Job Title: LCSW - Behavioral Health Counselor / Social Worker

Job Summary:

A Behavioral Health Consultant (BHC) -LCSW -works in the primary care clinic as an integral team member and delivers brief consultation-based services to patients and primary care providers. The BHC works with individuals, groups and families providing evidence-based, brief behavioral interventions for psychological, mental, behavioral, and physical conditions in patients of all ages. 

Responsibilities:

• Provides brief, evidence-based, solution focused behavioral interventions with active development of psychotherapeutic/psychoeducational behavioral change planning for patients of the hospital.

• Provides quality clinical consultation to patients and providers regarding mental, behavioral, emotional, and physical health related issues

• Provides screening and functional assessment of behavioral health issues for patients

• Collaborates with medical providers, support staff, and operational managers to identify patients with medical, cognitive, behavioral, and/or psychological conditions that could benefit from behavioral health interventions, such as motivational interviewing, and provide these services in a timely manner within the clinic setting

• Develops and implements specific clinical pathways for select populations

• Adapts to the fast-pace of primary care and to organizational changes as they occur

• Builds and maintains professional relationships with all medical providers and support staff

• Understands and promotes the guiding principles of the Primary Care Home Model to better provide for the holistic needs of the population that the clinics serve

• Facilitates groups to address biopsychosocial issues impacting medical issues

• Assists with coordination of care and access to behavioral health agencies in the community to meet the patient’s behavioral health care needs with consistent, expeditious feedback to referring providers

• Promotes Provider’s knowledge of patient behavioral health issues and provides education to assist with enhancing primary care utilization of behavioral health interventions

• Provides on-site availability for crisis triage and intervention

• Helps with de-escalating situations with patients who are upset or frustrated

• Documents the clinical behavioral health aspect of patient interventions in consultation notes

• Completes documentation of all consultations in the EHR clearly, concisely and in a timely manner, in accordance with policies and procedures

• Attends monthly department staffings, provider meetings, team meetings, and any required supervision meetings

• Assists in assessing social determinants of health and provide resources/collaborative care with agencies in the community who can assist with any identified needs

• Works effectively with bilingual staff and vendors of interpretation services to provide high-quality care to patients for whom these services are needed

• Must be able to embrace differences among people and to interact with internal staff as well as external contacts in a culturally competent and respectful manner

• Completes peer reviews and employee evaluations as needed to assist in ensuring that services provided meet standards of care and to provide feedback for staff growth and development

• Promotes positive patient/guest relations in accordance with policies

• Observes organizational policies concerning unscheduled absences and reports unscheduled absences in accordance with departmental procedures. Has 5 or fewer occurrences of unscheduled absences in a twelve month period

• Reports to work at the start of the shift 98% of the days scheduled. Explains and gives proper notification of absenteeism, as outlined in the facility Policies and Procedures. Maintains 100% attendance at mandatory skill/departmental updates

• Complies with the organization’s Safety Policies and Procedures. Ensures compliance with governmental licensing and regulatory requirements where applicable

• Conducts himself/herself in a manner consistent with the Mission Statement and Values of Mountain Park Health Center

• Seeks out facility or external education/training that would further develop individual skills, experience or knowledge necessary for a high standard of functioning in his/her job

• Observes and respected the confidentiality of information regarding patients, visitors and fellow employees including salary information, if exposed to any of the above referenced information in the course of his/her job function

• Dresses according to the organization’s dress code policy and procedure, as well as, complies with specific departmental regulations pertaining to employee appearance

• Demonstrates an understanding of facility organizational structure by utilization of appropriate channels of communication. Maintain consistent, timely communication regarding all facets of departmental activities with his/her coworkers, therefore demonstrating good customer service skills with both external and internal customers

• Demonstrates flexibility and the ability to adapt quickly to the changes that are routine in the primary care setting

• Demonstrates the ability and desire to be a part of a healthcare team and to add value to the experience of the patients and staff of the clinic

Job Requirements: 

• Current licensure in the state of  Pennsylvania as an LCSW 
• Masters Degree in Social Work

• Must be eligible for credentialing and contracting with all insurers.

• Training in Motivational Interviewing (MI) needed.

• Training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) strongly preferred.

• Computer literacy is required