Mental Health Counselor- Lea County

Roadrunner Health Services•Lovington, NM

5d•Onsite

About The Position

Provide comprehensive mental health assessment and treatment in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team. This role involves developing and reviewing individualized behavioral/mental health treatment plans, monitoring patient treatment, and conducting assessments for referred patients. The counselor will provide regular follow-up, crisis interventions, individual and group counseling, and psychoeducational groups. Maintaining accurate patient records, coordinating discharge or transfer information, and acting as a liaison with community agencies are key aspects of the role. The position may also involve administering and interpreting psychological tests, providing clinical supervision to non-psychiatric staff, and performing on-call mental health services. The role emphasizes problem-solving, teamwork, effective communication, thorough documentation, time management, attention to detail, accountability, stress tolerance, and safety consciousness. Employees in this position are classified as "essential" and are expected to report to work during emergencies when other state agencies are closed.

Requirements

Degree in psychology, social work, counselling, or related field from an accredited educational institution required.
Active professional license to practice in applicable state required.
Must show current tuberculosis documentation and active CPR certification.
Must be able to pass background investigation and obtain agency security clearance where applicable.
Problem Solving: Acts collaboratively in resolving problems. Ability to present solutions rather than just identifying problems. Can acknowledge when one does not know something and is willing to take personal responsibility for finding a solution.
Team Building: Works well with others and helps build a cohesive working environment. Helps others learn and shares knowledge. Respects diversity of the workplace and individuals' unique characteristics.
Communication: Able to appropriately express opinions in written and verbal form. Clear and articulate when speaking with an individual or group and using audience-appropriate language. Listens to others.
Documentation: Ensures that medical records entries and other documentation are accurate, thorough and timely. Written documentation is completed on required forms or using required formats without omissions.
Effective Time Management: Organizes and prioritizes work by devoting adequate time and attention to individual tasks. Effectively plans meetings/keep appointments and multitask effectively.
Attentive to Detail: Able to provide accurate and consistent work on a timely basis. Documents important to detail to ensure miscommunications are minimized.
Accountability: Follows through on commitments and agreements. Demonstrated dependability. Taked responsibility for mistakes and missed deadlines. Communicated about progress on commitments.
Stress Tolerance: Must be able to effectively handle stressful or adverse situations and work effectively under difficult conditions. Ability to remain calm while handling volatile, threatening, or emergency situations. Remains focused in spite of distractions and interruptions.
Safety Consciousness: Maintains awareness of and acts to minimize the safety risk in one's environment.
Must possess general good health and retain sufficient stamina, agility and visual and auditory necessary to perform all duties required.
Physical activity includes walking, climbing, standing, sitting, bending, stooping, and carrying; repetitive activity: repetitive mental activity such as checking entries in a report, etc.
Must be able to respond quickly to emergency situations within his/her scope of practice.
May be required to work throughout a large facility, grouping of facilities, or travel between multiple facilities.
Potential exposure to internal and external hazardous materials, including but not limited to: blood and blood borne pathogens, infectious/communicable diseases and physical injury from patients.
Must be able to identify and minimize safety risks within environment whenever possible.

Nice To Haves

Minimum of two years experience with direct care for individuals with mental illness preferred.

Responsibilities

Collaborate with multidisciplinary team members in the development/review of individualized behavioral/mental health treatment plans and in the monitoring and treatment of patients as indicated on the treatment plans.
Complete behavioral/mental health assessments for patients referred based on admission process, staff referral or patient self-referral. Ensure that assessment is completed within time period required by the type and urgency of referral.
Provide regular follow-up to assigned patients to monitor current mental status and functioning.
Inform supervisor and psychiatric staff of significant change in a patient's functioning.
Provide crisis interventions as required to include precautionary measures, daily follow up and emergency procedures as needed.
Conduct individual and group counseling and psychoeducational groups for patients.
Assist patients in defining goals to achieve personal, social, educational and/or vocational development.
Observe patients to detect psychiatric symptoms, mental deficiency, abnormal behavior, or maladjustment.
Update and maintain accurate and legible patient information and records in accordance with policy.
Inform, coordinate and advise all applicable parties regarding patient discharge or transfer. May act as a liaison with community agencies and contacts providing services to patients.
Administer, interpret and report on psychological test data as testing standards permit and/or under supervision if required.
Provide clinical supervisory oversight for non-psychiatric behavioral/mental health staff as requested.
Provide on-call mental health services if assigned.
Conduct in-service training on behavioral/mental health related topics for company and community agencies.
Identify and maintain professional boundaries to preserve the integrity of the therapeutic process and relationship.
Proactive in performance improvement activities as demonstrated by participating in the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) program (peer review: record reviews; membership on the CQI committee as requested) and modifying clinical practices based on CQI recommendations.
Acquire and maintain current clinical knowledge and skills and professional standards.
Ensures compliance with all agency and company policies, federal and state laws, regulations and guidelines including HIPAA.
Deliver care in a nonjudgemental/nondiscriminatory manner to protect the autonomy, dignity and rights of the patient.