Crisis Counselor

Job Description

Job Description

BJK People’s Health Center provides comprehensive mental health services to children and adults in the northern and central parts of the City of St. Louis and North St, Louis City. A professional mental health staff serves a growing caseload of 2, 800 patients, of which greater than ninety-five percent are chronically mentally ill and suffering from major psychiatric disorders Hopewell Center operates a Psychosocial Rehabilitation Center and a Comprehensive Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center for adults and youth. Many services are provided at schools, Emergency services, including a crisis bed and mobile outreach, are available twenty-four hours per day. A multi-disciplinary team of psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, counselors, social workers, educators, and support staff work diligently to carry out the mission of providing comprehensive care to patients and their families.

Job Summary: This position is responsible for providing After hours day to day crisis services and supports, to include needs of consumers and meeting all program requirements established by the Department of Mental Health and/or other governing entities. Mobile Crisis Counselors provide community outreach and crisis response aiming to support individuals who are experiencing a behavioral health crisis in real-time. The goal of this position is to provide immediate support and stabilization to individuals in crisis at the location of their crisis. Staff will arrive on site to assess, help to identify next steps with the person around care and resources, and work to ensure safety with the person until follow-up care is in place. Individuals will have access to a multi-disciplinary behavioral health team in-the-moment and will have a specific plan outlined before the end of the outreach interaction.

Essential Job Functions:

· Knowledge of community resources including psychiatry, substance use, medical, and/or other community services to link those in acute crisis.

· Assess children, Adolescents, and/or adults in psychiatric crisis for hospitalization and facilitate hospitalization at location of need.

· provide crisis counseling and coordination to help stabilize current psychiatric crisis if client does not meet criteria for inpatient hospitalization.

· Maintain client record in the electronic health record in accordance with licensure and accreditation standards

· Attend agency and DMH required trainings (De-escalation, Crisis Safety Planning, Mobile Crisis).

· Provide training to new staff on mobile crisis screening events as needed.

· Provide intensive short term community-based counseling and case management services to clients.

· Community outreach

· Complete application for benefits (as needed)

· Maintain completion of screening and progress notes within 72 business hours.

· Work to ensure safety with the person in crisis until follow-up care is in place.

· Work with multi-disciplinary team and community partners to support and stabilize individual in need of community on-site crisis support

• Follows up on all clients assessed as urgent or emergent after assessment to ensure proper care is provided.
• Monitors clients evaluated to be at risk of suicide and placed on the CarePath. Ensures that these clients are receiving proper contact and follow up as clinically indicated.
• Is aware of all clients who are hospitalized. Ensures that discharge planning is completed, and follow up is provided post hospitalization, including linkage to the client’s provider and provision of hospitalization records.

· All other duties as assigned within the scope of the job responsibilities of the role

Minimum Education, Training and Experience

· Bachelor's degree in social work, counseling, etc. Master’s degree preferred (i.e. Social Work, Psychology, Counseling or Psychiatric Nursing) QMHP

· 2 years of employment history in mental/behavioral health with crisis experience preferred

· Effective communication skills

· Additional Requirement

· Knowledge of the policies, procedures, and regulations of the program to which the employee is assigned

· Knowledge of the problems encountered by persons with mental illness and how to assess the various community resources available

· Capability to communicate ideas clearly and effectively to produce clear and concise reports.

Additional Requirements

• Knowledge of the policies, procedures, and regulations of the program to which the employee is assigned.
• Knowledge of the problems encountered by persons with mental illness and how to assess the various community resources available.
• Capability to communicate ideas clearly and effectively to produce clear and concise reports.