A Behavioral Health Consultant (BHC) works in the primary care clinic as an integral team member and delivers brief consultation-based services to patients and primary care providers. The BHC works with individuals, groups and families providing evidence-based, brief behavioral interventions for psychological, mental, behavioral, and physical conditions in patients of all ages.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provides brief, evidence-based, solution focused behavioral interventions with active development of psychotherapeutic/psychoeducational behavioral change planning for patients of Mountain Park Health Center (MPHC).
• Provides quality clinical consultation to patients and providers regarding mental, behavioral, emotional, and physical health related issues.
• Provides screening and functional assessment of behavioral health issues for MPHC patients.
• Collaborates with medical providers, support staff, and operational managers to identify patients with medical, cognitive, behavioral, and/or psychological conditions that could benefit from behavioral health interventions, such as motivational interviewing, and provide these services in a timely manner within the clinic setting.
• Develops and implements specific clinical pathways for select populations.
• Adapts to the fast-pace of primary care and to organizational changes as they occur.
• Builds and maintains professional relationships with all medical providers and support staff.
• Understands and promotes the guiding principles of Mountain Park and the Primary Care Home Model to better provide for the holistic needs of the population that the clinics serve.
• Facilitates groups to address biopsychosocial issues impacting medical issues.
• Assists with coordination of care and access to behavioral health agencies in the community to meet the patient’s behavioral health care needs with consistent, expeditious feedback to referring providers.
• Promotes MPHC Provider’s knowledge of patient behavioral health issues and provides education to assist with enhancing primary care utilization of behavioral health interventions.
• Provides on-site availability for crisis triage and intervention.
• Helps with de-escalating situations with patients who are upset or frustrated.
• Documents the clinical behavioral health aspect of patient interventions in consultation notes.
• Completes documentation of all consultations in the EHR clearly, concisely and in a timely manner, in accordance with MPHC policies and procedures.
• Attends monthly department staffings, provider meetings, team meetings, and any required supervision meetings.
• Assists in assessing social determinants of health and provide resources/collaborative care with agencies in the community who can assist with any identified needs.
• Works effectively with bilingual staff and vendors of interpretation services to provide high-quality care to patients for whom these services are needed.
• Must be able to embrace differences among people and to interact with internal staff as well as external contacts in a culturally competent and respectful manner.
• Completes peer reviews and employee evaluations as needed to assist in ensuring that services provided meet standards of care and to provide feedback for staff growth and development.

ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Promotes positive patient/guest relations in accordance with Mountain Park Health Center policies.
• Observes organizational policies concerning unscheduled absences and reports unscheduled absences in accordance with departmental procedures. Has 5 or fewer occurrences of unscheduled absences in a twelve month period.
• Reports to work at the start of the shift 98% of the days scheduled. Explains and gives proper notification of absenteeism, as outlined in the facility Policies and Procedures. Maintains 100% attendance at mandatory skill/departmental updates.
• Complies with the organization’s Safety Policies and Procedures. Ensures compliance with governmental licensing and regulatory requirements where applicable.
• Conducts himself/herself in a manner consistent with the Mission Statement and Values of Mountain Park Health Center.
• Seeks out facility or external education/training that would further develop individual skills, experience or knowledge necessary for a high standard of functioning in his/her job.
• Observes and respected the confidentiality of information regarding patients, visitors and fellow employees including salary information, if exposed to any of the above referenced information in the course of his/her job function.
• Dresses according to the organization’s dress code policy and procedure, as well as, complies with specific departmental regulations pertaining to employee appearance.
• Demonstrates an understanding of facility organizational structure by utilization of appropriate channels of communication. Maintain consistent, timely communication regarding all facets of departmental activities with his/her coworkers, therefore demonstrating good customer service skills with both external and internal customers.
• Demonstrates flexibility and the ability to adapt quickly to the changes that are routine in the primary care setting.
• Demonstrates the ability and desire to be a part of a healthcare team and to add value to the experience of the patients and staff of the clinic.

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability requires. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION/LICENSURE

• Current licensure in the state of Arizona as an LCSW or Clinical Psychologist is required for this position.
• Must be eligible for credentialing and contracting with all insurers.
• Training in Motivational Interviewing (MI) needed.
• Training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) strongly preferred.
• Computer literacy is required