Overview
The Intensive Mobile Treatment (IMT) team is a mobile practice models designed to provide treatment, rehabilitation and support services to individuals living with a behavioral health condition and whose needs have not been effectively met by traditional behavioral health services. Community Access’ Bronx IMT Team will serve individuals with behavioral health conditions who are street homeless or living between institutional settings and housing. Team members will work collaboratively with settings in which the participant is living and use assertive engagement strategies to proactively engage individuals in services. Team members share responsibility for the people they serve, helping individuals attain housing and other personal goals that may be of a health, social, work or education nature. These teams are multi-disciplinary and include psychiatry, nursing, social work, peer specialists and other staff members offering rehabilitation, treatment and recovery support services. The team provides expertise in the areas of housing, substance use and harm reduction, peer support and behavioral health recovery.
The IMT Behavioral Health Specialist is an integral part of a multi-disciplinary team of mental health clinicians. The Specialist is a team member responsible for engaging participants through harm reduction strategies including motivational interviewing and stage-wise interventions that target an individual’s readiness for change. The Behavioral Health Specialist is a resource to other team members in issues related to mental health and co-occurring substance use.
Core Principles
The job responsibilities of all staff extend to understanding and incorporating certain principles into their work and into their relationships with program participants. These principles are:
- Program participants’ right to self-determination
- Respectful communication
- Services that support recovery and healing consistent with and nurturing each participant’s cultural background, experience, identity, and values
- Clear professional boundaries to support the limits and possibilities of services
Essential job Functions:
Behavioral Health Specialist-related:
- Screen and assess participants, families and/or significant others involved with the participant to develop a person-centered treatment plan.
- Screen and assess participants for the treatment of co-occurring substance use disorders.
- Advocate and liaise for participants within the criminal justice and shelter system.
- Provide or connect participants with employment counseling, vocational rehabilitation, completion of housing applications and placement, and provision of life skills training.
- Provide individual counseling that includes principles of Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment as appropriate.
- Identify participant treatment and support service needs and associated service plan objectives based on participant goals assessment results, including risk associated with harmful behaviors.
- Function as resource on behavioral health services and substance use and guide team in clinical meetings on these issues.
- Provide harm reduction services, integrated substance use treatment and relapse prevention.
Comprehensive IMT services-related:
- Assess and provide services to participants to address health and wellness, housing, income support, education, vocational training, employment and social supports.
- Complete required assessments and evaluations as needed on a rotating schedule.
- Provide IMT treatment services including: service planning and coordination; problem solving; support with obtaining housing; developing social connections; strengthening family and other relationships; developing independent living skills and obtaining necessary resources; accessing education and training; employment supports (job search, placement and support); entitlement and financial management; empowerment and self-help; wellness self-management with a focus on the development of coping skills; support with medications; and weekly groups.
- Use motivational interviewing, recovery and trauma-informed approaches when delivering services.
- Collaboration with participants, families and natural supports, shelter, jail and community partners to promote attainment of treatment and recovery goals.
- Coordinate discharge in collaboration with jail/prison or inpatient and ER staff when participants have involvement.
- Complete thorough, timely and accurate documentation of all contacts.
- Utilize public transportation to travel throughout the boroughs.
- Provide 24-hour crisis intervention services on rotating basis
This job description reflects management’s assignment of essential functions; it does not prescribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned.
