Senior Professional Counselor - Psychiatry (Medical Center)

At Houston Methodist, the Sr Professional Counselor position is responsible for providing behavioral and psychological expertise for the clinical, educational, and consultative aspect of various programs. This position performs direct patient care activities including psychological &/or behavioral assessment, evaluation and education by providing individual and group therapy and behavioral counseling. The Sr Professional Counselor position is the key advisor for the team which may include surgeons, specialty physicians, referring physicians, patients and clinical team members. This position will also assist in the future development of the identified programs which and include research, curriculum development, and community outreach and education. The Sr Professional Counselor position participates in department initiatives, identifying and assisting with opportunities for performance improvement activities for the programs.

FLSA STATUS
Exempt

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• Master’s degree in psychology, social work or other related field from an accredited college

EXPERIENCE

• Five years’ experience in individual and/or group counseling, inpatient or outpatient setting
• One year experience working with assigned population

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS
Required

• LPC or LMSW or LCSW state license

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through on-going skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations.
• Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job, especially with regard to activities impacting patient or employee safety or security.
• Ability to effectively communicate with patients, physicians, family members and co-workers in a manner consistent with a customer service focus and application of positive language principles.
• Demonstrates knowledge of, sensitivity to and the ability to apply cultural, socioeconomic and religious factors as they may impact patients
• Demonstrates leadership and expertise in the identification of program needs, planning and goal attainment for assigned areas
• Must function independently, have flexibility, and the ability to work effectively with interprofessional team and staff
• Critical thinking, collaboration, negotiation, time management,prioritization and mediation skills
• Manage multiple responsibilities in a well-planned, efficient and systematic manner
• Ability to work independently and exercise sound judgment in interactions with physicians, payors, and patients and their families
• Well versed in computer skills of the entire Microsoft Office Suite (Access, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Word)

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Collaborates with interprofessional team members to provide clinical expertise and leadership in cognitive behavioral therapy and psychological assessment of all patients.
• Acts as a resource and mentor to team members and assists management in team development. Provide appropriate clinical judgment and support interprofessional health care team which includes the surgeons, physicians and the clinicians.
• Recommends additional treatment resources program patients as appropriate. Develops and conducts group facilitation. Responsible for assisting in the development and implementation of patient support groups for programs.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Performs psychosocial evaluations of patients to consider all variables that may impact treatment plans and outcomes for patients.
• Responsible for communication to the surgeon and timely documentation regarding the patient’s psychological appropriateness for treatment and any other recommendations.
• Analyzes and assesses social and emotional functioning as well as patient/family interactions as it impacts patient’s ability to comply with the lifestyle changes necessary for a successful outcome using appropriate psychological assessment tools.
• Participates in routine individual meetings with patients to develop behavior modification plans.

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Oversees all psychological evaluations and behavioral assessments and helps create a standardized level of care across providers and ensures appropriate documentation in the system.
• Facilitates behavioral training and oversees the professional development of other counselor team members and the clinical staff.
• Collaborates with staff from the interprofessional health care team concerning safety data to improve outcomes and the safe transition of care through effective patient handoffs.
• Responsible for designing, creating and facilitating program research/outcome tracking and reporting.

FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Positively impacts quality and cost outcomes by assuring optimal behavioral & psychological evaluations &/or treatment to minimize potential complications potential complications to the program.
• Completes activity / productivity & other reports as needed.

GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Serves as a leader in curriculum & program development for behavioral component for assigned population programs and participates in marketing and community outreach to promote assigned population.
• Keeps up to date on cognitive behavior therapy initiatives and current trends in the behavioral treatment in area of specialty. Completes and updates the individual development plan (IDP) on an on-going basis.

SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS
WORK ATTIRE

• Uniform: No
• Scrubs: No
• Business professional: Yes
• Other (department approved): No

ON-CALL*
*Note that employees may be required to be on-call during emergencies (ie. Disaster, Severe Weather Events, etc) regardless of selection below.

• On Call* No

TRAVEL**
**Travel specifications may vary by department**

• May require travel within the Houston Metropolitan area Yes
• May require travel outside Houston Metropolitan area Yes

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• Master’s degree in psychology, social work or other related field from an accredited college

EXPERIENCE

• Five years’ experience in individual and/or group counseling, inpatient or outpatient setting
• One year experience working with assigned population

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS
Required

• LPC or LMSW or LCSW state license