Behavioral Health Therapist - Addiction Recovery Center

Carle Health•Peoria, IL

About The Position

The Behavioral Health Therapist provides assistance to a multidisciplinary team in assessing patients, developing treatment plans, counseling patients and families, and planning for discharge. The role provides individual, group, and family counseling and works with patients experiencing mental illness and substance abuse co-occurring disorders. The therapist collaborates with treatment-team members, community providers, patients, and families to coordinate care and support transitions between levels of care.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Social Work, Psychology, or Counseling; a master’s degree is required within six months.
Master’s degree in Social Work, Counseling, or Psychology.
Behavioral health work experience.
Obtain an LPC, LSW, and CADC within two years, as applicable to the stated qualification requirements.
Obtain Basic Life Support (BLS) certification through the American Heart Association within 30 days.
Advanced reading, writing, and oral communication skills.
Ability to respond appropriately to customers and coworkers and interact with a wide variety of people.
Ability to maintain confidential information and communicate only facts to recipients or decline to disclose information.
Ability to project a professional, friendly, and helpful demeanor.
Basic computer skills, including word processing, spreadsheets, email, and web browsing; comfort using Windows OS and learning new applications.

Responsibilities

Provide individual, group, and family counseling to help patients and families achieve treatment goals.
Provide individual counseling as specified in treatment plans and facilitate regularly scheduled group therapy.
Involve families in the treatment process and provide family counseling as specified in treatment plans.
Use expertise in group dynamics and apply cognitive behavioral therapy and other brief therapies when appropriate.
Complete ongoing patient assessments, including formal and informal sessions, and document impressions, recommendations, and progress toward treatment-plan goals.
Facilitate assigned groups with attention to each group’s goals and processes, and document activities according to policies and procedures.
During low census (fewer than four patients), assist with assessments, admissions, and other groups as directed by the Program Manager.
Use CPI methods when assisting the team in controlling an aggressive or violent patient.
Provide emergency assistance for inappropriate acting-out behavior, attempting verbal redirection and other less restrictive interventions before emergency measures such as safety codes or restraints.
Work with patients who have co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse disorders and perform counselor duties as needed and assigned.
Collaborate with treatment-team members and community providers to develop and implement individualized treatment plans, make referrals, and plan discharges.
Participate actively in scheduled staffing meetings, including community, return-to-work, discharge, and employer staffing, and contribute knowledge of each patient’s strengths, illness, support systems, and history.
Document identified problems, discipline-specific interventions, discharge plans, and goals met in treatment plans.
Coordinate care and discharge planning daily with psychiatrists, unit counselors, community providers, patients, and family members.
Begin discharge planning as soon as clinically appropriate and ensure a plan is in place before discharge.
Keep patients and families informed of plans as they progress when clinically appropriate.
Use creativity and patient advocacy in planning and implementing discharges.
Facilitate transitions between levels of care within the service-line continuum and provide necessary information to providers at the next level of care.