Qualified Mental Health Professional - UnityPoint Health

Robert Young Center - Crisis Stabilization Center

Counselor

Full-Time + Benefits

3X12 or 4X9

$7,500 Sign on Bonus! (external applicants)

The Crisis Stabilization Clinician is recognized as a Qualified Mental Health Professional (QMHP) and is supervised by the Manager – Crisis Services. The QMHP provides care to patients in crisis utilizing the Robert Young Center principles of Trauma Informed Care.  The QMHP provides acute care to individuals who are experiencing a psychiatric crisis and uses expertise to serve patients with complex behavioral health presentations that cannot be served in a behavioral health outpatient care setting.  They perform crisis assessment, formulate a diagnosis, and implement acute care counseling interventions with patients.  They act as a patient advocate to coordinate required services or to resolve emergency problems in crisis situations. The QMHP assesses patients for risk of suicide attempts, plans treatment modalities, and coordinates treatment plans. In the crisis role, the QMHP consults with a medical provider to recommend the least restrictive plan of care.  They also gather information about community mental health needs or resources and make referrals that could be used in conjunction with outpatient therapy.  The QMHP often interacts with child protective services and works closely with county social workers and parents, collaborating on the plan of care.  Patients are seen by the QMHP in person at the Crisis Stabilization Center and via telehealth at multiple local Emergency Departments (EDs).

The QMHP is recognized under the Medicaid Community Mental Health Services Rule 140 and may train students assigned in the department.  The QMHP delivers customer service and works cooperatively with other departments, maintains accurate clinical documentation, and demonstrates Trinity’s principles and values when interacting with clients, families, visitors, physicians, and coworkers.

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• Benefits – Our competitive Total Rewards program offers benefits options that align with your needs and priorities, no matter what life stage you’re in. 
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• Development – We believe equipping you with support and development opportunities is an essential part of delivering a remarkable employment experience. 
• Community Involvement – Be an essential part of our core purpose—to improve the health of the people and communities we serve. 

Visit https://dayinthelife.unitypoint.org/ to hear more from our team members about why UnityPoint Health is a great place to work. 

Assessment

The QMHP conducts face-to-face and telemedicine crisis assessments with patients to determine their specific needs. Patients in crisis may require immediate referral to medical services, assistance with concrete needs, such as food and clothing, or they may be in a state of psychological shock and require psychiatric intervention through inpatient admission.

Advocacy

Patients in crisis often enter a state of psychological shock and withdrawal as a way of handling the aftermath of the disaster or crisis situation. They may be momentarily unable to arrange for their immediate needs. The QMHP provides temporary forms of advocacy to help clients meet these needs and may include explaining the patient’s needs to multiple service providers.  The goal of the QMHP is to help patients regain sufficient levels of functioning so that they are able to resume advocating for themselves.

Referral

Providing accurate and timely referrals is another important responsibility of the QMHP.  They must know the state of Illinois and Iowa’s admission criteria for inpatient psychiatric services, and often mentor clinicians within the agency about the patient’s mental health rights according to the state’s mental health codes.  They must be well-informed about community resources and different types of governmental assistance available to survivors of certain crisis situations. After assessing a client's needs and providing brief counseling, a crisis counselor refers the patient to the appropriate resource for continued assistance and treatment. The QMHP may be responsible for completing additional assessments to complete the referral process to another outpatient service area.

Clinical Supervision (non-managerial)

The Crisis Stabilization Clinician (QMHP) may provide clinical supervision to their team members when they themselves have received clinical supervision from a Licensed Mental Health Professional (LMHP) in order to meet the State of Illinois, Department of Human Services (DHS) Rule 132 requirement for providing Medicaid services.  Each non independently licensed clinician who provides outpatient billable activities is required to receive 60 minutes of supervision per month.

Education:

• Must possess at least a master’s degree in either counseling or social work.

Experience:

• Preferred 2 years of experience in the field of substance abuse, crisis services or mental health; or any equivalent combination of training and experience that provides the following knowledge, abilities, and skills.

License(s)/Certification(s):

• Professional license in the state of Illinois and Iowa

Illinois:

• A Licensed Social Worker (LSW)

OR

• A Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)

AND

Iowa:

• Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW)

OR

• Temporary Licensed Mental Health Counselor (tLMHC)
• CPR, within 6 months of hire
• First Aid Training, within 6 months of hire
• Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI), within 6 months of hire then, annually
• Additional annual education as assigned, within 6 months of hire then, annually

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

• Exceptional critical thinking skills
• Ability to perform an accurate crisis assessment and determine a mental health diagnosis
• Able to separate therapy and counseling to create a safe disposition related to the patient’s crisis presentation
• Works independently at times
• Able to problem solve in emergent situations
• Ability to collaborate with a variety of personnel and personalities
• Great interpersonal skills
• Positive and professional attitude
• Able to plan and organize the work
• Able to work in multiple computer applications (i.e. Visionworks, EPIC)
• Ability to be flexible and change course of work assignment
• Able to support a team work environment
• Good written and oral communication
• Reads/writes, comprehends, and speaks fluent English