Provides assessment, diagnosis, treatment and crisis intervention as needed to members who present themselves for psychiatric evaluation. Collaborates with treating physician, psychiatric and allied health professional team to plan and direct each individual member's treatment program.
Essential Functions:
- Assesses, develops and coordinates a clinical treatment program for Health Plan members with acute or chronic psychiatric disorders.
- Consults with staff regarding diagnosis, strengths and deficits of member, as needed or appropriate.
- Provides outpatient psychotherapy to individuals and groups.
- Charts member's treatments and progress in accordance with state regulations and department procedures.
- Instructs and counsels members regarding compliance with prescribed therapeutic regimens.
- Interprets psychiatric treatment to member's family and helps to reduce fear and other attitudes obstructing acceptance of psychiatric care and continuation of treatment if asked to do so by member.
- Makes referrals to case manager, as appropriate, and/or refers member's family to community support services and resources.
- Utilizes resources of public and private agencies and community organizations to meet the needs of members.
- Collaborates with physicians in screening and evaluating members for psychotropic medications.
- May supervise PSW Assistants and PSW Interns, if supervision course has been completed.
- Works on-call evenings, weekends & holidays, assuming primary responsibility for emergency psychiatric care and acting as consultant to emergency department physicians and staff.
- Reports safety concerns to mandated reporting agencies.
Secondary Functions:
- This positions may be eligible to transfer to other Mental Health/Chemical Dependency sites within the Diablo Service Area.
- Provide consultation, liaison, and assessment services to self-referrals, Emergency Department, inpatient hospital, and other professional partners as part of a care provider team.
- Coordinate psychiatric hospitalizations or discharge plans for outpatient mental health follow-up.
- Develop and maintain positive working relationship with Emergency Department, hospital, and MH clinic staff.
- Comfortable working with a wide range of age, diagnostic, ethnic, and cultural patient variables.
- Ability to assess for chemical dependency and substance abuse problems.
- Ability to assess lethality, relative risk to self or others, current level of cognitive functioning and impairment, and chemical dependency.
- Collaborate with interdisciplinary team in discharge planning.
- Develop and maintain positive working relationships with the various professionals involved in patient care.
- Participate in staff conferences to propose, plan, and evaluate treatment options.
- Instructs and counsels patients and family members regarding compliance with prescribed therapeutic regimens, including adherence to prescribed medication regimens within the scope of practice.
- Within scope of practice, collaborate with physicians in screening and evaluating patients for use of psychotropic medications.
- Engage both internal and community resources in treatment planning.
- Due to the professional nature of the work performed by employees in this classification, the actual daily and weekly work schedules may vary according to the time requirements of specific work assignments. This may include work on some Saturdays or Sundays and some holidays, and to be assigned pager duty from 11:30 PM until 7:30 AM pursuant to the applicable collective bargaining agreement.
Qualifications:
Basic Qualifications:
- Outpatient Psychiatric Social Worker:Has experience in assessing, diagnosing and treating a broad range of psychiatric conditions.
- Master's degree in Social Work required from an accredited college or university.
- Valid Licensed Clinical Social Worker license in the State of California.
OR MFT:
- Master's degree in Applied Behavioral Science required.
- Current license as a Marriage, Family and Child Counselor in the State of California.
- Previous post license, paid experience as a member of a psychiatric treatment team in an outpatient setting/program under licensed supervision (usually two to four years).
- Has experience in assessing, diagnosing and treating a broad range of psychiatric conditions.
OR PSYCHOLOGIST:
- Minimum of two years professional experience under the direction of a licensed psychologist or board certified psychiatrist.
- PhD, PsyD, or EdD in clinical or counseling required from an accredited college or university.
- Current valid license to practice psychology in the State of California.
- Must have a National Provider Identifier (NPI) or obtain NPI, prior to employment start date.
- Must be familiar with DMS-IV-R as a means of diagnosis.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
- Knowledge of social service agencies, state regulations, and professional board standards as is related to member treatment, patient rights, and member/patient confidentiality.
- Must be able to work in a Labor/Management Partnership environment.
- Inpatient Psychiatric Social Worker:
- Working in an inpatient setting, a minimum of three years post licensure experience in acute inpatient psychiatric settings and with the use of psychosocial assessment and psychotherapeutic methods and measures in a hospital, clinic or agency preferred.
- Previous clinical responsibility to include crisis intervention, individual and group psychotherapy preferred.
- Previous clinical responsibility to include inpatient group treatment and crisis intervention preferred.
External hires must pass a background check/drug screen.
We are proud to be an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.