Crisis Specialist (Part-time)

University of Colorado•Remote, CO

7d•$39 - $50•Remote

About The Position

The Hospital Follow-Up Program is a Colorado suicide prevention program that provides caring contact and care coordination through telephonic and virtual encounters. The part-time, hourly-as-needed Crisis Specialist rapidly evaluates complex behavioral health situations and develops, recommends, and supports appropriate interventions. The specialist serves as a program subject matter expert and provides comprehensive crisis intervention and de-escalation support with cultural competence and compassion. This role is remote, but the employee must be in Colorado to attend in-person meetings and hospital trainings. The Department of Psychiatry and the Division of Community, Population and Public Mental Health work with statewide partners to improve access to equitable, evidence-based mental health care and training.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in biological science, nutrition, nursing, health, human services, psychology, counseling, social work, or a directly related field from an accredited institution; a combination of education and related technical or paraprofessional experience may substitute year for year.
Three years of experience working in a health care setting, including one year of crisis intervention experience.
Cultural competence in working with a variety of populations.
Strong understanding of de-escalation and crisis intervention practices.
Effective communication skills.
Ability to navigate complex healthcare systems.
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with employees at all levels throughout the institution and community.
Outstanding customer service skills.
Legal authorization to work in the United States without requiring current or future sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with substance abuse, mental health, and recovery principles.
Experience working with issues pertinent to abuse survivors.
Experience in a call center environment.
Previous experience dealing with individuals going through a mental health crisis.

Responsibilities

Take cases triaged from peer specialists, applying strong de-escalation and crisis intervention practices.
Strategically manage complex behavioral health cases.
Oversee follow-ups and counsel, negotiate, mediate, and intervene with callers to reduce crisis intensity and prevent harm to themselves or others.
Connect patients with appropriate care resources and ensure they receive immediate support, selecting approaches and resources appropriate to each case.
Conduct telephonic suicide, substance use, and homicide risk screenings and assessments.
Maintain accurate, current crisis contact documentation in compliance with state and federal law and University requirements, and support internal and external audits as needed.