Behavioral Health Therapist

The Behavioral Health Therapist is based in Lost Hills, CA, and will travel to other wellness centers in the Central Valley. The Behavioral Health Therapist will serve as an integral part of our onsite primary care team, responsible for helping patients improve their physical and mental health. The Behavioral Health Therapist functions as a core member of our enhanced Primary Care team that involves the patient's primary care provider, a psychiatric consultant, and other mental health and social service providers in the clinic and community. 

Essential Job Duties & Responsibilities:

• Support and closely coordinate mental health care with the patient's primary care provider and, when appropriate, other treating mental health providers

• Screen and assess patients for common mental health, substance abuse disorders, and unmet social needs

• Provide patient education about common mental health and substance abuse disorders and available treatment options

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

• Develop relationships with community providers and facilitate referrals for clinically indicated services outside the primary care clinic (e.g., social services such as housing assistance, vocational rehabilitation, mental health specialty care, substance abuse treatment)

• Support psychotropic medication management prescribed by PCPs, focusing on treatment adherence, side effects and other complications, and effectiveness of treatment

• Provide brief interventions using evidence-based techniques such as Behavioral Activation, Problem-Solving Treatment, Motivational Interviewing, or other treatments appropriate for primary care settings

• Provide or facilitate in-clinic or outside referrals to evidence-based psychosocial treatments (e.g, CBT, IPT) as clinically indicated

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

• Facilitate patient engagement and follow-up in care

• Track patient follow-up and clinical outcomes using a registry. Document in-person and telephone encounters in the registry and use the system to identify and re-engage patients.

• Document patient progress and treatment recommendations in the registry so they can be easily shared with PCPs, the psychiatric consultant, and other treating providers

• Facilitate treatment plan changes for patients who are not improving as expected in consultation with the PCP and the psychiatric consultant. These may include changes in medications or psychosocial treatments or appropriate referrals for additional services.

• Complete relapse prevention plan with patients who are in remission

• Travel required to Lost Hills clinic, Delano clinic, Student Wellness Centers, and Mobile clinic

• Perform other job-related duties as assigned

• This position is based in Lost Hills, CA