PD-BEHAVIORAL HEALTH TRAINEE

Momentum; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 68,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Momentum is seeking qualified staff to provide milieu and mental health rehabilitation services to residents in a structured setting. You will engage clients, develop therapeutic relationships, and organize activity programs as part of a comprehensive treatment plan.

As part of a multidisciplinary team, you will assist with discharge planning, medical follow-ups, and crisis intervention while maintaining professional relationships with clients, families, and staff.

Qualifications

• High School diploma or GED; at least one year mental health experience.
• Experience in residential or inpatient mental health settings is preferred.
• Ability to work independently and in small teams; strong English communication.
• Must have or obtain First Aid certification within 30 days of hire.

Responsibilities

• Provide milieu and/or mental health rehabilitation services to clients.
• Engage with clients to develop therapeutic relationships and plans.
• Plan and organize activity programs as therapeutic tools.
• Collaborate with multi-disciplinary team on treatment and discharge planning.
• Assist with medical follow-up and coordinate care with providers.
• Interface with clients during conflicts and crisis interventions.

Skills

Mental health experience

First Aid Certification

Communication skills

Team collaboration

Crisis intervention

English proficiency

Driver's license

Education

High School diploma/ GED

Tools

UNIX-based databases

Microsoft Office

Job description

Pay rates for Union positions are set in the Collective Bargaining Agreement with SEIU Local 521. Each position has a total of six steps, Step 1 (entry level) through Step 6 (15 years of employment with the organization). Union staff are promoted from Step 1 to Step 2 upon their one-year anniversary. The current Step 1 rate for this position is $32.78/hr, and the current Step 6 rate for this position is $36.19/hr.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide milieu and/or mental health rehabilitation services which assist and support clients in all areas of daily living, rehabilitation and treatment, working individually and in groups. Duties performed within the scope of this position may include any or all of the following:
• Engage and engender trust for the purpose of developing therapeutic relations with clients.
• Plan and organize activity programs, utilizing activities as an evaluation tool and as a therapeutic process.
• Facilitate individuals and groups through rehabilitation counseling processes that help develop and strengthen life, coping and independent living skills.
• Collaborate with multi-disciplinary team on client treatment, progress and discharge planning.
• Once medication training is provided will assist clients with self-administered medical treatments, as assigned by a medical professional.
• As a member of the residential team, develop and maintain professional relationships with clients, staff, funding source personnel, families of clients, and other professionals or community members who have an impact on clients.
• Adopt skills to work with clients’ families on mental health rehabilitation principles and treatment approaches and related issues to enable clients’ successful transitions into community life, housing, school, employment, and other life-sustaining and independent living skills;
• Assist staff to help with medical follow-up assistance to clients in obtaining a primary care physician, coordinating care with medical doctors and assisting with medical issues, schedules, appointments and transportation.
• Interface directly with clients and provide support, particularly during times of conflict and crisis intervention.
• Assess the independent living skills and mental status of clients; identify needed skill-sets; assist in learning new skill-sets; provide opportunities to practice new skills;
• Once training is provided, alert other professional staff of adverse reactions to medication or medication avoidance;
• Provide feedback and recommendations; update treatment plans per Agency guidelines;
• Provide appropriate consultation/back-up to support other staff in responding to client crisis;
• Help clients strengthen problem-solving, socialization, and coping skills;
• Encourage clients’ resourcefulness, self-empowerment, and understanding of their diagnosis and/or illness.
• Once trained, complete the clinical records and other documentation, processes, and procedures that enable clients to receive these services in accordance with Agency, payor and regulatory requirements, utilizing paper or computer technology.
• Assist clients in implementing and following thru with their treatment plan goals.
• Perform general office work, including electronic and telephonic communications and processing of timecards.
• Perform emergency First Aid in emergency situations.
• Provide transportation in personal or agency vehicles, including, but not limited to, the transport of clients and or program supplies, for agency business.
• Attend and participate in staff, program, agency and community meetings, and training.

OTHER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide a safe and welcoming living environment for residents.
• Correct safety and potential safety hazards, or report them to Medical Services or maintenance.
• Ensure work area is clean and well kept; assist in the daily upkeep of the facility, including housekeeping and supplies.
• Assist in meal preparation and maintaining a safe kitchen.
• Interface with staff, clients, and visitors, as conditions require and in a welcoming and unobtrusive manner.
• Ensure compliance with applicable health and safety or other regulatory requirements.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILL, AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:

• High School diploma, GED, or equivalent education and at least one year Mental Health experience. (E)
• Experience in a residential or in-patient Mental Health setting. (D)
• Demonstrated ability to:
  • Work independently and in a small team environment; (E)
  • Engage and communicate effectively with others in both verbal and written English; write legibly; (E)
  • Monitor and support developmental growth and the recovery process; (E)
  • Manage multiple tasks and demands; (E)
  • Employ tact and diplomacy, exercise good judgment, and act calmly in emergency situations; (E)
  • Work from a strengths-based, harm-reduction, social rehabilitation model; (E)
  • Work effectively with persons differing in value systems, ethnicity, cultural backgrounds, language capabilities and disabilities; (E)
  • Work collaboratively with individuals identified as those with serious mental illness who meet the following criteria: histories of hospitalization, and/or institutionalization, including with the criminal justice system, substance abuse, low engagement in medication treatment, and difficulty in participating in structured activities and living independently; (E)
  • Work with populations identified as high risk and/or considered under-represented in the County Mental Health system facing multiple barriers to services and assist such individuals in attaining services; (E)
  • Exhibit exemplary customer service, compassion and care in the execution of all duties and interactions. (E)
• Demonstrated ability to work with participants who:
  • May also have histories of assaultive behavior; (E)
  • May have resided in long term care facilities for extended periods; (E)
  • May have patterns of service that relied almost exclusively on emergency and institutional care; (E)
  • May have cognitive difficulties and medical co-morbidities and be considered medically fragile; may also be developmentally disabled; (E)
  • May have long-term patterns of homelessness and criminal justice involvement. (E)
• Knowledge of:
  • Problem resolution and conflict resolution techniques; (E)
  • Community resources, including those required to meet the non-mental health needs of the target population; (E)
  • Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) and Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP). (D)
• First Aid Certification or successful completion of First Aid Certification within 30 days of hire. (E)
• Meet government and/or regulatory standards for continuing education credits and recertification, including a minimum of 20 hours of directly related professional training, if assigned to a residential facility. (E)
• Special Requirements: Must be able to meet and receive a criminal records clearance, as required by Title XXII, other licensing regulations and Momentum practices. (E)
• Proven proficiency in typing—minimum 40 net wpm; computer literacy, including Internet search and a basic proficiency level in Microsoft Office applications and Windows-based databases; (E) familiarity with UNIX-based databases. (D)
• A valid California Driver’s License, access to a reliable vehicle, proof of auto liability insurance, and a clean DMV record are required for employees working in County-contracted or non-private pay programs. (E) These requirements are preferred for private pay programs under the La Selva Group. (D)
• Physical requirements needed to perform the essential functions of this job, with or without accommodation:
  • Standing, walking, grasping, finger flexion, moving/lifting/carrying objects up to 40 lbs., bending, stooping, crouching, kneeling, withstanding repetitive motion and reaching repeatedly are required constantly (over 2/3 of the workday); (E)
  • Communicate via telephone and in person is required occasionally (under 1/3 of workday); (E)
  • Balancing, climbing and crawling may be required occasionally; (E)
  • Physically able to assist clients and/or staff in the evacuation of program facilities in emergency situations. (E)

Equal Opportunity Employer
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