Licensed Mental Health Professional

VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA SOUTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA•Lafayette, LA

11d

About The Position

This member of the ACT multidisciplinary team has training in one of the mental health professions and clinical skill and experience to assess, plan, develop, coordinate, and provide treatment, rehabilitation, and support services to program clients with severe persistent mental illnesses under the clinical supervision of the team leader and the psychiatric nurse practitioner. Functions as a clinical member of the multidisciplinary team and provides treatment, rehabilitation, and support services or may be designated by the team leader to function as the lead mental health professional, lead registered nurse, team vocational specialist, or substance use specialist

Requirements

Licensure as one of the following: LPC, LCSW, and LMFT.
Post-secondary school education (a master’s degree in a behavioral science such as nursing, social work, rehabilitation counseling, psychology, or similar field) and training is required, including internships and other supervised practical experiences in a clinical or rehabilitation setting with persons with severe and persistent mental illnesses or co-occurring disorders at least one-year work experience with adults with severe and persistent mental illnesses or co-occurring disorders.
This team member must abide by a code of ethical and practice standards of their respective licensing board and be committed to a process of lifetime knowledge and skills development.
Must have a strong commitment to the right and ability of each person with a severe and persistent mental illness to live in normal community residences; work in market jobs; and have access to helpful, adequate, competent, and continuous supports and services.
Skills and competence to establish supportive trusting relationships with persons with severe and persistent mental illnesses and respect for client rights and personal preferences in treatment are essential.
The individual must possess a Louisiana driver’s license and have access to an insured automobile.

Responsibilities

Provide service coordination for an assigned group of clients including coordinating and monitoring the activities of the individual treatment team; assume primary responsibility for developing, writing, implementing, evaluating and revising overall treatment goals and plans in collaboration with the client and the ITT (individual treatment team); provide individual supportive therapy, psychotherapy, and symptom management, ensuring immediate changes are made in the treatment plans as clients’ needs change; educate and support clients’ families, and advocate for clients’ rights and preferences.
Acts as liaison and consult with community agencies and families to maintain coordination in the treatment process.
Provide on-call crisis intervention covering nighttime hours and serve as a backup to evening and weekend staff.
Document client progress to maintain a permanent record of client activity according to established methods and procedures.
Provide treatment, rehabilitation, and support services, with some interventions directed or performed by staff with specialty training and skills (e.g., vocational specialists).
Take the lead role or participate in providing substance use and treatment services.
Provide ongoing assessment of clients’ mental illness symptoms and clients’ response to treatment.
Provide symptom education to enable clients to identify their mental illness symptoms.
Provide direct clinical services including individual supportive therapy and psychotherapy to clients on an individual, group, and family basis in the office and in community settings to teach behavioral symptom-management techniques to alleviate and manage symptoms not reduced with medication and to promote personal growth and development by assisting clients to adapt to and cope with internal and external stresses.
Provide individual and group treatment in the office and in community settings in a stage-based treatment model that is non-confrontational, considers interactions of mental illness and substance abuse, and has client-determined goals.
Coordinate with outside inpatient services to detoxify clients and establish linkage to outpatient treatment, self-help programs (e.g., Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous), outpatient services, and residential facilities.
Take a lead role or participate in the provision of rehabilitation services.
Provide ongoing assessment, problem solving, side-by-side services, skill training, supervision (e.g., prompts, assignments, monitoring encouragement), and environmental adaptations to assist clients with activities of daily living.
Assist and support clients to carry out personal hygiene and grooming tasks.
Provide nutrition education, and assistance with meal planning, grocery shopping, and food preparation.
Teach money-management skills (e.g., budgeting and bill paying) and assist clients in accessing financial services (e.g., professional financial counseling, emergency loan sources).
Help clients to access reliable transportation (e.g., obtain a driver’s license and car, arrange for cabs, access bus line, find rides).
Assist and support clients to have and effectively use a personal primary care physician, dentist, and other medical specialists as required.
Provide individual supportive therapy (e.g., problem solving, role-playing, modeling and support), social-skill development, and assertiveness training to increase client social and interpersonal activities in community settings.
Plan, structure, and prompt social and leisure-time activities on evenings, weekends and holidays.
Provide side-by-side support and coaching to help clients socialize (e.g., going with a client to a basketball game, coaching and supporting a client before he or she goes to a family reunion).
Organize and lead individual and group social and recreational activities to structure clients’ time, increase social experiences, and provide opportunities to practice social skills and receive feedback and support.
Provide practical help and supports, advocacy, coordination, side-by-side individualized support, problem solving, direct assistance, training, and supervision to help clients obtain the necessities of daily living including
Medical and dental health care;
Legal and advocacy services;
Financial support such as entitlements (e.g., SSI SSDI and veterans’ benefits)
Money-management services (e.g., payeeships);
Transportation
Maintains and submits proof of active auto liability insurance for privately owned vehicles used to conduct agency business and/or transport agency clients. Employees must submit proof of insurance prior to employment and each time policy is renewed thereafter. Failure to maintain active coverage and submit proof may result in disciplinary action.
Transports clients as directed and follows Agency standards, rules, regulations and all laws for safe transport.