School Counselor Associate

The School Based Counselor Associate provides behavioral health services within a multidisciplinary primary care medical team. The SBC works with the other health care providers at their clinic to identify and manage patients with mental health, substance use, and health behavior concerns. Activities include the provision of evidence-based behavioral interventions, real-time consultation with providers, and brief behavioral health assessments. The counselor works in partnership with other team members to increase patient access to behavioral health and substance abuse services. Clinical supervision will be provided in this role.

• Provide behavioral health care including diagnostic evaluation, psychotherapy and case management services to children and adolescents in a school based clinic setting. Modalities include individual, family and group psychotherapy.
• Provide behavioral health treatment to children and adolescents experiencing symptoms that interfere with their academic progress and social/emotional functioning in the school or home environment.
• Work closely with school staff including teachers, administrators and school counselors to improve academic performance of students. Provide groups and classes to the school community regarding social and emotional health. Adhere to evidence based practice standards and quality metrics.
• Communicate regularly with multidisciplinary team of School Based Health Clinic providers regarding patients progress and to development of appropriate treatment plan for the patient. Attend and participate in all required meetings including clinical consultations.
• Will work with a licensed supervisor to complete accurate and timely documentation in the patients EPIC record including initial intake, diagnosis, treatment plan and progress notes. Complete and enter required assessment data in both EPIC and MHITS. Maintain patient electronic medical charts in accordance with the organizations policies and procedures, including appropriate use of Disclosure/Consent forms, documentation completed within 72 hours of visit, and accurate use of CPT coding.
• Provide high quality, culturally-sensitive health services that are in line with organizational productivity expectations.
• Provide services in a manner consistent with the Primary Care Behavioral Health Consultant Model of integration, including same day access, team-based care, and a flexible, population-based approach to care.
• Provide care to a subset of patients using strategies from the Collaborative Care integration approach, including the use of a panel management database and consultation with a psychiatric provider.
• Maintain a balance in daily schedule of same-day access to BH services, and a caseload of scheduled follow up patients.
• Support PCPs and consulting psychiatric providers with regard to psychiatric medications, including basic patient education and helping to monitor adherence, side effects and effectiveness.
• Work with the primary care team to refer patients to community mental health centers when appropriate, and support patients during transition.
• Facilitate time-limited behavioral therapy groups, including psycho-education and skill-building.
• Work in cooperation with other behavioral health staff, including peer consultation and information sharing.
• Work with clinic reception and other support staff to maximize patient access to behavioral health services.
• Coordinate care with staff at community mental health centers to facilitate exchange of information on services and shared patients.

• N/A

• Masters degree in psychology, social work or a related discipline.

• Licensed Social Worker Associate-Independent Clinical (Washington) OR Marriage and Family Therapist Associate License (Washington) OR Licensed Social Worker Associate-Advanced (Washington) OR Mental Health Counselor Associate License (Washington)

• Actively promotes team-based care within multidisciplinary medical teams including comfort in communicating with medical colleagues about clinical care.
• Excellent working knowledge of a wide range of behavioral health conditions across the lifespan and clinical spectrum.
• Skill in assessing and intervening on patients with complex presentations, including those with comorbid medical and psychiatric symptoms.
• Ability to utilize brief behavioral health assessments to form diagnostic impressions and develop initial care plans.
• Knowledge of substance use disorders and ability to provide brief screening and evidence-based behavioral interventions for them.
• Expertise in using contemporary, validated assessment instruments for behavioral health conditions that are appropriate to the primary care setting.
• Working knowledge of psycho-pharmacology.
• Ability to communicate effectively and respectfully with persons of varied racial, educational and socio-economic backgrounds as well as individuals with disabilities.
• Ability to utilize interpretation services to provide care to non-English speaking patients.
• Ability to maintain appropriate professional boundaries with patients, families, co-workers and community resources.
• Knowledge of and ability to maintain professional standards and follow the treatment policies and procedures of Kaiser Permanente and of state, local and federal regulators.
• Knowledge of and skill in the use of computers with the ability to learn and use required software programs, including clinical documentation in an electronic health record program.
• Maintains all necessary credentials per agency and licensing requirements.

• N/A

PrimaryLocation : Washington,Seattle,Rainier Valley Medical CenterHoursPerWeek : 40
Shift : Day
Workdays : Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri
WorkingHoursStart : 08:30 AM
WorkingHoursEnd : 05:00 PM
Job Schedule : Full-time
Job Type : Standard
Employee Status : Regular
Employee Group/Union Affiliation : NUE-WA-04|NUE|Non Union Employee
Job Level : Individual Contributor
Job Category : Behavioral Health, Social Services and Spiritual Care
Department : Central Campus South - School Based Clinics - 1130
Travel : No
Kaiser Permanente is an equal opportunity employer committed to fair, respectful, and inclusive workplaces. Applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic or status.