Mental Health Clinician III - Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Fort Logan (Denver)

State of Colorado•Denver, CO

6d•Onsite

About The Position

The Colorado Mental Health Institute in Fort Logan (CMHHFL) is one of two state hospitals serving our community. The vision of CMHHFL is to provide the highest quality mental health services to persons with complex, serious, and persistent mental illness within the resources available. Our mission is to support those individuals in achieving their recovery goals and reaching their full potential. CMHHIFL provides inpatient treatment to adult patients, generally between the ages of 18-59. The hospital currently has 138 adult inpatient beds and over six treatment milieus serving civil and forensic individuals. Medical services, occupational therapy, neuropsychological-rehabilitation services, and trauma-informed care services are available for all patients throughout the hospital. The Clinical Mental Health Clinician III works in the 24-hour state psychiatric hospital with individuals voluntarily and involuntarily committed for treatment. Patients receiving treatment at CMHHIFL have severe and persistent mental illness and may have traumatic brain injury, trauma disorders, and other complex dynamics. Each treatment team is multidisciplinary, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, addiction specialists, occupational therapists, recreation therapists, creative arts therapists, nurses, physicians, and mental health clinicians. In addition, the hospital offers dietary, peer, and chaplain services.

Requirements

Six (6) years of relevant experience in an occupation related to the work assigned to this position OR A combination of related education and/or relevant experience in an occupation related to the work assigned to this position equal to six (6) years
This experience must be clearly documented on your application.
Part-time experience will be pro-rated.
Additional appropriate experience will substitute for the degree requirement on a year-for-year basis.
Knowledge of oral and written communication skills
Knowledge and professional inpatient mental health-care experience
Ability to exercise judgment and discretion in applying and interpreting departmental and institutional policies and procedures
Ability to work with and communicate with internal and external clients and customers to meet their needs in a polite, courteous, and cooperative manner and committed to quality service
Ability to perform with a high level of initiative, effort and commitment towards completing assignments efficiently
Ability to encourage and facilitate cooperation, pride, trust, and group identity
Ability to foster commitment and team spirit.
Ability to express information to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information
Ability to listen to others and respond appropriately
Ability to problem solve
Ability to execute decisions
Integrity, and Accountability
Must possess a valid, non-restricted Colorado Driver’s License or an non-restricted U.S. Driver's License for positions within 30 miles of the CO state border
Out-of-State Driver’s License holders must obtain a valid, non-restricted Colorado Driver’s License within 30 days of employment start date.

Nice To Haves

Bachelors Degree
1+ years Knowledge and Experience as Mental Health Care Clinician II at a State of Colorado Mental Health Institute.
Experience providing therapeutic and related services to mental health patients in a mental health setting
1+ years professional inpatient mental health-care experience in a psychiatric locked/secure setting
Experience developing and running treatment groups
Knowledge and experience with Trauma Informed Care and Recovery Principles and practices
Outpatient mental health experience running groups, case management etc.
College or university education in nursing, psychology, sociology, human services, or education.
Relevant years of state service experience.

Responsibilities

Provide Therapeutic Patient Care: Under the direction and supervision of a registered nurse, engage with patients to establish and maintain a therapeutic relationship which supports the patient’s psychiatric recovery and mental health. Model and maintain professional boundaries with patients and their families. Assist patients in developing insight into their mental illness while exploring symptoms and ways of decreasing, coping with, or eliminating distress while eliciting ways to live a more productive, satisfying life. Engage in one-on-one interactions with patients regularly and guides therapeutic psycho-educational groups and activities with a focus on assisting patients to build interpersonal and life management skills. Facilitates psychoeducational groups, utilizing principles of group facilitation with a focus on assisting patients to build interpersonal relationships and life management skills. Evaluate planned strategies continuously and exercise judgment about whether strategy remains appropriate or requires adjustment. Act as patient advocate and provides patient and their family with support and education on patient’s rights. Address and resolve patient issues when possible and refer issues to the hospital Patient’s Rights Specialist, as indicated. Model solution-focused problem-solving strategies. Supports patient in accomplishing activities of daily living (ADLs) through monitoring, teaching, supporting and assisting as needed. This includes such activities as personal hygiene, shaving, brushing teeth, care of personal items, laundry, toileting, and showers, as needed, based on the patient’s ability and current status. Assures that patient is treated with dignity and respect, maintaining patient’s privacy. Escort patients to activities and appointments on grounds and in the community, including driving patients to appointments. Assumes responsibility for paperwork, assuring confidentiality. Communicates patient’s whereabouts to charge nurse and treatment team though sign-out/sign-in systems on the unit. Communicate to provide or exchange information while keeping registered nurse and other staff informed of patient status and patient issues. Documents patient care and patient response to treatment as required by hospital policy.
Milieu Management: Assure a safe and therapeutic treatment environment through effective Milieu Management. Closely monitor and maintain surveillance of the unit to assure a safe milieu. Model professional interactions with patients, families and staff. Facilitate solution oriented problem-solving strategies, and encourage patient input and self-determination, whenever possible. Monitor, identify and address safety violations in patient care areas. Using therapeutic clinical skills, anticipate and initiate intervention at an appropriate level in crisis situations (i.e., physical or verbal assault against a person or property, suicidal behavior, etc.) by adhering to nursing standards and hospital policies and procedures in order to provide a safe and therapeutic environment. Monitor the milieu, conduct safety checks and monitors for unsafe items and/or unsafe conditions, and act promptly to secure unsafe items and correct unsafe conditions. Utilize appropriate techniques from Verbal Defense and Influence (VDI) and Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI) to manage aggressive patient behavior, and de-escalates situation whenever possible, reducing the potential for physically aggressive behavior or injury. During episodes of patient physically aggressive behavior, minimize risk of injury to patient and staff by utilizing CPI approved methods. Initiates interventions at the appropriate level in a crisis situation by adhering to Nursing and Hospital Policies and Procedures. Engage patients in unit activities, including impromptu groups, discussions, and games that support patient’s well-being and build appropriate interpersonal skills. Monitors patient’s needs for structure and/or downtime and works in collaboration with unit staff to intervene as indicated. Monitors patients during meals including monitoring for issues with swallowing/choking, food intake, and interactions with others. Intervene as indicated and communicate any concerns to the registered nurse.
Interdisciplinary team treatment implementation: Work as part of the interdisciplinary team and participate in treatment planning and the development of the plan of care for patients. Contribute information and treatment approaches to support patient health and wellness. Incorporate information from multiple sources and provides input into treatment planning. Advocate for patient’s interest and input into their plan of care. Supports Mental Health Clinician I staff in further development of their skills in working with patients and managing the milieu.
Maintains and updates skills, knowledge, abilities and competencies: Maintain updated skills, knowledge, abilities, and competencies necessary to the position through continuing education, clinical supervision, literature review, and participating in discipline and team development. Responsible for utilizing supervision with supervisor to apply learning to direct practice. Actively participates in team meetings utilizing a solution-focused approach. Learns, completes, and maintains competency in patient care, including taking vital signs, patient hygiene, and personal care. Shares own learning and ideas with others and supports.
Individual Intervention: The Clinical MHC III will be responsible for assisting with the creation of support and behavior plans, which consists of research, consultation, drafting interventions, plan-related documents, assist with training staff members, and assist with refresher training and data collection for plan maintenance. These plans are the responsibility of the licensed psychologist and the Clinical MHC III will work under that supervision to support the process, as opposed to lead the process. There may also be times when an individual intervention is approved by the licensed psychologist to be facilitated by the Clinical MHC III after adequate training is received (i.e., cognitive remediation).
Documentation: The Clinical MHC III is responsible for documenting all patient contact interactions, including group and individual intervention. Documentation is also required for other clinically relevant interactions, collateral engagement, team meetings, and training or consultations. All documentation is completed in the Electronic Health Record (EHR) and should adhere to HIPAA requirements and privacy laws. Documentation is expected to be neutral, unbiased, and based on FAIR charting principles.
Consultation and Training: The Clinical MHC III is required to support hospital-wide clinical intervention and treatment needs, including via consultation with individual team members, teams, and departments. Similarly, the Clinical MHC III will support training specific to clinically driven individual and group treatment interventions. This position may accompany the licensed clinician overseeing the intervention or may independently lead consultation or training for an aspect of it.
Other Duties as Assigned: Any other duties that aren’t covered in the above duty statements but need to be completed to meet the mission of the division and the department.

Benefits

Strong, secure, yet flexible retirement benefits including a PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan plus 401(k) and 457 plans
Medical and dental health plans
Employer supplemented Health Savings Account
Paid life insurance
Short- and long-term disability coverage
11 paid holidays per year plus vacation and sick leave
State of Colorado Employee BenefitHub Resource Center
Employee Wellness program
Excellent work-life programs, such as flexible schedules, training and more
Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.