Mental Health Practitioner Intake & Referral

St. Charles Health System•Bend, OR

13d

About The Position

The Mental Health Practitioner Intake and Referral assesses patients’ needs for acute crisis treatment, determines the appropriate level of care, and refers patients to appropriate services. The role also provides counseling services, including assessment, diagnosis, and treatment for patients experiencing social, behavioral, or mental health issues. This position does not directly manage other caregivers. The practitioner coordinates psychiatric screening, admission, assessment, and referral; provides crisis intervention, safety planning, treatment planning, psychoeducation, case management, and individual, group, and family therapies; and coordinates care with patients, families, community agencies, hospitals, insurers, and interdisciplinary teams. Work may involve fast-paced triage of multiple patient and community needs, inpatient and outpatient care coordination, and compliance with applicable clinical, regulatory, confidentiality, and documentation standards. For the PAT/PES unit, duties include crisis, risk, psychosocial, treatment-planning, and safety-planning assessments; daily rounding of PES and medical-unit patients; and follow-up risk assessment and safety planning for patients at moderate to high risk. At Sage View, the practitioner works with the attending psychiatrist to develop working diagnoses and treatment goals and coordinates and leads morning multidisciplinary treatment team meetings. The position requires a PhD, PsyD, or master’s degree in clinical psychology, social work, or a related behavioral health field; qualifying Oregon clinical licensure or the ability to obtain associate-level registration within three years of hire; and one year of behavioral health experience. The position is regular, part-time, with 30 scheduled hours per week and a variable shift. The stated pay range is $40.75–$61.14.

Requirements

PhD, PsyD, or master’s degree in clinical psychology, social work, or a related behavioral health field.
Current unrestricted Oregon Licensed Clinical Psychologist, LCSW, LMFT, or LPC license, or ability to obtain state board licensure as a Registered Associate or CSWA within three years of hire.
One year of experience in the behavioral health field; internship experience in an inpatient behavioral health setting may be considered.
Ability to travel to business functions, trainings, meetings, and all SCHS worksites.
Ability to wear appropriate personal protective equipment required to perform the job safely.

Nice To Haves

Current unrestricted Oregon Licensed Clinical Psychologist, LCSW, LMFT, or LPC licensure.
Membership in the National Association of Social Workers or another national association.
Bilingual Spanish and English communication.
Experience in a behavioral health inpatient or residential setting.
Postgraduate clinical experience providing therapeutic services on an outpatient or inpatient basis.
Experience with payor-established level-of-care criteria.
Registrar and third-party payor experience.

Responsibilities

Coordinate screening, admission, assessment, and referrals for incoming and outgoing psychiatric inpatient bed requests.
Determine level of care, make treatment recommendations, and conduct crisis assessments and safety planning.
Provide outpatient referrals when patients do not meet inpatient-level-of-care criteria.
Coordinate referrals to outside agencies and hospitals for youth and adults who require hospitalization.
Complete initial insurance pre-certifications and treatment authorizations.
Communicate with patients’ formal and informal supports, families, referral sources, hospitals, facilities, and insurance companies, sharing accurate clinical information.
Provide technical assistance with discharge planning and facilitate multidisciplinary care plans for patients with complex behavioral health needs.
Support patients’ and families’ learning throughout the continuum of care and reinforce ongoing health care through teaching and community referrals.
Assess patients’ social, economic, emotional, and family situations; complete psychosocial, substance-use, economic, and risk assessments and individualized, measurable treatment plans.
Provide diagnostic, preventive, and therapeutic psychosocial services related to personality adjustment, behavioral problems, and interpersonal dysfunction.
Provide individual, group, and family therapies using evidence-based modalities, including DBT, ACT, CBT, Solution-Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, or another approved modality.
Assess potential harm to self or others and ability to care for oneself; coordinate with the treatment team and County to determine legal status under State Civil Commitment laws.
Provide crisis intervention on the unit and, as needed, to recently discharged patients.
Provide psychoeducation and case-management support to patients and families.
Maintain knowledge of state and federal regulations applicable to inpatient psychiatric admission, care, discharge, and civil commitment procedures.
Coordinate aftercare with outpatient providers, including therapy appointments, warm handoffs, medication management, and medical follow-up.
Attend scheduled unit meetings and training; participate in interdisciplinary care and create a healing, safe, and supportive care environment.
Document patient care in compliance with hospital policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements; maintain patient and family confidentiality and professional boundaries.
Provide a therapeutic presence through respectful, patient-centered communication, active listening, and attention to patients’ stated care goals and preferences.
Support Lean continuous-improvement principles and organizational change; comply with applicable laws, policies, and procedures and report suspected violations.
Deliver timely, efficient, accurate customer service and patient care; perform other duties of similar complexity as required or assigned.
For PAT/PES: conduct crisis, risk, psychosocial, treatment-planning, and safety-planning assessments consistent with OHA and Joint Commission standards; round daily on PES patients and medical-unit patients; and complete follow-up risk assessments and safety plans for moderate- to high-risk patients.
For Sage View: work with the attending psychiatrist to develop working diagnoses and treatment goals and coordinate and lead morning Multidisciplinary Treatment Team meetings.