Mental Health Professional (MHP) - WellConnect

Description

Shift: Office Day (8am - 4pm) with one Late Shift (12pm-8pm)

Days Off: Friday, Saturday

Insurance Benefits: Dental, Life, Long-term Disability, Medical (no premiums/payroll deductions for employee coverage)

Other Benefits: Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Flexible Spending Account (FSA), ORCA card subsidy, Paid Time Off (34 days per year), Retirement Plan 

Union Representation: This position is a part of a union and is represented by SEIU Healthcare 1199NW. 

About DESC:

Recognized nationally as an innovator and leader in developing solutions to homelessness, DESC is a social services organization, supportive housing operator, and licensed behavioral health treatment provider focused on meeting the needs of people experiencing long-term homelessness and living with complex behavioral health and other medical conditions. Approximately 3,000 people are actively receiving services from DESC at any given point in time. Our vision is a community where all people are shown compassion, treated with dignity, and everyone has a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home.

DESC operates five shelter/emergency housing programs, 19 permanent supportive housing facilities with over 1,750 units, several hundred additional scattered site apartments, and a range of behavioral health services including outpatient mental health and substance use disorder treatment, residential crisis stabilization, street outreach, mobile crisis response, and treatment for opioid use disorder.

About WellConnect:

DESC’s WellConnect program is a modified assertive community treatment (ACT) team serving Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) residents with complex needs underserved by traditional office-based care models. This interdisciplinary team of behavioral health providers offers a range of services to help participants meet their personal goals including community integration activities, systems navigation, care coordination, psychiatric medication management, peer support services, housing stability services, co-occurring substance use treatment, and individual and group psychotherapy.

Team scheduling requirements reflect this commitment to provide participants with intensive wrap-around, 24/7 services onsite at their homes and in DESC PSH Sites. Team members provide rotating coverage for 12 hours per day Monday to Friday and 8 hours per day on weekends & holidays. In addition, all team members participate in on-call rotations to provide 24-hour crisis coverage.

MAJOR JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide ongoing assessment of participants’ mental illness symptoms and make appropriate changes in treatment plans as they are needed. 
• Provide psychoeducation to enable participants to identify their mental illness symptoms and integrate substance use services as appropriate.
• Promote participants’ personal growth and development by assisting participants to adapt to and cope with internal and external stressors.
• Provide individualized assessments, counseling, supportive therapy, coaching and/or side-by-side support to clients to assist their development in the areas of activities of daily living, social & interpersonal relationships, general time management and basic employment skills.
• Plan, structure & support community-based activities such as obtaining and setting up housing, grocery shopping, nutrition assistance, house cleaning and other household activities, money management, social activities and vocational support.
• Coordinate with outside service providers including inpatient and outpatient treatment services, social security, veterans’ benefits, legal and advocacy services and personal primary care medical and dental providers.
• Provide practical help and supports, advocacy, coordination, side-by-side individualized support, problem-solving, direct assistance, training, and supervision to help participants obtain the necessities of daily living including medical and dental health care; legal and advocacy services; financial support such as entitlements or housing subsidies; money management services (e.g. payeeships); and transportation.

SPECIALTY AREA

• Provide direct clinical services including individual supportive therapy and psychotherapy to participants on an individual, group, and family basis in the office and in community settings.
• Utilize a stage-based treatment model that is non-confrontational, considers interactions of mental illness and substance abuse, and has participant-determined goals. Be comfortable with Harm Reduction approaches.
• Assess referred clients for WellConnect services and complete WellConnect intakes, including exploring diagnostic criteria for psychotic disorders.

LIVING CONDITIONS

Support your clients with achieving and maintaining healthy living conditions. This can include but is not limited to attending care conferences related to living conditions, outreaching and supporting clients in their residential units with tools and skills to maintain their units, coordinating with housing staff, participating in cleaning out clients’ units, and documenting barriers to maintaining healthy living conditions.

OTHER

• Participate in daily team meetings, psychiatric consultations, clinical supervision, program meetings and in-service trainings; participate in clinical reviews and case conferences.
• Comply with the agency's clinical accountability policies and procedures; maintain current, timely and complete clinical records; participate in quality assurance reviews when assigned.
• Comply with applicable program research and evaluation procedures.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Eligible for a Licensed AAC credential or any other superseding credential that meets RCW 71.05.020 requirements to act as a Mental Health Professional whose scope of practice includes independently conducting mental health assessments and making mental health diagnoses.
• Master's degree in social work, psychology, or other relevant behavioral science.
• Ability to drive an agency or personal vehicle to conduct agency-related business. A current Washington State driver's license and insurable driving record are required.
• Interest in working with clients who are difficult to engage and maintain in traditional mental health/substance use disorder programs.
• Interest or experience working with adults who are experiencing or who have experienced homelessness, have a mental illness and/or co-occurring substance use disorders, and who are involved in the criminal legal system.   
• Good oral and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate and work effectively with participants and staff from various backgrounds.
• Have a strong commitment to the right and ability of each person with a severe and persistent mental illness to live in community residences; work in market jobs; and have access to helpful, adequate, competent, and continuous supports and services.
• Able to prioritize multiple responsibilities, work independently, and exercise professional judgment.
• Basic computer skills: email, data entry, file creation, correspondence.
• Skills and competence to establish supportive trusting relationships with persons with severe and persistent mental illnesses. 
• Respect for participant rights and personal preferences in treatment. 
• Clear understanding and respect for the importance of maintaining participant confidentiality in accordance with HIPAA.
• Subscribe to the philosophy of cooperation and continuity across DESC and other outside agency programs. 
• Participation in regular on-call rotation (paid) to provide 24-hour crisis coverage (both on the phone & in person) for mental health issues for WellConnect clients.
• Candidates should be able to accept feedback and work in a highly collaborative and stressful environment. 

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Licensed Social Worker (LICSW), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, or Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in the State of Washington or actively pursuing one of these credentials.
• Bi-lingual English/Spanish
• Familiarity with Psychiatric Medications 
• Familiarity with implementing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp) as a treatment model. 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee will be required to sit for long periods of time, communicate with other people by talking and hearing, required to lift and carry items weighing up to 40 pounds and to operate computer hardware systems. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. 

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER:

DESC is committed to diversity in the workplace and promotes equal employment opportunities for all staff members and applicants. The Agency will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, caste, marital status, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability in any employment practice, unless based on a bona fide occupational qualification. Minorities and veterans are encouraged to apply.