Behavioral Health Consultant I in CHEROKEE, North Carolina at Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority

Primary Function

Responsible for working with the Integrated Healthcare Team of Primary Care Providers, Pharmacists, Dietitians, Nursing & and support staff to provide quality health care to patients and their families. Responsible for working with the Integrated Healthcare Team to recognize and address psychological symptoms and conditions using the biopsychosocial model. Provide behavioral health consultation to children, adolescents, adults, and families to improve psychosocial functioning.

Job Description

Direct Service Duties

• Creates, develops, and nurtures culturally appropriate interactions and connections with each other, customer-owners, and the community
• Provides professional expertise and consultation to the primary care provider.
• Propose changes to achieve more effective working relationships to improve performance and services provided, and connections with other departments.
• Works with Primary Care Providers to develop the “core” behavioral health skills needed on an integrated primary care team.
• Makes appropriate referrals to the Crisis Intervention Team and seeks resources to aid customer-owners.
• Assists, leads, or co-leads customer-owner case conferences and customer-owner support or counseling groups with the primary care provider.
• Works with members of the treatment team (internal and, where appropriate, external), including mentors, educational and vocational instructors, clinical staff, etc., to further the goals of the individual educational and/or treatment plans.
• Develops and maintains a trusting and partnering relationship with assigned customer-owners to assist in the success of the treatment plan.
• Works with the provider to monitor and manage “at-risk” and “chronic” customer-owners.
• Works to improve provider and customer-owner working relationship.
• Performs assessment and brief treatment for a wide range of psychological disorders using brief therapy.
• Obtains complete and accurate information in a courteous, respectful and culturally sensitive manner to determine a diagnosis and appropriate treatment plan.
• Assesses the treatment needs of the customer-owners, and designs and implements various treatments indicated to best meet customer-owner needs.
• Participates in presenting customer-owner reviews to a multi-disciplinary team and provides feedback regarding clinical issues.
• Strives to ensure that appropriate diagnostic evaluations and treatment plans are achieved to provide the highest quality of care for the customer-owner.
• Advises customer-owners and family members in methods that facilitate a capacity for self-care and a movement towards a healthcare partnership between the healthcare providers, the customer-owners, and their families.
• Participates in the after-hours/weekend, on-call rotation with other BH department clinicians.
• Provides effective triage of customer-owners in need of specialty behavioral health.
• Uses SBIRT (Screening Brief Intervention Referral to Treatment modality to assess for readiness and high levels of care as needed.
• Serves as the in-house BH expert on the integrated primary care team.
• Participates in fulfilling the mission, vision, goals, and objectives of the organization.
• Assists in committee and other duties within the department.
• Assist in maintaining a clean work environment, including adequate supplies and upkeep of the unit and equipment. Assists in reporting defective or missing equipment and safety hazards. Assists in disaster planning and activities.
• Intervenes and diffuses situations involving agitated, confused or emotional customer-owners, and/or family members.
• Maintains currency of job knowledge and skills to assist customer-owners in assuming self-care and to provide customer-owners and family members with appropriate information regarding home care. Skill in empathic interpersonal relationships is a priority for this position since the perception of the customer-owner must be that the staff is interested in attending to their needs.
• May occasionally need to respond to a consultation request from the emergency department or inpatient unit.
• Participates in division/program meetings to review and identify opportunities to improve the program and treatment provided, and recommends changes when challenges are identified. This includes assisting with changes in policy and procedure, which would improve the care of service delivery.
• Assist CIHA Tribal Option Care Managers as needed.
• Other duties as assigned.

Communications & Teamwork

• Shares and receives information, opinions, concerns, and feedback in a supportive manner.
• Works collaboratively by building bridges and creating rapport with team members within departments and across the organization.
• Performs job duties as a member of the primary care team.
• Provides simultaneous focus on health and behavioral health issues.
• Attends Outpatient and/or Pediatric staff meetings, training sessions, and urgent treatment team meetings.
• Participates in regularly scheduled individual and group supervisory sessions.
• Develops educational, training materials and conducts sessions or disseminates information to the primary care team on recent advances in the field.
• Utilize professional communication and conflict resolution skills with customer-owners and staff.
• Effectively coordinates with multi-disciplinary team and CIHA providers in accomplishing goals/objectives of treatment plan.
• Present clinical cases at clinical review meetings.

Workforce Development Skills & Abilities

• Seeks out additional learning opportunities to continue to develop the technical and professional skills needed now and in the future.
• Takes responsibility for all work activities and personal actions by following through on commitments.
• Consults and coordinates with the Primary Care Providers (PCP).
• Supports provider decision-making and builds on provider-customer-owner interventions.
• Works in coordination with the PCP and case managers to develop treatment plans for customer-owners.
• Adheres to agency policy regarding documentation and medical records procedures.
• Exposure to and training in evidence-based procedures.
• Timely record all treatment and clinically significant events for the medical record in the manner prescribed by CIHA policies and procedures.
• Practices appropriate assessment techniques, diagnosis, and treatment of psychiatric disorders in children, adolescents, and adults.
• Applies appropriate counsel for sexual abuse and domestic violence issues.
• Efficiently and effectively manages multiple clinical tasks.
• Evaluates suicidal individuals or individuals in crisis and manages their safe disposition.
• Maintain quality, safety, and infection control standards.
• Perform a comprehensive clinical assessment of the population served.
• Utilize assessment information and collateral information to conceptualize customer-owner psychopathology.
• Accurately and routinely utilize the DSM-5 and assessment information to accurately diagnose individuals treated.
• Independently produce professional and accurate written work (assessments, treatment plans, documentation, and discharge summary reports with minimal supervisory correction or editing.
• Utilize different therapeutic modalities including group therapy, individual, child, family, couples counseling, family support services, and wrap-around services.
• Independently develop, coordinate, and facilitate psycho-educational classes, groups and customer-owner activities as relevant to the treatment plan/program.
• Demonstrates expanding capability to be self-directed in the management of responsibilities.
• Learn and effectively utilize an electronic medical record and other software required for operation in the CIHA system.
• Other duties as assigned.

Education/Experience

• Master’s Degree in social work, psychology, or counseling; OR PhD/PsyD in Clinical or Counseling Psychology; OR current certification by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners or American Nurse Credentialing Center, (NP) required. The degree must be obtained from an accredited university that is accepted by the appropriate licensing agencies in NC.
• Must be licensed in NC in a specific discipline, including:

• Licensed Clinical Social Work, or Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor
• Full or provisional license (Licensed Clinical Social Worker Associate; Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor)

• Must be approved for and maintain medical credentialing upon hire.
• Must possess a valid driver's license.
• Ages of population(s) served: All ages.
• Substance use experience/Credential (CDAC; LCAS) preferred.
• Specific experience working with Native Americans preferred.

Complexity of Duties

This position is responsible for assisting in maximizing the available resources to meet the behavioral health needs of the community. Must have the ability to interpret policy, laws, and regulations in order to make decisions when a precedent is not available. Duties require the application of clinical judgment and problem-solving skills in order to be effective.

Supervision Received

Works under the direct guidance assigned supervisor and/or manager, where responsibilities and assignments are often broadly defined. Position must demonstrate considerable initiative and ability to work independently within applicable licensing regulations where latitude for creative thinking, initiative, and discretion are given to achieve department goals and objectives. Position must communicate effectively with supervisor to ensure alignment with organizational goals, mission, vision, and values.

Responsibility for Accuracy

Failure to provide adequate clinical services or to properly manage and direct activities could result in poor client outcomes, delays in patient treatment, and negative patient and community relations. Ineffective health planning could have adverse effects on the health status of the community by limiting access to necessary resources. The accuracy of data and research is critical in the allocation of tribal resources. The employee is responsible for adhering to the policy and procedure. Inappropriate actions or inaccuracies in judgment could result in improper diagnosis and treatment, serious liability for the tribe, or serious health risks to patients.

Contact with Others

Interacts frequently with coworkers, hospital staff, patients, stakeholders, and other health professionals for the purpose of exchanging information, obtaining, or providing assistance. Serves on various local, community, and health committees, boards, and advisory councils, as appropriate. Tact, courtesy, and professional conduct are required to maintain positive working relationships. Utmost sensitivity and confidentiality is required when dealing with patients and families.

Confidential Data

The provision of medical care requires that the incumbent maintain strict appropriate confidentiality regarding all patient information. The employee will have access to patient records and highly confidential information and must function with utmost integrity to safeguard this information. The employee complies with EBCI policy on confidentiality of patient records, Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority Confidentiality policy, HIPAA, and other federal law requirements. Violations of confidentiality regulations may result in inter-disciplinary action and other action as allowed by federal regulations.

Mental/Visual/Physical Environment

Job duties can be mentally and emotionally stressful at times, given the complexity of the duties, management and supervision of staff, and the clinical areas being addressed with the people being served. Close mental concentration and attention to detail are required. Physical activities require the ability to be mobile, sit, reach, bend, and be in front of groups and deliver training for extended periods of time. Some physical exertion and stamina are required, such as those required to transport training materials or to travel. Must have visual acuity, manual dexterity, and the ability to speak and hear. Must be able to lift 30 lbs.

• Position requires: stand (under 1/3 time); walk (under 1/3 time); sit (to 2/3 time); talk or hear (over 2/3 time).
• Weight lifted or force exerted: none.
• Special vision requirements: Close vision (clear vision at 20 inches or less).

Work Environment

The employee works primarily in a hospital, inpatient or outpatient clinical environment but may be required to work at other offices and locations. The work environment involves moderate risks of exposure to infectious disease, radiation, electrical hazards, and irritant chemical and explosive gases. Employees must strictly adhere to OSHA guidelines and protocol for maintaining sterile conditions.

Some travel is required. Infrequent overnight travel may be required for meetings or to attend training.

Emergency Privileges

In the case of an emergency, any member of the Medical Staff, to the degree permitted by his/her license, shall be permitted to do everything possible to save a patient’s life or save a patient from serious harm, regardless of the individual’s clinical privileges. This shall be defined as those situations in which a delay could result in serious harm or death and in which a more qualified member is not immediately available.

Customer Service

Consistently demonstrates superior customer service skills to patients/customers by demonstrating characteristics that align with CIHA’s guiding principles and core values. Ensure excellent customer service is provided to all patients/customers by seeking out opportunities to be of service.