Behavioral Health Clinician

Behavioral Health Clinician

Agency: 131 DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

Supervisory Organization: DOC Ment Hlth/Admin

Job Type: Full time

Compensation: $69,463.17

Job Description

Basic Purpose:

Positions within this job family are assigned responsibilities for performing professional work in the administration and interpretation of standardized cognitive, affective and behavioral tests and providing clinical services in a state agency, institution, mental health facility or clinic.

Typical Functions:

• Provides initial and ongoing mental health screenings and evaluations identifying at-risk and vulnerable inmates needing prevention, intervention, referral, and the immediate provision of mental health services according to policy and procedures. Assigns mental health diagnoses to inmates as appropriate.
• Provides crisis, suicide and harm-reduction intervention/procedures to inmates identified as high-risk for self-harm, harm to others and/or have the potential for violence.
• Identifies, monitors, and provides mental health services to inmates with diagnosable mental health, behavioral, or emotional disorder to facilitate and support their wellness and recovery.
• Provides individual and/or group counseling or psychotherapy and evidence-based therapeutic services to inmates identified as needing mental health services to prevent decompensation and to promote personal growth, coping skills and support their recovery.
• Coordinates with other medical and mental health professionals to ensure quality and continuity of care.
• Schedules, monitors, and may participate in appointments with internal and external mental health professionals and providers to ensure medication compliance. Assists with providing medication education to and management reviews with inmates.
• Develops and implements an individualized mental health continuity of care/aftercare plan to inmates discharging to prevent decompensation and provides referrals and linkage to community resources.
• Assists in developing and carrying out comprehensive, culturally attuned training programs for the recognition and handling of behavioral and psychological problems most common in a correctional setting involving difficult-to-manage inmates and the seriously mentally ill.
• Assists in conducting psychological, social, and personality adjustments and suicide prevention in-service training for the correctional and other professional staff members in the recognition, prevention, and handling of emergent crisis situations.
• Attends professional conferences and keeps abreast of the most recent research, trends, and therapeutic modalities in the field of mental health including ethics training necessary for the improvement of quality of care and systems of service delivery.
• Participates as a member of the assigned facility's interdisciplinary team in meetings, correctional conferences, and other related facility and state-wide trainings.
• Conducts assessments for inmates placed in restrictive housing according to policy and procedures.
• May intervene in crisis and potentially life threatening situations.
• May implement research programs.

Level Descriptor:

This is the career level where incumbents are newly licensed or license eligible and perform advanced level professional work administering and interpreting cognitive, affective and behavioral tests, assigning diagnoses, providing treatment related services. There are no supervisory responsibilities assigned to this level, but training and assistance may be provided to less experienced professional or technical staff.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Competencies:

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities required at this level include knowledge of the principles, methods and techniques of administering and scoring a variety of standardized cognitive, affective and behavioral tests; of mental disorders, their symptoms, treatment, and social implications in relation to client and family; of the principles and methods of statistical research; and of methods and techniques used in the training of families; of intervention techniques; of various assessment and evaluation tools; of the principles, methods and techniques of interpreting a variety of cognitive, affective and behavioral tests; and of chemical dependency treatment and counseling techniques.

Ability is required to evaluate social, emotional, relationship, cognitive, and behavioral problems; to assess intellectual, cognitive, or personality functioning; to provide therapeutic counseling; to administer cognitive, affective and behavioral tests; and to communicate effectively both orally and in writing; to apply therapeutic techniques; to diagnose social, emotional, relationship, cognitive and behavioral problems; to develop therapeutic treatment plans; and to provide therapeutic intervention.

Education and Experience:

Education and Experience requirements at this level consist of a master's degree in psychology, counseling, human relations, clinical/direct practice social work, or a closely related field which must have included one semester of at least three hundred hours of applied clinical practicum in psychology or counseling plus one year post-master's experience providing professional counseling services and applicant must be license eligible and working towards licensure.

NOTE: License must be obtained within 18 months of employment.

Special Requirements:

Some positions may require the ability to endure the physical rigors and personal hazards inherent in hostage negotiation situations; a doctorate in counseling or clinical psychology, eligibility for licensure as a X51Z in the State of Oklahoma and five years of law enforcement experience.

Upon appointment, incumbents designated by the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services shall complete certification in one of the following required Departmental sponsored training in case management: Certified Behavioral Health Case Manager – Adult; Certified Behavioral Health Case Manager – Child, Adolescent and Family; or Certified Behavioral Health Case Manager – Dual Certification.

Some agencies may have determined positions in this job family to be safety sensitive as defined by 63 O.S. § 427.8.

Additional Information: Joseph Harp Correctional Center

Equal Opportunity Employment

The State of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of genetic information, race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, or disability.