Behavioral Health Emergency Services Clinician (Licensed)

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Arlington County requires all applicants to thoroughly complete each section of the application, including prior job responsibilities, duties, and supplemental questions. While you may attach a resume, it will not replace a completed application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. 

Arlington County's Department of Human Services (DHS) is hiring experienced Behavioral Health Clinicians to serve as Emergency Services Clinicians in the Client Services Entry (CSE) Bureau of the Behavioral Healthcare Division (BHD). These employees will provide comprehensive crisis intervention and stabilization to persons with serious mental illness, dual diagnoses, and acute psychiatric and substance abuse-related issues, in order to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations and lengthy emergency department stays, and to de-escalate and prevent future crises. Services offered are trauma-informed, culturally competent, strengths-based, needs-driven, and are responsive, adaptive, as well as respectful.

Arlington County DHS is committed to delivering client services in an effective, equitable, respectful, and trauma-informed manner. Our staff is dedicated to ensuring our clients are approached, engaged and cared for in ways that demonstrate competency, sensitivity and awareness of factors which impact the client experience including but not limited to: cultural identity, gender, racial, and ethnic diversity, religious/spiritual ascription, physical capability, cognitive and literacy levels, sexual orientation, and linguistic needs.

Specific duties include:

• Providing assessments and interventions in multiple settings including home, schools, juvenile justice settings, community organizations, as well as hospital inpatient units and emergency departments;
• Developing and maintaining working relationships with BHD staff and with other agencies including police, courts, schools, magistrates, fire and rescue, VHC Health, and other agencies involved in emergency interventions;
• Conducting diagnostic assessments and risk analyses, utilizing a strengths-based approach;
• Developing and implementing strategies for clients and for families to alleviate crisis including time-limited crisis interventions, short term counseling, and/or intensive care coordination;
• Conducting pre-admission screening for hospitalization or other diversionary services (partial hospitalization, residential, respite, intensive community services), ensuring that services are provided in the least restrictive environments; and
• Ensuring high quality and timely documentation within an electronic record management system by staff.

The ideal candidate is patient, calm, understanding, inquisitive, convincing, while often under pressure to complete tasks under the allowed time limit. They will have proven experience completing documentation in a timely manner to ensure that subsequent staff have the information necessary to follow up on cases. The ability to work under uncertain conditions and unknown hours is also essential for this role.

Minimum: 

• Master's degree in Counseling, Psychiatric Social Work, Psychology, Art Therapy, Psychiatric Nursing or other directly related discipline, all of which required a clinical practicum involving diagnostic and treatment services; and
• Considerable post-Master’s degree experience providing mental health services, which includes one-year minimum of working with seriously mentally ill individuals in crisis.

Clinicians may be hired at the following levels:

Behavioral Health Emergency Services Clinician (Licensed):

• Licensure by the appropriate board of the Virginia Department of Health Professions, appropriate to the employee's discipline (e.g. LPC, LCP, LMFT, or LCSW) at time of employment.

 Behavioral Health Emergency Services Clinician (Resident/Supervisee): 

• Within 90 days of hire, obtaining a temporary license as a Resident in Counseling (for LPC or LMFT), Resident in Clinical Psychology (for LCP) or registering as a Supervisee in Social Work (for LCSW) with the Virginia Department of Health Professions (VDHP). Licensure by the appropriate board of Virginia Department of Health Professions must be obtained within 3 years of hire.

 Behavioral Health Emergency Services Clinician (Non-VA Licensed): 

• Licensure in another jurisdiction at time of employment and licensure by the appropriate board of the Virginia Department of Health Professions, appropriate to the employee's discipline (e.g., LPC, LCP, LMFT, or LCSW) must be obtained within 90 days of employment.

All Levels:

Possession or obtainment of:

• Preadmission Prescreening Clinician Certification from the