to care for themselves and their families.

Responsibilities

• Assists primary health care providers in recognizing and treating mental health disorders and psychosocial problems.
• Assesses the clinical status of patients referred by primary care providers through brief consultative contacts. “Warm handoffs”.
• Formulates an initial diagnosis and treatment plan for individuals with a mental health diagnosis.
• Provides one on one counseling and services for adults and children within designated scope.
• Works with the primary care team to efficiently and effectively treat and manage patients with behavioral health issues.
• Provides group therapy and education as indicated by scope.
• Performs interviews and evaluations with patients and family members.
• Provides assessments, crisis response, direct mental health services, and mental health record documentation as required, including disability paperwork, summaries of services provided, and care coordination with external stakeholders.
• Monitors changes of clients with persistent mental illness.
• Provides behavioral modification and supportive counseling for clients in regards to psychosocial, environmental, and physical well-being
• Provides mental health education materials for patients, caregivers and family, as well as staff.
• Develops and carries out data collection and recording of data for HCHC quality improvement initiatives.
• Works to integrate mental health and behavioral modification services with primary care services through consultation and collaboration with other HCHC providers and care team members.
• Refers patients for specialty care as appropriate.
• Works together with practice team to care for patient, offering direction to the team and education to the team to improve patient outcomes and team performance.
• Serves as a member of the provider team in monitoring, organizing, and analyzing continuous performance improvement measures and procedures.
• Ensures the dignity, confidentiality and privacy of patients is respected.
• Information from medical records is released only in accordance with state/ federal regulations.
• Work with interpreter services.
• Perform other responsibilities as assigned.

Required Skills and Abilities

• Must be able to prioritize care needs and demonstrate cognitive reasoning ability.
• Must be aware of diversity among patient’s ethnicity and the impact of patient’s cultural background.
• Experience with an integrated care model in a primary care setting is preferred.
• Will need to demonstrate a high level of comfort in working with primary care medical providers using a consultative style.
• Ability to work through brief patient contacts, including via telephone and teleconferencing.
• Ability to train and teach effective behavioral health interventions and the primary behavioral health model to medical practitioners and other members of the care team.
• Ability to exercise balanced judgement in evaluation situations and making decisions, and to handle difficult or confrontational situations in a calm, consistent and equitable manner.
• Ability to make quick and accurate clinical assessments of mental and behavioral conditions.
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