Behavioral Health Consultant - Peninsula Medicine - Erie - FT

Highmark Health • Erie, PA

1d • Onsite

About The Position

A Behavioral Health Consultant (BHC) is a vital member of the core healthcare team, assisting care managers in overseeing the overall health of enrolled patients. The BHC's primary role is to enhance the recognition, treatment, and management of psychosocial/behavioral problems and medical conditions within the patient population. They provide clinical mental health consultation services, adhering to their state's professional licensure board regulations, to all patients referred by the care team. The BHC is instrumental in managing the psychosocial aspects of both chronic and acute diseases, applying behavioral principles to address lifestyle and health risk issues, and offering consultation and co-management for mental disorders and psychosocial issues. As the team's expert, the BHC assesses, intervenes, and connects patients to higher levels of care for mental health and addiction services when necessary.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in Mental Health Field
• 2 years experience in use of evidence-based counseling techniques, screening, diagnosis, and treatment of common mental health and substance abuse disorders
• Knowledge of the relationship between medical and psychological aspects of health and disease
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) or Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) or Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT) - for out of state license transfers allow 60 days from hire to transfer license

Responsibilities

• Acts as a core care team member to develop specific clinical pathways or best practice programs for targeted patient groups.
• Participates in practice staff meetings and trainings.
• Provides education and support on a variety of topics from behavioral health and substance abuse background, training, and expertise to multidisciplinary team members during the course of treatment planning for patients.
• Participates in daily huddles, listening for behavioral health, substance abuse, and psychosocial needs.
• Provides population based care based on registry to high risk/high need patients.
• Provides services to all enrollees (not just those with diagnosable mental disorders).
• Participates in system-wide BHC learning collaborative.
• Promotes ongoing change efforts in the practice and within the AHN health system around mental health and substance abuse disorders.
• Documents in the same medical record as the rest of the team in a place that is easily visible by providers and other team members.
• Engages patients via telephone as well as in person.
• Meets patients and providers where they are, usually the same day a patient presents in clinic providing immediate support to include assessment, intervention and referrals to higher levels of care for mental health and addiction needs when required.
• Often sees patients immediately after other team members (often in exam room or nearby consult room) and encourages patient participation in the overall treatment plan.
• Provides therapeutic counseling services appropriate to the ambulatory care environment: using 15-30 minute interventions.
• Identify functional outcomes; make recommendations that target occupational, social, and familial functioning; home activities; recreation.
• Treat patients with short term interventions based on “treat to target” approach using solution focused approaches, CBT, Motivational Interviewing and other short term counseling interventions.
• Coordinates with patient family members and other support systems (with patient permission).
• Provide brief follow up, including relapse prevention education.
• Promote skill building to enhance psychological and physical health/sometimes in the form of groups.
• Helps patient in crisis get urgent mental health and substance abuse needs met.
• Triage and refer patients to specialty mental health and substance abuse services when appropriate (i.e. Childhood trauma, IOP, inpatient hospitalization, PTSD, psychiatry, etc.).
• Advocates for patients who are perceived as difficult to work with or “non-compliant”.
• Reaches out to patients who are not engaging (usually via phone) to re-engage them in their care.
• Encourages patient to become an active participant in their own care and treatment.
• Connects patient to a variety of resources in the community related to social determinants of health.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level