Job Description

Job Type

Full-time

Description

Behavioral Health Clinician

Department: Community & Behavioral Services Healing Center

Covered Position: Yes

Exemption Status: Exempt

Pay Grade(s): 13-14 ($87,243.00+ DOE)

Purpose: The Behavioral Health Clinician provides comprehensive, culturally responsive, trauma-informed behavioral health services through the CBS Healing Center. The clinician assesses and treats mental health, substance use, and co-occurring concerns; develops individualized treatment plans; provides psychotherapy and crisis support; coordinates care; and helps participants connect with community, cultural, medical, and social supports. Services may be delivered in person, by telehealth, and in community-based settings. The clinician works within professional scope, licensure requirements, Healing Center policies, and applicable ethical, confidentiality, documentation, and quality-of-care standards to support the mental, emotional, social, cultural, and spiritual well-being of Tribal citizens, families, and communities.

Essential Functions. An individual in this role must be able to perform the following functions with or without reasonable accommodation:

· Conduct timely, comprehensive behavioral health assessments, including biopsychosocial history, mental status examination, substance use screening, suicide and violence risk assessment, diagnostic formulation, level-of-care determination, and identification of participant strengths, needs, preferences, and cultural supports.

· Develop, implement, monitor, and update individualized, participant-centered treatment plans with measurable goals that reflect clinical needs, participant priorities, family and community context, cultural identity, and recovery goals.

· Provide evidence-informed, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed psychotherapy and counseling to individuals, couples, families, and groups across the lifespan, within the clinician’s education, training, competence, and professional scope.

· Maintain an assigned caseload and manage the full course of care, including engagement, scheduling follow-up, reassessment, transition planning, referral, discharge, and reengagement when clinically appropriate.

· Assess and respond to urgent and emergent behavioral health needs; complete suicide risk screening and assessment, collaborative safety planning, lethal-means safety counseling, consultation, crisis stabilization, and coordination with emergency or crisis partners in accordance with policy and scope.

· Identify and treat mental health, substance use, and co-occurring conditions using current diagnostic criteria and clinically appropriate interventions. Refer participants to withdrawal management, residential treatment, higher levels of care, medication services, or specialty services when indicated.

· Coordinate care with Healing Center team members, primary care and behavioral health providers, Tribal programs, schools, courts, child welfare, probation or parole, crisis services, and other community partners when authorized and clinically appropriate.

· Participate in multidisciplinary case consultation, clinical staffing, care transitions, utilization review, and collaborative service planning while clearly documenting clinical recommendations and follow-up responsibilities.

· Complete accurate, timely, and clinically meaningful documentation, including assessments, diagnoses, treatment plans, progress notes, risk assessments, safety plans, releases of information, referrals, care coordination, discharge summaries, and other required records.

· Maintain participant records in accordance with Healing Center procedures and applicable requirements for confidentiality, informed consent, records access, telehealth, mandated reporting, HIPAA, and 42 CFR Part 2.

· Use clinical supervision and consultation appropriately, including prompt consultation regarding participant safety, ethical concerns, scope-of-practice questions, complex clinical presentations, mandated reporting, and significant changes in condition.

· Engage participants through a strengths-based, relational approach that respects self-determination and integrates culture, community, family, traditional values, and healing practices when desired by the participant and appropriate to the clinician’s role.

· Collaborate with Tribal Family and Youth Services and other authorized partners to support children and families involved with child welfare; understand the purpose and significance of the Indian Child Welfare Act and advocate for culturally responsive, family-centered coordination within the clinician’s role.

· Develop and facilitate clinically appropriate groups, workshops, and psychoeducational activities based on identified participant or community needs, available evidence, cultural relevance, and Healing Center priorities.

· Provide services through in-person, telehealth, and approved community-based modalities, using privacy, safety, emergency, and technology procedures appropriate to each setting.

· Contribute to continuous quality improvement by reviewing outcomes, participant feedback, access and engagement data, documentation quality, and service trends; complete required program and grant data accurately and on time.

· Participate in outreach, prevention, community engagement, and educational presentations related to mental wellness, substance use, recovery, suicide prevention, resilience, and available Healing Center services.

· Maintain professional competence through supervision, consultation, continuing education, and an annual development plan. Maintain all licenses, credentials, and certifications required for the position and assigned duties.

· Follow professional ethics, clinical boundaries, employee responsibilities, and all applicable Tribal policies and Healing Center procedures.

· Perform other duties as assigned that are consistent with the position’s purpose, professional scope, and qualifications.

Requirements

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities. A comprehensive set of capabilities required to perform job tasks effectively:

· Knowledge of behavioral health assessment, differential diagnosis, treatment planning, psychotherapy, substance use treatment, co-occurring disorders, crisis intervention, suicide prevention, safety planning, and continuity of care.

· Knowledge of trauma-informed, recovery-oriented, person-centered, family-centered, harm-reduction, and strengths-based approaches.

· Knowledge of Alaska Native and American Indian history, cultures, community strengths, historical and intergenerational trauma, Tribal sovereignty, and the role of culture, identity, family, and community in healing.

· Knowledge of the Indian Child Welfare Act and its significance to Alaska Native and American Indian children, families, and Tribes.

· Knowledge of professional ethics, clinical boundaries, informed consent, mandated reporting, confidentiality, HIPAA, 42 CFR Part 2, and secure behavioral health documentation practices.

· Skill in establishing therapeutic relationships and providing respectful care to participants with varied backgrounds, identities, ages, abilities, clinical needs, and readiness for change.

· Skill in clinical interviewing, risk assessment, diagnostic reasoning, case formulation, treatment planning, evidence-informed intervention, de-escalation, and care coordination.

· Ability to recognize clinical deterioration, safety risks, medical or psychiatric emergencies, and needs beyond the clinician’s competence or the Healing Center’s level of care, and to respond or refer appropriately.

· Ability to integrate cultural practices and traditional healing supports into care through participant choice, collaboration, and appropriate partnership, without practicing beyond professional training or authority.

· Ability to manage a caseload, organize competing priorities, meet documentation timelines, follow through on referrals and clinical tasks, and communicate barriers promptly.

· Ability to deliver effective services in person, by telehealth, and in approved community settings while maintaining privacy, professional boundaries, and participant safety.

· Ability to work independently within established authority and collaboratively within an interdisciplinary team; seek supervision and consultation when clinical risk, ethics, law, policy, or scope requires it.

· Ability to communicate clinical information clearly and respectfully in verbal, written, and electronic formats and to tailor communication for participants, families, providers, and partner agencies.

· Ability to use electronic health records, telehealth platforms, standard office technology, clinical screening tools, and program data systems accurately and securely.

· Ability to protect confidential information and exercise sound professional judgment in complex or sensitive situations.

Minimum Qualifications (education, experience, skills):

· Master’s degree in social work, counseling, psychology, marriage and family therapy, or another behavioral health discipline that meets applicable professional licensure requirements.

· Current State of Alaska behavioral health professional license at the appropriate level for assigned duties, or eligibility to obtain the required Alaska license within a timeframe approved by Tlingit and Haida. Clinical practice must remain within the authority of the license or approved supervised status.

· Two (2) years of experience providing behavioral health assessment, counseling, psychotherapy, substance use services, or closely related clinical services. Qualifying supervised graduate clinical experience may be considered in accordance with organizational requirements.

· Ability to meet payer, credentialing, background check, and professional liability requirements applicable to assigned services.

· Qualified Addiction Professional credential, or ability to obtain it within an approved timeframe, when required for assigned substance use assessment or treatment responsibilities.

· Must be 21 years of age with a Valid driver’s license and ability to meet Tribal driving requirements when travel or community-based service delivery is assigned.

Preferred Qualifications (education, experience, skills):

· Independent clinical licensure in Alaska, such as Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, or Licensed Psychologist, as applicable to the discipline.

· Experience providing integrated treatment for mental health, substance use, trauma-related, and co-occurring conditions.

· Experience serving Alaska Native and American Indian individuals, families, and communities and working effectively within Tribal systems.

· Knowledge of Tlingit and Haida cultures, values, traditions, communities, and regional resources.

· Training or demonstrated competence in one or more relevant approaches, such as motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy skills, trauma-focused treatment, family therapy, substance use interventions, harm reduction, or suicide-specific care.

· Experience providing telehealth, group services, crisis intervention, community-based care, or services across the lifespan.

Physical Requirements. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job with or without reasonable accommodation:

· The majority of work is performed in a professional office setting and is generally sedentary, requiring routine walking, standing, bending, and carrying of items weighing less than 40 lbs

Work Environment. The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job:

· Some travel may be required on small aircraft or ferry.

· Certain positions at Tlingit and Haida may have exposure to certain hazardous materials or conditions. The supervisor will review these if applicable.