Behavioral Health Consultant(Elk Ridge) - Kingman - Primary Care

El Rio Health•Kingman, AZ

About The Position

The Behavioral Health Consultant (BHC) provides assessment and intervention for health behaviors affecting patients’ management of chronic medical illnesses. Working collaboratively with behavioral health teams, primary care providers, and other medical team members, the BHC supports coordinated whole-person care for patients of all ages. Services address psychosocial concerns related to life stressors, medical or mental health conditions, substance use, motivational barriers to healthy lifestyles, and other behavioral health concerns. Interventions may include brief population-based consultations, crisis triage, brief solution-focused therapy, and assessment and treatment planning for patients experiencing a mental health crisis in primary care. The role supports Elk Ridge Community Health’s mission to provide comprehensive, quality, affordable, and accessible health care. The BHC delivers focused clinical services, education, health behavior support, care coordination, and navigation to crisis services. The position also supports primary care teams’ capacity to manage mild behavioral health conditions and participates in the Behavioral Emergency Response Team (BERT), including rapid intervention, verbal de-escalation, and therapeutic communication. The BHC maintains accurate and timely electronic health records and protects patient, proprietary, and personnel information. The role requires compliance with HIPAA, confidentiality requirements, documentation and billing procedures, Joint Commission standards, infection prevention policies, and applicable safety and reporting requirements. Employees must have reliable transportation for potential operational reassignments during the workday; driving employees must hold a valid driver’s license and comply with Arizona vehicle insurance requirements. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. Employees must undergo pre-employment drug testing and may be subject to additional testing under applicable policies and regulations.

Requirements

Master’s degree in Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, or a related field from an accredited university.
Three years of post-graduate experience working with behavioral health patients in a clinical setting, outpatient and/or inpatient.
Previous training in Crisis Intervention, Non-Violent Crisis Intervention, and/or related intervention care models.
Current Arizona independent-level behavioral health license in good standing with the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health (LPC, LCSW, or Clinical Psychologist).
Current Basic Life Support (BLS) certification for health care providers.
Current, valid Level I fingerprint clearance card in good standing, or application for the card within seven working days after beginning employment.
Reliable transportation capable of meeting operational reassignments during the workday.
If driving during work hours, a valid driver’s license and compliance with Arizona vehicle insurance requirements.
Employees must undergo drug testing before employment and may be subject to post-accident, reasonable-suspicion, return-to-duty, and follow-up drug and alcohol testing under applicable federal and state regulations.

Nice To Haves

Doctoral degree in Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, or a related field from an accredited university.
Five years of post-graduate experience working with behavioral health patients in a clinical setting, outpatient and/or inpatient.
Three years of post-graduate experience working in an integrated medical setting.
Bilingual English/Spanish skills, including the ability to speak, read, and write in both languages.
An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered if directly related to the job’s functions and responsibilities.

Responsibilities

Provide focused clinical services, including consultation, health behavior assessment and intervention, and care coordination for patients’ behavioral and health concerns.
Provide interruptible, accessible services in response to referrals and warm hand-off requests.
Promote education and self-management skills for populations with comorbid medical and mental health conditions, chronic disease, behavioral health concerns, and other conditions affecting biopsychosocial health and functioning.
Collaborate with primary care providers and interdisciplinary medical team members to support patients’ health behaviors and address physical health conditions and comorbidities.
Coordinate with Specialty Behavioral Health to staff cases, promote continuity of care, support transitions to services, and strengthen primary care teams’ capacity to manage mild behavioral health conditions.
Maintain accurate electronic patient records in accordance with established documentation, billing, coding, and procedure guidelines; complete clinical documentation clearly, thoroughly, accurately, and within required timeframes.
Protect the confidentiality of patient records and information, proprietary information, and personnel information.
Educate primary care and behavioral health teams on current behavioral health assessment and intervention knowledge, behavioral health conditions, safety and risk assessment, and effective use of behavioral health services.
Attend applicable behavioral health and medical provider meetings and participate in ongoing training as needed.
Collaborate with primary care providers and the interdisciplinary medical team to provide health counseling and develop integrated treatment plans.
Guide patients to crisis services and engage mobile crisis teams when needed, supporting a safe transition to higher levels of behavioral health care.
Participate in the Behavioral Emergency Response Team (BERT), providing rapid interventions such as verbal de-escalation and therapeutic communication to support patient and staff safety.
Maintain a clean, safe, and hygienic work environment and comply with applicable policies, infection prevention and control requirements, and Joint Commission standards.
Maintain reliable transportation to meet operational reassignments during the workday; if driving during work hours, maintain a valid driver’s license and comply with Arizona vehicle insurance requirements.