Behavioral Health Clinician

Who We Are:

Since 1985, BHCHP’s mission has been to ensure unconditionally equitable and dignified access to the highest quality health care for all individuals and families experiencing homelessness in greater Boston. Over 10,000 homeless individuals are cared for by Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program each year. We are committed to ensuring that every one of these individuals has access to comprehensive health care, from preventative dental care to cancer treatment. Our clinicians, case managers, and behavioral health professionals work in more than 30 locations to serve some of our community’s most vulnerable—and most resilient—citizens.

From our earliest days as a program, we have always sought to do work that is transformational: recognizing our shared humanity; centering dignity, compassion, mutual respect and supporting the right of every individual to access the highest levels of health care and every staff member to reach their fullest potential. We continue to be committed to building bridges and breaking down barriers, including systemic racism which harms us all. We provide community-based health care services that are compassionate, dignified, and culturally appropriate, incorporating social determinants of health, with the goal of breaking down the physical and systemic barriers that our patients face.

Job Summary:

*NOW OFFERING A $4,000 SIGN ON BONUS***

Hours: Full Time, 40 hours, Monday – Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm

Union: No

Union Name: Non-union

Patient Facing: Yes

Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) serves a highly vulnerable homeless population who experiences high rates of mental illness, complex trauma, and active substance disorder which can contribute to behavioral challenges that impair access to healthcare and other critical social services. These and other social factors place our patients at high risk for incarceration, further compromising their health, wellness, and access to life saving care.

We are seeking to hire a Behavioral Health Clinician who will work to advance restorative justice-oriented, trauma-informed approaches, rooted in harm reduction principles to address behavioral challenges among vulnerable patients to ensure safe, and effective access to health care at BHCHP. While you will work with individuals across all stages of recovery, you will prioritize engagement with individuals who actively use drugs and who are at high risk for drug overdose.

This position offers a unique opportunity to innovate at the intersections of homelessness and behavioral health to more effectively address behavioral crises and conflicts that arise in a collaborative team-based, community health center context.

Responsibilities:

• Works in collaboration with multidisciplinary teams in evaluation and treatment of individuals who are experiencing a behavioral/emotional crisis that may be impacting their ability to continue to receive care throughout our program; provides supportive clinical services in the milieu and in clinical settings to help support effective patient engagement with medical care and psychosocial services.
• Prepares behavioral health and trauma-informed care plans as needed to support care coordination and goals with treatment teams; initiates consultation and collaboration with treatment teams to improve the delivery of current services; and/or identify unmet needs within current services; assists in resolution of administrative and clinical issues for patients with acute behavioral complications.
• Applies de-escalation skills, crisis, and post-crisis clinical interventions and services that support ongoing recovery and continued engagement in health care services at BHCHP; assesses for suicidality and refers to an appropriate level of care based on clinical assessment
• Supports critical-incident response team by offering critical incident debriefings, grief work, and outreach efforts in post-traumatic growth for our staff and patient community in the aftermath of critical events; attend safety committee meetings, consider cases for restorative justice-oriented interventions, and coordinates mediation processes, including facilitation with impacted parties.
• Offers training and coaching to individual staff, managers and clinical teams to help implement trauma-informed, restorative justice frameworks and care plans throughout the BHCHP program; identifies and organizes training on crisis intervention and restorative justice frameworks, skills and strategies to help support adoption and integration of this approach at all levels of the program.
• Engages consumers to inform interventions by conducting focus groups, listening sessions, or similar convenings; refers patients as indicated to primary and behavioral health care, harm reduction, HIV/HCV/STI and other screenings and prevention services.

Qualifications:

• 2 years of relevant clinical experience required.
• Massachusetts LICSW and LMHC preferred, LCSW required or license eligible.
• Must be licensed or must obtain license within 18 months (for LCSW) or 42 months (for LMHC) of hire date.
• Candidates working toward LCSW licensure must have filed a license application with the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Social Workers and must not have failed the licensing exam more than once.
• Knowledge of healthy and appropriate boundaries when working with vulnerable populations, an understanding of the criminal legal system; a general understanding of restorative justice and crisis intervention principles, frameworks, and practices (and if not already obtained, willingness to receive training to become certified in these modalities).
• Understanding and experience implementing trauma informed care models; demonstrated interest and experience in working with vulnerable populations, including those with active substance use disorder, histories of incarceration, and/or homelessness
• Comfort and experience with a multiple pathways approach to recovery from SUD and willingness to embrace a patient-centered approach that recognizes an individual’s preferences and autonomy; computer proficiency, effective use of the Internet and Microsoft Office programs such as Word and Outlook, Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and familiarity with RedCap.
• Ability to work independently and adaptively as part of a multidisciplinary team; ability to provide and receive accurate feedback without judgment or discomfort.
• Excels at problem solving and multi-tasking and is organized, efficient and goal directed; ability to handle confidential information and remain neutral when handling sensitive information.

Preferred Qualifications

• Training and/or certification in restorative justice practice (including circle facilitation and conflict mediation); training and experience effectively utilizing trauma-informed, de-escalation strategies
• Experience with suicide assessments and referral; knowledge and understanding of harm reduction frameworks including strategies for opioid overdose prevention and response, safer injection techniques, or willingness to be trained in these topics
• Spanish-language proficiency

Compensation and Benefits:

• *NOW OFFERING A $4,000 SIGN ON BONUS***
• The compensation starts at $66,000 annually and increases based on years of experience. There is an additional compensation for clinicians with an LICSW and LMHC.
• BHCHP full time employees are eligible for our competitive time off policy of 4 weeks’ vacation, health, dental and vision insurance, 403B retirement savings plan and employer retirement contribution, and pre-tax MBTA pass program with 40% discount. In addition, eligible employees will receive yearly increases, additional compensation of seven thousand five hundred dollars added to your base hiring rate for demonstrated bilingual proficiency and the opportunity to work with local hospitals and community health centers.