Job Title:  Qualified Mental Health Professional

 

Job Objective:   To provide the necessary mental health treatment and social supports through individualized counseling and life skills training to adults 18 or older who, due to mental illness, would otherwise have trouble maintaining community stability and independence. Some major areas of focus include daily living skills training, accessing community resources, health and safety, financial management and social supports. Mental Health Support Services are individualized, client personal centered and facilitated in the clients home and their community.

 

Immediate Supervisor: Clinical Director

 

 

Primary Responsibilities:  Clinical Services are primarily to be provided via face-to-face involvement with the consumer in a community setting or in the home. The Qualified Mental Health Professional is responsible for conducting direct services to the clients based on their ISP and under the supervision of the Clinical Director.  The QMHP will provide services according to the service description and the mission of the agency. The Counselor is required to assist in the development and implementation of the person-center individual service plan. The activities associated with the primary responsibility of this Qualified Mental Health Professional (QMHP) are:

 

- Ongoing assessment of treatment needs.

 

- Assist in the development and ongoing monitoring and implementation of Individual Service Plan

 

- Work with clients to foster the development of new improved coping, problem solving, and communication skills.

 

- Case management functions of linking, arranging for services and referrals

 

- Maintain continuous contact with the identified consumer and other key stakeholders (with signed authorization to release information) in planning and service delivery. These stakeholders might include but are not limited to social workers, psychiatrists, court officials and police, teachers (if applicable) and other human service professionals

 

- Educate  client  and  if  applicable  caregivers/family  members  regarding  existing  community services, and act as an advocate in connecting client/families to these services

 

- Respond to family crisis on a 24 hours, seven day a week basis

 

- Maintain up-to-date client records, and prepare required/necessary reports in a timely and accurate manner

 

- Attend court and appointments as necessary

 

- Establish  a  good  working  relationship  with  other  public  and  private  agencies/services  and interface collaboratively with them

 

 

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:      The QMHP is required to provide service coordination activities for the ISP development and implementation as follows:

 

- Ability to provide and/or deliver various skill building activities

 

- Ability and skills for enhancing caregiver roles

 

- Ability to assist consumers in developing daily and community living skills

 

- Ability to assist consumers in development of leisure time interests/ activities

 

- Knowledge skills and ability for symptom monitoring and management

 

- Ability to assist consumers in developing behavior and anger management skills

 

- Ability and skills to maintain required confidentiality regarding client case materials in compliance with the Commonwealth of Virginia Human Rights Code 2007 and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

 

- Knowledge   skills   and   abilities   to   provide   closure   and   aftercare   planning   for   each family/client

 

- Ability and skills to work with individuals who have serious emotional disturbances and who may  be  hostile,  oppositional  and  volatile,  while  at  all  times  maintain  composures  and behave in a dignified manner.

 

- Knowledge about abnormal behavior

 

- Knowledge and a firm understanding of family developmental issues

 

- Skills and abilities necessary to develop/write the required direct or collateral/stakeholder contacts in progress note format.

 

- Knowledge of effective parenting skills

 

Supervision:  LMHP or a license-eligible mental health professional will provide clinical supervision weekly, with individual face to face supervision occurring at least every other week.  Group supervision may occur on the other weeks.

 

 

Academic/Work Experience: To qualify as a QMHP (Qualified Mental Health Professional) to provide services, the individual must have the designated clinical experience and must:

 

i. A doctor of medicine licensed in Virginia;

 

ii. A doctor of medicine or osteopathy, specializing in psychiatry and licensed in

Virginia;

 

iii. An individual with at least a masters or doctoral degree in psychology from an

accredited college or university with at least one year of clinical experience;

 

iv. An individual with a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree in social work from a college or university with at least one year of clinical experience;

 

v. A registered nurse licensed in Virginia with at least one year of clinical experience;

 

vi. Mental Health Worker: The effective date for the following qualifications was Sept.

1, 2010. Providers were given until March 1, 2011 (six months) to ensure staff were

in compliance. Any staff hired or rehired on or after September 1, 2010 must be in

compliance with these new requirements:

 

• An individual with a bachelor’s degree in human services, a related field, or other

degree deemed equivalent (a listing of other degrees that are deemed equivalent is

located on the DMAS website) from an accredited college and with at least one

year of clinical experience; OR

 

• A Registered Psychiatric Rehabilitation Provider (RPRP) registered with the

United States Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association ( USPRA) as of January 1,

2001; OR

 

• An individual with at least a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college in an

unrelated field with an associate’s degree in a human services field and who has at

least three years clinical experience; OR

 

• An individual with at a least bachelor’s degree from an accredited college and

certification from the United States Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (

USPRA) as a Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Practitioner (CPRP); OR

 

• An individual with at least a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college in an

unrelated field that includes at least 15 semester credits (or equivalent credits

based on a trimester system)

 

 

Clinical experience means providing direct behavioral health services to individuals with mental illness, intellectual disability or receiving gerontology or special education services. The clinician must have documented experience in the specific field that they are working.

 

They must have experience with implementing individual service plans. The clinical experience may include supervised internships, practicums, and field experience.

 

Training:  Staff must be trained certified in: Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), First Aid, TOVA and become orientated to the company guidelines, policy and procedures, and take part in staff trainings as they occur

 

 

Additional Requirements:

 

•    Employee must be certified as being tuberculosis free

 

•    Employee must clear criminal background and CPS registry checks

 

 

Counselors are required to use their personal vehicles for visits and for engaging in community activities. Therefore,  at  the  time  of  hire  Counselor’s  must  provide  proof  of  Driver’s  license  and  proof  of Automobile Insurance.  Should a Counselor receive a moving traffic violation at any time after their hire date the Counselor must notify the Program Director about the incident the next business day after receiving the violation.  Further, Counselors will be taken off the schedule in the event they have any

lapse in automobile insurance coverage.