Outpatient Integrated Behavioral Health Consultant

Mercy Hospital is an 82 bed, acute care hospital located in the scenic southwestern Colorado town of Durango. It is the only hospital in Colorado to be rated by Medicare with five stars for overall hospital quality. It is recognized for excellence in orthopedic and spine surgery and for outstanding patient experience and patient safety. Mercy has also received ten consecutive 'A' grades for patient safety from The Leapfrog Group. Our providers use state-of-the-art technology in an environment designed to promote wellbeing and healing of body, mind, and spirit. Among the many specialty services available at Mercy are emergency care (Level III trauma designation), surgical care, cardiac care (including interventional), Orthopedic and Spine Centers of Excellence, a Family Birthing Center, home care, hospice care and more. Durango offers an exceptional quality of life with small town charm, excellent schools, and year-round, world-class outdoor recreation opportunities including snow sports, river sports, hiking, biking, camping and more.

As our Outpatient Integrated Behavioral Health Consultant, you will act as an independent clinician, partnering with physicians to offer crucial assistance to patients whose life challenges are impacting their daily life and health, through evidence-based psychosocial interventions.

Every day you will independently diagnose and treat patients using modalities like CBT, motivational interviewing, and problem-solving, working closely with PCPs and psychiatrists, and engaging in a gratifying blend of therapist and case manager duties within a dynamic, team-based, and rapidly expanding program.

To be successful in this role, you will be a skilled and independent clinician with expertise in evidence-based psychosocial interventions, strong diagnostic and treatment planning abilities, and a collaborative spirit for working within an integrated healthcare team while shaping the future of our Behavioral Health Program.

• Conduct initial intake visit including detailed behavioral health and substance use history, bio-psychosocial history, and assessment.
• Provide preliminary DSM5 based diagnosis and recommendations to PCP and consultative psychiatry for treatment including but not limited to brief therapy, and/or consultative psychiatry, and educate the patient about the nature of behavioral health issues and the goals and expectations of treatment.
• Reviewing the Integrated Behavioral Health Model, the limited sessions with a focus on skills based interventions, the sessions interruptible nature, and focus on team based care.
• Appropriately assesses suicide risk using the CSSRSPC when patients answer positively to thoughts they'd be better off dead on the PHQ9, or when deemed appropriate as evidenced by other behavioral or emotional concerns that present in clinic.
• Provides brief time-limited psychosocial interventions using evidence-based modalities such as CBT, motivational interviewing, behavioral activation, problem-solving, and distress tolerance.
• Monitors behavioral health symptoms and response to treatment within a patient registry using structured instruments (e.g., PHQ9, GAD7, AUDIT, etc.).
• Connects patients with external mental health resources to increase level of care if their condition is not improving and coordinates and initiates treatment plans between primary care physicians and consulting psychiatrists about treatment recommendations.
• Provides immediate same-day support and intervention for patients presenting as highly distressed, as needed.  This can be during a warm hand-off, or case consultation.  It can also involve crisis deescalation, and suicide assessment when needed.

Required

• MSW or related field
• State of employment Licensed Clinical Social Worker or LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor) or LSCSW (Licensed Specialist Clinical Social
  Worker)
• Minimum two (2) years direct clinical experience delivering behavioral health care in a relevant setting
• Comfort with using clinical expertise in an independent manner Prior formal training and experience in brief, structured counseling techniques (e.g. cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or Problem Solving Treatment (PST), etc.).
• Competence with DSM5 diagnostic criteria and treatment planning based on these conditions
• Demonstrated ability to establish rapport quickly with a wide range of people
• Proven ability to work within and coordinate a care team comprised of internal team members and community-based members

Preferred

• Experience with design, implementation, or maintenance of the IMPACT model, SBIRT model, or other appropriate evidence-based models of behavioral health care delivered in primary care settings
• Experience working with medically ill patients in a primary care setting
• Experience working with all age ranges of patients