Clinical Therapist

SUMMARY OF RESPONSIBILITIES

The Licensed Professional Counselor is responsible for direct patient care including services to individual patients and their families, biopsychosocial assessment, and referral to community resources. The Licensed Professional Counselor is responsible for the timely and accurate delivery of services upon referral of patients, assuring that services are delivered in a courteous and professional manner and in accordance with applicable policies and procedures, rules, regulations, and prevailing law. The Licensed Professional Counselor will maintain effective relationships with other community agencies to support cross-referral of patients. 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• The essential function of the Licensed Professional Counselor is to provide a range of psychological assessments, diagnostic, therapeutic, and/or case management services for patients. 
• The duties of the Licensed Professional Counselor include, but are not limited to, the following: 
• Provides direct patient care. 
• Completes evaluations with variety of diagnostic tools, following best practices. 
• Provides acute and chronic care according to behavioral health principles and practices. 
• Monitors effective therapy. 
• Knowledge of the development and maintenance of information/referral systems. 
• Triages patient phone calls and evaluates patient problems. 
• Demonstrates a sensitivity and responsiveness to a variety of cultural values and beliefs and social determinants of health. 
• Conducts basic screenings of patients, including review of barriers to health self-management; depression; stress; and substance use. 
• Provides basic crisis intervention services to patients in need. 
• Provides basic case management supports regarding emotional and mental health needs, functional abilities, readiness to change, caregiver stability, social supports, financial resources, environment and safety concerns, life care planning and self-management skills. 
• Communicates effectively with colleagues, patients, physicians and administration. 
• Demonstrates positive and effective verbal and written communication skills with patients, families and co-workers, and in patient documentation. 
• Educates patients and families. 
• Provides staff with education formally and informally through peer review processes. 
• Demonstrates efficient management of time and resources. 
• Utilizes and conducts research/inquiry appropriate to clinical setting. 
• Maintains a current level of clinical practice by selecting appropriate avenues for professional growth and routinely seeks continuing education according to best practice. Evaluates goal attainment and revises goals on an on-going basis. 
• Adheres to and enforces PTCOA policies and procedures. 
• Maintains productivity equivalent to or above 75% of paid worked hours (i.e., 6 hours of billable time on an 8-hour paid worked day). Scheduled hours are 8:00am-5:00pm Monday through Thursday, Friday 8-12:00. 
• Completes documentation on date of service or within 48 hours of delivery. 
• Performs other duties as assigned by supervision. 

CORE COMPETENCIES

• Ability to apply mental health counseling methods and techniques. 
• Knowledge of community mental health resources. 
• Knowledge of crisis intervention techniques. 
• Knowledge of clinical operations and procedures. 
• Knowledge of case management. 
• Knowledge and understanding of clinical counseling principles, programs, and methodology. 
• Interviewing and psychological/developmental evaluation skills. 
• Knowledge and understanding of mental health counseling principles, methods, procedures, and standards. 
• Ability to evaluate the progress of therapeutic programs and to make individual modifications. 
• Ability to maintain emotional stability to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stresses. 
• Knowledge of psychological test administration, scoring, and interpretation. 
• Knowledge of legal and ethical issues related to patients' rights. 

REQUIRED EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, AND/OR CERTIFICATIONS

• Education: Master’s degree/licensure required; required independent practitioner including LPC.  
• Training and Experience: 2 years post-licensure preferred, experience working in the medical setting preferred, must be licensed in the state of Arkansas. 
• Job Knowledge: Knowledge of acute and chronic care protocols in the delivery of behavioral health care, knowledge of assessment of patient health, knowledge of health promotion principles, techniques, and patient learning measurements, knowledge of access to resources and systems of care. Must have a working knowledge of and adhere to all PTCOA policies and procedures. Must have a working knowledge of and adhere to all unit/department policy and procedure including medical record documentation and utilization of up-to-date forms. Must demonstrate working understanding of HIPAA, Patient Rights, and appropriate conduct. Must demonstrate the continued ability to create and maintain a positive culture that is respectful of patient and employee rights, consistent with PTCOA Standards and Policies. 

WORKING ENVIRONMENT AND PHYSICAL DEMANDS

This is a full-time position. Days and hours of work are expected to include 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday-Thursday. Occasional work on Fridays or outside of normal office hours may be required. The position operates in a professional office environment and the incumbent, in the course of performing this position, spends time writing, typing, speaking, listening, driving, seeing (such as close, color and peripheral vision, depth perception and adjusted focus), standing, sitting, walking, and reaching. The incumbent operates all standard office equipment, motor vehicles, and mobile phones. The work environment characteristics and physical demands described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.