Crisis Peer Support Specialist

Spring River Mental Health & Wellness•Riverton, KS

11h

About The Position

The Crisis Peer Support Specialist provides direct, face-to-face services to clients receiving crisis services, drawing on personal peer experience to validate clients’ experiences and encourage active participation in treatment and recovery. Services are client-centered and focused on rehabilitation and recovery, including coping and symptom-management skills, use of natural resources, and community living skills. Contacts may take place in community locations where clients live, work, attend school, or socialize. The specialist is part of a crisis response team that includes a Qualified Mental Health Professional and a crisis case manager. The team is part of the CCBHC program, which integrates mental health, substance use, and primary medical care in the Cherokee County area. The role includes accompanying the crisis team on community field visits, supporting clients in crisis, coordinating with treatment and service providers, and participating in an after-hours mobile-crisis on-call rotation. This is a full-time position, 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The role also includes after-hours on-call activities, approximately four weeks per month. Starting pay is $20.00 per hour, commensurate with experience.

Requirements

Self-identify as someone who has received their own mental health services at some point in life, as required to meet Kansas Peer Support qualifications.
Be at least 21 years old.
Have a high school diploma or equivalent.
Be able to meet State of Kansas certification requirements to provide the service.
Complete pre-employment background checks and drug screening.
Have an acceptable driving history that permits insurability, driving agency vehicles, and transporting clients.
Be able to work under high-stress conditions for extended periods and handle unpredictable crisis situations.
Be able to hear a normal range of voice and prepare written reports and use telephone equipment.
Be able to perform computer keyboard and monitor work, including prolonged data entry and viewing a monitor for extended periods.

Responsibilities

Provide face-to-face crisis services, using shared peer experiences to validate clients and encourage participation in treatment and recovery.
Help clients build skills, develop positive relationships, and connect with community resources.
Collaborate with the treatment team to respect clients’ perspectives, experiences, and preferences and support self-determination and decision-making in treatment planning.
Help clients identify and address stigma associated with mental illness and substance use and develop strategies to reduce self-stigma.
Adhere to HIPAA and confidentiality requirements and obtain documentation needed to coordinate care among treatment and service providers.
Develop effective professional relationships and boundaries with clients and families.
Apply knowledge of trauma-informed care.
Help clients develop community-based networks for information and support.
Assist clients in regaining the ability to make independent choices and take an active role in treatment.
Accompany the crisis team on community field visits and support psychosocial assessments for people experiencing psychiatric crises, including suicide risk.
Assist clients and the crisis team with person-centered safety goal planning when requested.
Help clients access and navigate behavioral health, human services, and criminal justice systems.
Advocate and serve as a liaison to help clients access resources that support service-plan goals.
Use motivational interviewing, recovery-oriented, and trauma-informed approaches when providing peer services.
Participate in mobile-crisis on-call activities, including an after-hours rotation of approximately four weeks per month.
Complete required training within requested timelines.
Complete documentation in the EHR in accordance with policy.
Perform other duties as assigned.