POSITION DESCRIPTION:

The Behavioral Health Specialist I (BHS-I) is an integral member of the Behavioral Health Collaborative Care (BHCC) team that involves the patient's primary care provider, a psychiatric consultant and other mental health providers.  Essential responsibilities for this role include mental health assessment, delivering evidence-based behavioral interventions and assisting with medication management. The Behavioral Health Specialist I

provides consultation for mental health conditions within the scope of their license.  In addition, the

BHS-I may coordinate referrals to clinically-indicated services outside the office, depending upon office-specific need.

The Behavioral Health Specialist offers diagnostic assessment and symptom monitoring, collaborative care management, detailed consultation with a psychiatrist and brief interventions surrounding behavioral health.  This role provides BHCC service delivery involving

use of psychoeducation and monitoring, provision of patient education tools, brief

tele-health and face-to-face interventions in primary care

office and collaboration with primary care clinicians to ensure appropriate support and management of mental health symptoms.  The position does not include providing long-term therapy.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

Supports and closely coordinates mental health care with the patient's primary care provider and, when appropriate, other treating mental health providers.

Screens and assesses patients for common mental health and substance abuse disorders.

Provides patient education about common mental health and substance abuse disorders and available treatment options.

Monitors patients (in person or by telephone) for changes in clinical symptoms and treatment side effects or complications.

Supports psychotropic medication management prescribed by

PCPs, focusing on treatment adherence, side effects and other complications, and effectiveness of treatment.

Provides brief interventions using evidence-based techniques such as Behavioral Activation.

Provides or facilitates in-clinic or outside referrals to evidence-based

psychosocial treatments (e.g.,

CBT,

IPT) as clinically indicated.

Participates in regularly scheduled (usually weekly) caseload consultation with the psychiatric consultant and communicates resulting treatment recommendations to the patient's PCP. Consultations will focus on patients new to treatment or who are not improving as expected.

Facilitates patient engagement and follow-up in care.

Tracks patient follow-up and clinical outcomes using a registry. Documents in-person and telephone encounters in the registry and uses the system to identify and re-engage patients.

Documents patient progress and treatment recommendations in the registry so they can be easily shared with []{scayt-word="PCPs" d=""}