Access Clinician

Saint Francis House Inc•Boston, MA

3d•$71,998 - $78,688

About The Position

The St. Francis House Philosophy of Care commits us to providing trauma-informed, recovery-oriented and person-centered care. It guides everything we do at St. Francis House (SFH) – how we work with Guests and how we work together as an entire agency and community. Each staff person is expected to learn, understand, and apply these principles in their everyday work. The Access Clinician works as part of the Behavioral Health department to triage and support guests with complex needs. The Access Clinician provides brief counseling, assessment, referral, and advocacy services and will have a specialized focus on coordinating care with external agencies for these guests. The Access Clinician helps guests obtain the skills, support, and resources needed to achieve stability in key areas such as housing, income, and behavioral health and will be an integral and active part of crisis intervention process within St. Francis House. This position will work collaboratively on an interdisciplinary team. Behavioral Health at St. Francis House is grounded in trauma-informed, person-centered and recovery-oriented practices in order to assist guests in addressing the various and complex barriers associated with homelessness.

Requirements

Proficiency in English.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Excellent organizational skills with attention to detail.
Ability to prioritize tasks and to delegate them when appropriate.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite.
Ability to function well in a fast-paced environment with compassion and professionalism.
Basic understanding of and commitment to taking a person-centered, recovery-oriented, and trauma-informed approach.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Knowledge of community resources and best practices with at-risk populations.
Knowledge of de-escalation techniques or crisis intervention.
Strong supervisory and leadership skills.
LCSW required (or LCSW eligible with willingness to obtain licensure within 6 months of hire). LMHC will be considered.
1-2 years of experience with highly vulnerable, high-barrier individuals and awareness of issues common to those who are experiencing homelessness.
Experience serving a population with severe and persistent mental illness and/or co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.
Experience with crisis intervention and de-escalation strongly preferred.
Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
Must be able to lift up to 10 pounds at times.
Occasionally works in outdoor weather conditions.
Prolonged standing and moving throughout multi-level building.
Constantly operate computer and other office machinery, such as a calculator, copy machine, computer printer, 2-way radio.

Nice To Haves

Bilingual (Spanish) Preferred.
Lived experience of homelessness and/or recovery a plus.

Responsibilities

Provides brief, solution-focused counseling interventions to high-risk guests in day shelter setting.
Ensures a highly responsive model of care that welcomes people into treatment “on demand” with limited barriers to access.
Works within a holistic care model, collaborating closely with guests’ care teams both within the agency and externally.
Conducts and documents intakes, assessments, treatment plans, and maintains timely clinical notes.
Enrolls eligible guests onto their caseload in accordance with Department of Mental Health contract guidelines, develops treatment plans and works to support guest goals through a flexible and supportive approach
Engages in proactive outreach to vulnerable guests both in the shelter setting and in the surrounding neighborhood
Coordinates with external agencies (PSI, WM, BPHC, DMH etc.) to case conference around guests with nontraditional needs.
Incorporates low threshold case management support within counseling services.
Attends weekly A1 Task Force meeting to coordinate with area outreach teams around needs of shared guests
Supports teams across Clinical Services on an as-needed basis, offering flexibility to Seeds of Change Day Treatment and Women’s Center spaces
Acts as primary support for SFH staff navigating behavioral health crises in guests they are serving.
Engages in emergency mental health actions (Section 12, BEST team calls) as appropriate.
Works collectively with Harm Reduction team to triage, engage and assess specific substance use related needs of guests.
Works with Guest Engagement and CES staff members to identify and engage with high need guests
Performs other duties as assigned.
Adheres to agency code of conduct.