Psychologist II - Forensic Training Lead at Clinical Services Department in Fort Logan

State of Colorado•Denver, CO

4d•Onsite

About The Position

This position is open to current Colorado residents only. The Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Fort Logan (CMHH-FL) 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. CMHH-FL provides inpatient treatment to adult patients, generally between the ages of 18-59. The hospital currently has 154 adult inpatient beds, over seven treatment milieus serving civil and forensic individuals. A civil adolescent treatment milieu, serving up to 12 youth, will also be opening soon. Medical services, occupational therapy, neuropsychological rehabilitation services, and trauma-informed care services are available for all patients throughout the hospital. Through our core values listed below, CMHH-FL staff is committed to: Individual dignity and respect, Person-centered, evidence-based care, Trauma-informed recovery, Multidisciplinary collaboration, Diversity and inclusion, Strong family and community partnerships. The Psychologist II position works in the 24-hour state psychiatric hospital with individuals voluntarily and involuntarily committed for treatment. Patients receiving treatment at CMHH-FL 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

Current, valid licensure as a Psychologist from the Colorado State Board of Psychologist Examiners
Three (3) years of experience as a licensed psychologist or a permitted psychologist candidate, two of which must have been at the level of a fully operating psychologist

Nice To Haves

Psychologist, Forensic, Supervision Experience
3 years post-licensure (PhD or PsyD)
Supervisory/management experience (of students and/or preferably other employees)
Experience in forensic settings and/or competency restoration programs
Program development
Previous State experience

Responsibilities

Responsible for individual therapy, group therapy, and family therapy.
Develops group materials appropriate for patient-specific needs and leading group therapy sessions.
Develops individualized behavior plans and programs and provides psychoeducation and training to all milieu staff for successful implementation.
Responsible for monitoring the plan, documenting in the electronic health record, providing the patient and the treatment team with feedback, and modifying as needed.
Conducts comprehensive psychological testing and consults with all treatment teams on appropriate referrals and testing results.
Provides psychological expertise to the treatment teams, all hospital departments, and external stakeholders.
Documents regularly in the electronic health record and contributes to the training of doctoral externs and predoctoral interns through various psychological seminars, supervision, co-facilitation, and mentoring.
Actively contributes to hospital-wide events, in-service training, and program development.
Responsible for completion of certification evaluations and court testimony.
Provides clinical leadership by contributing to, reviewing, and overseeing the forensic psychologists treatment plans and therapeutic interventions.
Responsible for the supervision of designated psychology department staff members and supports execution of the hospital’s mission, vision, and values within the psychology department and in collaboration with leadership.
Serves as the clinical consultant for civil treatment matters and guides treatment teams in their efforts to address restoration of competence.
Supports the tracking and reporting of treatment outcomes and contributes to program development based on best practices, national trends, and statutory requirements.
Facilitates coordination of the hospital’s individual therapy referrals and partners with psychologists and licensed clinical social workers to determine individual therapy assignments.
Works on continually developing programming on the forensic treatment teams, identifying best practices and creating efficient workflow, ongoing training, and auditing.
Participates in treatment planning and actively contributes to the formulation of patient-specific goals.
Provides clinical guidance and consultation regarding effective and appropriate clinical goals, measurability, progress, and/or stagnation.
Reviews documentation and medical records, gathers behavioral observations, evaluates, assesses, and synthesizes information.
Participates in additional team consultation sessions, family meetings, discharge planning, and cross-team consultation meetings.
Creates discipline-specific treatment goals, documenting progress, and updating as needed in the electronic health record (i.e., individual therapy, specific group therapy modalities, behavioral plans, etc.).
Audits the treatment plans and documentation of their supervisees.
Provides clinical leadership to the treatment teams and consults with multidisciplinary staff across the hospital.
May consult with external stakeholders regarding treatment needs and recommendations to support continuity of care.
Contributes to hospital-wide clinical training, as well as department-specific training opportunities.
Participates in work groups, committees, and hospital-wide activities.
Responsible for continuing the development of the new forensic treatment units in terms of programming, best practices, identifying and creating efficient workflows, ongoing training, and auditing.
Performs psychological assessments to include standardized suicide risk assessment measures, intellectual testing, adaptive abilities, personality measures, comprehensive psychodiagnostic batteries, competency-related skills, and a variety of screening measures.
Leads the department and treatment teams in determining whether formal psychological assessment assists in guiding treatment planning, diagnosis, and disposition plans, and selects appropriate assessment procedures.
Administers all testing measures, completes a written report, submits documentation in the electronic health record, and communicates the results and recommendations to the treatment team and milieu staff.
Collaborates closely with the hospital’s Neuropsychologist to coordinate all hospital testing referrals and needs.
Supports the coordination and completion of suicide risk assessments with designated supervisees and in partnership with the medical records department.
Responsible for employee supervisory responsibilities within the psychology department.
Facilitates orientation for newly hired psychologists, in collaboration with the psychology department and other disciplines.
Responsible for completion of department-specific audits to support high-quality documentation, assessment, report writing, and treatment.
Helps provide didactic opportunities, oversees the supervision of forensic interns and externs, and ensures that each forensic student is afforded the opportunity and support to meet their training requirements.
Helps to facilitate training for the predoctoral internship and externship programs.
Creates and implements training hospital-wide, in an effort to provide education to staff and improve patient interventions, treatment, and outcomes.
Primarily assesses mental health symptoms and evaluates the potential need for involuntary commitment pursuant to Colorado Mental Health Statutes (CRS 27-65-101 et seq.) when a forensic patient’s charges have been dismissed (and they become potentially appropriate for civil treatment) or when they are admitted for rapid stabilization.
Assist the civil psychologists in evaluating civil patients’ mental status and condition to determine whether they can be released, can cooperate with voluntary inpatient treatment, or need to be certified pursuant to the Colorado Mental Health Statutes (CRS 27-65-101 et seq.) for involuntary treatment.
Communicates findings to the Court by letters, petitions, and expert-witness testimony as needed.
Facilitates coordination of the hospital’s legal commitment responsibilities and partners with the admissions department to ensure all needs are met in a timely manner.
Other duties as assigned include hospital-wide ad hoc activities, milieu support, etc.

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
Remote work arrangements for eligible positions
Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program