Counselor Team Lead

GENERAL SUMMARY:

Serves as a leadership resource to develop the programming schedule, assign groups, and assign client cases to staff. Serves as the primary resource for staffing and maintaining the daily functioning of the walk-in clinic. Works closely with leadership for other coordination of resources and clinical tasks. Serves as primary counseling resource in leader's absence, provides staffing and coverage support and specialized in-house training. Signs off on intervention nurse evaluations and reviews/signs off on provisionally licensed staff evaluations in leader's absence. Autonomously assesses and creates a well-rounded diagnosis and treatment plan for dual diagnosis clients. Supervises students, interns, and Provisional Licensed Mental Health Practitioner (PLMHP) staff for licensure and to meet standards for insurance billing. Supervises Provisional Alcohol and Drug Counseling staff for licensure and to meet standards for insurance billing if dually credentialed. Provides counseling services requiring specific competencies and/or credentials for reimbursement authorization as prescribed by insurance providers. Completes mental status assessments as well as diagnostic interviews. Implements assessments, treatment plans, and discharge plans on all clients assigned to their caseload with a particular focus on dual diagnosis clientele. Actively communicates with referral sources to secure ongoing services for clients preparing to discharge from current levels of care.

PRINCIPAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

1. *Commits to the mission, vision, beliefs and consistently demonstrates our core values.

2. *Serves in a lead capacity promoting and role modeling highly effective interpersonal relationships.

3. *Works collaboratively with other personnel to resolve issues related to staffing, care coordination and physician/family concerns.

4. *In collaboration with the leader, provides support for staffing and coverage issues.

5. *Ensures that existing policies and procedures are adhered to during daily interactions with staff.

6. *Keeps the leader informed of day-to-day operational needs/issues.

7. *Objectively and constructively coaches staff, as appropriate, when practice and/or safety issues are observed or reported; communicates with the leader regarding response to proper guidance or adherence to standards.

8. *Coordinates, supports, and facilitates orientation for new staff and student programs; communicates education and/or competency needs of staff with the education coordinator and the leader.

9. Assists the leader in staffing the department for safe and efficient coordination of care.

10. Assists the leader in interviewing and hiring staff for the department, promotes the recognition and retention of staff; contributes to the staff's performance appraisal process.

11. *Provides in-house trainings for staff in areas of expertise, especially related to dual diagnosis.

12. Utilizes advanced professional skills and insight to work with clients that include psychological issues in addition to the behavioral and substance use issues identified.

13. *Assumes a client caseload representative of complexity and area of designated expertise to include severe and persistent mental illness.

14. *Participates in quality assurance activities and file audits to ensure compliance with standards (e.g. Medicare, Medicaid, paperwork standards, etc.)

15. *Acts as a mentor to new staff and non-clinical staff members including nurses, technicians, and administrators by providing education, feedback and direction.

16. *Chairs and participates in department teams and committees and hospital wide teams/boards/committees.

17. *Exhibits skills in all levels of the continuum of substance abuse treatment (i.e. inpatient care, residential care, intensive outpatient, continuing care, and individual sessions).

18. *Clinically supervises practicum students, interns and counseling staff seeking credentialing as assigned and providing supervision as needed to fulfill insurance requirements.

19. *Establishes and maintains effective therapeutic relationships with clients and/or families and significant other who are experiencing a variety of complex substance abuse problems.

20. *Utilizes skills in individual, family and group settings as they apply to primary substance abuse issues.

21. Conducts chemical dependency assessments and evaluations to include a complete psychosocial assessment and mental health diagnosis as appropriate.

22. Conducts mental status assessments as needed.

23. *Ensures completeness and timeliness in clinical record keeping, to include, orientation, assessments, progress notes, treatment plan update/staffing reviews, mental health diagnosis, and discharge plans.

24. Provides educational lectures to both clients and their families in areas specific to substance abuse and mental health.

25. Presents clinical cases to multidisciplinary team to develop and prioritize client's needs, update treatment plans, and plan for appropriate discharge.

26. Maintains active and consistent communication with current and potential referral sources in the community to ensure continuity of care for substance use and mental health clients.

27. Clinically communicates with third party payers to ensure continued stays for efforts at the appropriate levels of care and completes peer reviews as assigned.

28. *Provides oversight of client care and clinically supports other staff members in the absence of the leader.

29. Provides counseling services requiring specific competencies and/or credentials for reimbursement authorizations as directed by leader.

30. Provides coverage and serves as the primary contact to respond to clinical issues when the leader is absent or as assigned.

31. Maintains professional growth and development through seminars, workshops, and professional affiliations to keep abreast of latest trends in field of expertise.

32. Participates in meetings, committees and department projects as assigned.

33. Performs other related projects and duties as assigned.

(Essential Job functions are marked with an asterisk "*". Refer to the Job Description Guide for the definition of essential and non-essential job functions.) Attach Addendum for positions with slightly different roles or work-specific differences as needed.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

1. Knowledge of ethical and confidentiality laws as they apply to the field of substance abuse.

2. Knowledge of the disease process and client care in the field of alcoholism/chemical dependency and mental health.

3. Knowledge of Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon, and other 12 Step recovery programs.

4. Knowledge of the 12 Core Functions of the Alcohol & Drug Use Counselor as established by the International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium (ICRC).

5. Knowledge of mental health and substance abuse treatment services and techniques.

6. Knowledge of computer hardware equipment and software applications relevant to work functions.

7. Ability to exhibit skills in all levels of the continuum of mental health and substance use treatment, i.e. inpatient care, residential care, intensive outpatient, continuing care and individual sessions as per caseload assignment.

8. Ability to administer and interpret substance use assessment tools.

9. Ability to facilitate group and individual counseling sessions to address addiction and mental health issues.

10. Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.

11. Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with healthcare team members and diverse patient populations.

12. Ability to clinically supervise and mentor students, interns and staff about counseling methods and the field of addiction and mental health.

13. Ability to prioritize work demands and work with minimal supervision.

14. Ability to maintain confidentiality relevant to sensitive information.

15. Ability to maintain regular and punctual attendance.

16. Ability to schedule, mentor, train and counsel employees regarding work responsibilities and clinical performance.

17. Skill in coaching and mentoring other members of the clinical team.

18. Skill in constructive problem solving and conflict resolution.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

Master's degree in counseling or behavioral health field required. Licensure as a Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioner (LIMHP) required. Licensure as a Provisional Alcohol and Drug Counselor or Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor preferred. Three (3) years of experience in a lead or supervisory role preferred.

If prior or current history of alcohol and drug dependency, must provide evidence of sobriety for a minimum of 12 months prior to employment.

OTHER CREDENTIALS / CERTIFICATIONS:

Basic Life Support (CPR) certification required. Bryan Health recognizes American Heart Association (for healthcare professionals), American Red Cross (for healthcare professionals) and the Military Training Network.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

(Physical Requirements are based on federal criteria and assigned by Human Resources upon review of the Principal Job Functions.)

(DOT) - Characterized as sedentary work requiring exertion up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects, including the human body.