Summary 

The Behavioral Health Clinician II is the team lead responsible for delegating therapy assignments, overseeing continuity of care, and designing and implementing the therapeutic structure each day on the psychiatric units. Additionally, serves as the subject matter expert, providing resources for the QMHPs. This role also provides clinical intervention, discharge coordination, and milieu support on the unit. The Behavioral Health Clinician II is responsible for providing high quality patient care, displaying effective skills in assessment, treatment planning, and counseling models and modalities to include individual, group, and family counseling. Additionally, he or she is expected to assist with care coordination and discharge planning to access patients needed medical, psychiatric, social, educational, vocational, and other supports essential to meet their basic needs. The Behavioral Health Clinician also performs direct and indirect patient care activities for mental health patients, including duties in support of the delivery of psychiatric nursing care and assists in the milieu management to ensure a safe, therapeutic environment for patients and staff. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities  

These duties and responsibilities described below represent the general tasks performed daily; other tasks may be assigned. 

Provide comprehensive assessments to identify cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning and risk assessment, using a biopsychosocial approach. 

Identify disposition decisions, determining the appropriate level of care for each patient. 

Attend treatment team huddles and coordinate care in close collaboration with other treatment team members (i.e., physician, psychiatrist, nurse, community service board clinician, case manager, etc.) 

Complete clinical formulations to include diagnosis and treatment approach, taking the lead on and providing input to a patient’s Individual Service Plan (ISP).  

Completes progress notes on interventions conducted and patient response. This includes daily documentation of patient mental status, behaviors, activities, and incidents. 

When necessary, delegate patient care assignments to Behavioral Health Clinician I and ensure group, individual, and family therapy sessions are conducted when appropriate for each patient.  

Oversee continuity of care for patients on the psychiatric unit, ensuring appropriate therapeutic encounters, medication management, and appropriate discharge coordination to ensure throughput. 

Stimulate patients’ interest and cooperation in various individual and group activities and therapeutic interventions. 

Engaging patients at their level of functioning with recreation, movement, art, music, psychoeducation, and/or other empirically supported therapeutic intervention.  

Utilize effective strategies for the management of emotional and behavioral crises. 

Provides appropriate crisis intervention as necessary by anticipating and responding quickly to escalating behaviors, utilizing de-escalation techniques to diffuse the situation, correctly prioritizing safety concerns, following proper restraint technique guidelines, and displaying neutral emotions.  

Uses appropriate counseling skills to include active listening skills, appropriate tone and volume of voice, providing a high frequency and variety of positive reinforcements, maintaining appropriate boundaries, and promoting a positive peer culture. 

Positively utilize feedback regarding performance and use supervision to improve performance. 

Attend required hospital-wide orientations, meetings, and in-services. 

Take responsibility for ongoing professional growth and development; maintain current facility competencies and annual competencies. 

Bring to Behavioral Health manager and Charge Nurse’s attention significant issues related to the special issues presented by mental health care. 

Complete petitions for emergency custody order or temporary detention orders, if deemed necessary and coordinate with local community service board clinicians. Assist physicians in navigating the medical temporary detention orders, when needed.  

Link behavioral health patients to services and supports specified in their Individualized Service Plan. 

Assist the individual directly for the purpose of locating, developing, or obtaining needed services and resources. 

Coordinate services and service planning with families, other agencies, and providers involved with the individual. 

Enhance community integration by contacting other entities to arrange community access and involvement, including opportunities to learn community living skills, and use vocational, civic, and recreational services. 

Make collateral contacts with the individuals' significant others to promote implementation of the service plan and community adjustment. 

Engage in timely, efficient discharge planning. 

Work in close conjunction with patient, family, nursing staff, attending physician, and referral sources. 

Demonstrate knowledge of referral/placement process and available community resources. 

Communicate effectively with families and agencies conveying a positive, professional image. 

Function cooperatively as a member of the larger treatment team, providing collaboration and  

flexible work scheduling to the psychiatric units (i.e., inpatient and CPEP) when necessary to ensure patient care. 

Oversee patient engagement and morale, maintaining a warm and positive environment that is supportive of individual choices, enriching, homelike, safe, and nurturing for people in mental health crisis receiving emergency stabilization services. 

Develop a therapeutic relationship with psychiatric patients.  

Directly address the behavioral support needs for patients and provide a variety of support services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, mental illness, substance use, and challenging behaviors including physical aggression.  

Observe patient progress during treatment, monitor leisure time, recreational, and social activities of choice within the unit for each patient. 

Collaborate with the clinical team to ensure effective communication and progress monitoring. 

Lead, train, and support the psychiatric units’ team members in Handle with Care/De-escalation techniques. 

Take responsibility for ongoing professional growth and development; maintain current facility competencies and annual competencies. 

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 required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

Required Knowledge 

Persons providing case management services must have knowledge of: 

Knowledge of behavior management techniques. 

Demonstrate a sound understanding and assist in the management of a therapeutic milieu, providing structure, social support, patient-education, safety, and social skills training. 

The service planning process and major components of a service plan. 

Assessment, diagnosis, and treatment for individuals with mental illness, intellectual and developmental disability, and substance use. 

Humanistic, cognitive, expressive, and behavioral therapies as well as treatment modalities and intervention techniques, such as behavior management, independent living skills training, supportive counseling, family education, crisis intervention, verbal de-escalation, discharge planning, and service coordination. 

Services, systems, and programs available in the community including primary health care, support services, eligibility criteria and intake processes, generic community resources, mental health, intellectual and developmental disability community resources, and substance use treatment programs. 

The nature of mental illness, intellectual and developmental disability, and substance use. 

Civil mental health procedures in the Commonwealth of Virginia to include Emergency Custody Orders, Temporary Detainment Orders, and Medical Temporary Detainment Orders  

Different types of assessments, including functional assessments, and their uses in service planning. 

The service planning process and major components of a service plan. 

The use of medications in the care or treatment of the population served; and 

All applicable federal and state laws, state regulations, and local ordinances. 

Required Skills 

Persons providing case management services must have skills in: 

Recognize and appropriately react to behavioral emergencies. 

Strong communication skills for interacting with clients and their families. 

Observe and accurately report and describe observations in writing. 

Identifying and documenting an individual's needs for resources, services, and other supports. 

Using information from assessments, evaluations, observation, interviews, and individual service plans to develop an appropriate discharge plan. 

Identifying services and resources within the community and established service system to meet the individual's needs; and documenting how resources, services, and natural supports, such as family, can be utilized to achieve an individual's personal habilitative/rehabilitative and life goals; and 

Coordinating the provision of services by public and private providers. 

Required Abilities 

Persons providing case management services must have abilities to: 

Work as team members, maintaining effective inter- and intra-agency working relationships. 

Work independently, performing position duties under general supervision; and 

Engage and sustain ongoing relationships with individuals receiving services. 

Utilize sound judgment and crisis intervention skills, including physical restraint, to prevent or reverse situations which, may be potentially harmful.  

Follow DBHDS and unit specific policies for seclusion/restraint, and management of the assaultive patient. 

Read, understand, and carry out individualized service plans. 

Work collaboratively with a multidisciplinary team. 

De-escalate agitated patients and provide emotional support during psychiatric emergencies. 

Maintain competency with and support training for the organizational required de-escalation trainings.  

Must be able to meet the physical demands of the position to include standing, bending, walking, pushing/pulling, lifting 50 pounds or ¼ of your body weight, and intervening with aggressive behaviors.  

Education and Experience  

Minimum Education: Master’s degree in psychology, social work, counseling, or a related field from an accredited college or university.  

Preferred Experience: 2+ years’ work experience in behavioral health assessment and treatment; must have a good working knowledge of mental health treatment, resources, assessment, referral, and civil mental health procedures in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations  

Minimum requirement:  

Licensed-eligible for Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) or Licensed-eligible as a Professional Counselor (LPC). 

BLS Certification required. If not current upon hire, must complete BLS certification within 90 days of hire. 

 

Preferred: Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) or Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). Applicant must be licensed to practice in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Clear, non-probationary license must be maintained at employee’s expense during duration of employment.