Intake counselor job description

Responsibilities

POSITION REQUIREMENTS:

Total education, experience and Licenses or Certifications: RN or Master's Degree in Psychology, Sociology, or a related degree required. A minimum of two years clinical experience in a behavioral health setting preferred.

SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

* Ability to assess the physical, emotion, and psychological needs of patients.
* Ability to determine suitability of admission to the hospital based on clinical and financial criteria.
* Ability to make independent and responsible decisions.
* Good knowledge of admitting and insurance verification.
* Must have ability to work under stressful circumstances with frequent interruptions.
* Effective verbal and written communication skills are required to communicate with patients, families, referral sources, community agencies, and staff. Knowledge of telephone etiquette is required.
* Skill sets to interact with patients, physicians, families and hospital personnel.
* Work is of medium demand, requiring heavy telephone and personal contact with patients, referral sources, community agencies, and insurance companies.
* Physical demands include but not limited to: walking, standing, and sitting.

Qualifications

POSITION REQUIREMENTS:

Total education, experience and Licenses or Certifications: RN or Master's Degree in Psychology, Sociology, or a related degree required. A minimum of two years clinical experience in a behavioral health setting preferred.

SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

* Ability to assess the physical, emotion, and psychological needs of patients.
* Ability to determine suitability of admission to the hospital based on clinical and financial criteria.
* Ability to make independent and responsible decisions.
* Good knowledge of admitting and insurance verification.
* Must have ability to work under stressful circumstances with frequent interruptions.
* Effective verbal and written communication skills are required to communicate with patients, families, referral sources, community agencies, and staff. Knowledge of telephone etiquette is required.
* Skill sets to interact with patients, physicians, families and hospital personnel.
* Work is of medium demand, requiring heavy telephone and personal contact with patients, referral sources, community agencies, and insurance companies.
* Physical demands include but not limited to: walking, standing, and sitting.

• Monitors the assessment and intake process to ensure that appropriate level of care determination is being made, that applicants are being properly engaged, and that admissions and referrals are being implemented in a manner consistent with regulatory and clinical standards of care.
• Facilitates communication, in conjunction with the Administrative Coordinator, between program locations to ensure client access to a prescriber within 24 hours for those in need of MAT.
• Utilizes Motivational Interviewing (MI) and supervises other intake workers at the Hub in MI to engage prospective clients in the treatment process.
• Identifies and assists in problem solving with management any issues impacting open access, connection to MAT services and/or client engagement in care.
• Works with the Administrative Coordinator to ensure the smooth onsite operation of the MAT Hub, managing the flow of clients related to open access.
• Maintains compliance with Agency Standards of access to care and provides expedited intake services, where indicated.
• Maintains appropriate contact with referral and regulatory agencies to report on client progress, if appropriate, and matters of compliance and to ensure a continuing flow of referrals.
• Works with staff to appropriately use SearchTreatment to connect individuals to services that Outreach does not provide.
• Serves as a liaison to AHN/RHS for referrals from other providers through SearchTreatment.
• Screens prospective clients for social determinants of health and other needs, such as medical care, psychiatric or vocational referrals, and other client identified barriers to treatment, through the use of in house case management or peers.
• Maintains relationship with appropriate outside agencies to stay informed of advances in client treatment, changes in the field and to represent Outreach to these agencies.
• Provides direct clinical services (assessment, individual, group, family counseling, crisis intervention, toxicology testing), as needed.
• Exercises due diligence in the delivery of quality care in line with agency Medicaid Compliance Plan and systems of accountability.
• Insures communication through the compliance officer and/or the supervisory structure of any violation of non-compliance with the agency’s Medicaid compliance plan and personnel policy and procedure.

Who You Are:

• LCSW-R, LCSW, LMSW, LMHC or CASAC required, with 2-3 years of experience in substance abuse disorder treatment
• Extensive knowledge of community resources available to clients who are diagnosed with substance use disorders and mental health disorders
• Unwavering commitment to quality programs and data-driven program evaluation
• Ability to work effectively in collaboration with diverse interdisciplinary team
• Action-oriented, adaptable, and innovative approach to program planning
• Bi-lingual Spanish or Polish a plus.
• Schedule to be discussed at interview, but will include a mix of day and evening hours and one weekend day.

At Outreach, we enjoy a strong work-life balance, excellent benefits, and ongoing professional training. Our enthusiastic employees love what they do and the positive impact they make every day. Outreach embraces diversity and promotes a workplace in which individual differences are recognized, appreciated and respected.

Our employees are the reason Outreach ranks among the most respected health and human services providers in New York City and Long Island. In fact, we have been named one of the “Best Companies to Work for in New York” a total of nine times since 2010.

Communities throughout Queens, Brooklyn and Long Island turn to Outreach for a vast array of treatment and training needs. We customize our services to increase our access to a wide range of individuals and groups including Families, Justice System, Aspiring Professionals, EAPs/MAPs and Community Members. Outreach’s treatment services are licensed by the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) and employ best practices in line with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services’ (SAMHSA) indicators of quality treatment.

An EEO employer, we enjoy exceptional workforce retention – many of our employees have been with Outreach for 10 years or more, some starting as part-timers and now working in full-time senior management.

Adding to our outstanding benefits, some members of Outreach’s clinical and professional staff may be eligible for student loan forgiveness and repayment plans for persons working in public service, education, and health care, including the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program, Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plan, or the New York State Licensed Social Worker Loan Forgiveness (LSWLF) Program. Outreach’s NYC outpatient programs are also approved for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Substance Use Disorder Loan Repayment program, for eligible clinicians.

All Shifts Available

The Intake Clinician's primary role is to assess the needs of walk-in clients and phone callers and ensure their referral to the service or resource to best address those needs.

Duties include but are not limited to:

Assist administration, physicians and clinical staff in the assessment of pending admits and coordination of services.

Plan, coordinate and evaluate direct and indirect facility assessments and client admissions making decisions concerning the level of care for treatment.

Direct the screening of potential patients for admission into the program and initiate the integrated assessment process.

Identify and address safety concerns to ensure the safety of patients and service providers.

Make decisions concerning the level of care for treatment.

Requirements

Experience: Minimum of 2 years clinical experience, preferably in a behavioral healthcare setting, phone triage, tele-health or case management or combination of education and experience. Inpatient experience preferred.

Education: Master's Degree in a relevant field (e.g., social work, counseling, marriage and family therapy, psychology)

Licenses: Licensed to practice in the State of Texas as a LMSW, LCSW, LPC or LPC-I

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

Advanced knowledge and clinical skills in diagnosis and treatment of mental health

Knowledgeable of patient rights and laws pertaining to mental health.

Must have basic PC skills that include a combination of working in a Windows Operating System and Microsoft Outlook, Word and Excel and the ability to type a minimum of 30 words per minute.

Must have excellent listening skills with a pleasant demeanor that encourages and engages others. Outstanding communication (written and oral ) skills, assessment and intervention skills. Persuasive manner and skills in overcoming denial and resistance to treatment.

Ability to deal with crisis and potentially combative patients while maintaining personal and emotional equilibrium. Ability to empathetically relate to people.

Must be able to multi-task, prioritize with strong time management skills.

Screening: Must successfully pass background check, drug screen, physical and be able to provide positive employment references.

Physical Demands: With or without reasonable accommodations, must be able to stoop, kneel, crouch, reach, stand for sustained period of time, walk, pull, lift, raise and move objects from position to position (up to 50 lbs), finger grasp; feel sizes, shapes, temperatures, and textures; express or exchange ideas orally and potentially loudly, accurately, or quickly; visually detect, determine, perceive, identify, recognize, judge, observe, inspect, assess; perceive the nature of sound with or without correction; perform repetitive motions of the wrist, hands, or fingers.

This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employee may perform other related duties to meet the ongoing needs of the hospital.

If you are among the most competitive and qualified candidates for the job, you will be contacted directly by one of our hiring managers. Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we are unable to respond to individual inquiries regarding your application status. Good Luck & we hope to meet you soon!

Dallas Behavioral Healthcare Hospital is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or protected Veteran status.

Benefits

Full-time employees are eligible for medical, dental, vision, company paid disability, 401(k) and a generous amount of paid time off.