Community Based Therapist - Health Department, FT, FTE 1.00

DescriptionCommunity Based Therapist (Health Department)

Department: Behavioral Health

Reports To: Clinical Manager, Director of Clinical Services

The Licensed Therapist is an employee of Kanza Mental Health and Guidance Center and will work collaboratively with Northeast Kansas Multi-County Health Department and Kanza Mental Health and Guidance Center staff. The Licensed Therapist may receive operational or clinical task assignments from authorized Kanza leadership and, when working within Health Department settings, will coordinate with designated Health Department personnel consistent with the collaborative service arrangement. Such coordination does not alter the Therapist's employment relationship with Kanza or Kanza's responsibility for employment, clinical oversight, credentialing, performance management, and compliance.

Classification: Exempt (Salaried)

Employment Status: Full-Time

This position is supported initially through a collaborative grant partnership between Northeast Kansas Multi-County Health Department and Kanza Mental Health and Guidance Center. The position is intended to be a sustainable Kanza Mental Health and Guidance Center position and will remain a Kanza employee regardless of the availability or continuation of grant funding. If grant funding ends or the collaborative service model changes, the Therapist's responsibilities, service locations, patient population, and assignment of duties may be modified to meet Kanza's ongoing clinical, operational, and organizational needs.

Position Purpose

The Licensed Therapist provides comprehensive, evidence-based, trauma-informed, person-centered, and culturally responsive behavioral-health services through Kanza Mental Health and Guidance Center, with an initial emphasis on providing services in partnership with and at Northeast Kansas Multi-County Health Department offices.

The Therapist provides assessment, diagnosis, individual and family therapy, group therapy, crisis intervention, treatment planning, care coordination, case consultation, behavioral-health education, and other clinically appropriate services within the Therapist's education, professional training, licensure, demonstrated competency, clinical privileges, organizational policies, and applicable federal and state law.

The position will have a particular focus on maternal and perinatal mental health and wellbeing, including services during pregnancy and the postpartum period. The Therapist will support individuals experiencing depression, anxiety, trauma, adjustment concerns, substance-use disorders, grief and loss, relationship concerns, parenting stress, and other behavioral-health conditions that may affect maternal, infant, and family wellbeing.

The Therapist will also collaborate closely with the APRN and other healthcare professionals to integrate behavioral-health services into prenatal, postpartum, primary care, reproductive health, and substance-use treatment services.

The Therapist will provide care to individuals and families across the lifespan, as appropriate to the Therapist's professional scope and clinical competencies, with particular emphasis on pregnant and postpartum individuals, parents and caregivers, individuals experiencing mental health or substance-use concerns, and individuals who may face barriers to accessing traditional behavioral-health services.

The Therapist will collaborate with APRNs, registered nurses, medical assistants, behavioral-health professionals, peer support staff, community health workers, substance-use treatment providers, hospitals, obstetric providers, primary care providers, schools, social-service agencies, WIC, pharmacies, and other community partners to promote continuity of care and improve individual and family outcomes.

The Therapist is responsible for practicing within the scope of the Therapist's specific professional license, training, clinical competencies, and organizational privileges and in accordance with applicable federal and Kansas laws and regulations, professional standards, Kanza policies, and established clinical protocols.

Essential Job Functions

I. Behavioral Health Assessment and Clinical Services

Conduct comprehensive and focused behavioral-health assessments, including clinical interviews, psychosocial histories, mental health assessments, substance-use screenings, trauma assessments, and risk assessments as clinically appropriate.
Diagnose behavioral-health conditions within the Therapist's education, professional training, licensure, and scope of practice.
Develop, implement, monitor, and modify individualized treatment plans in collaboration with the individual receiving services and other members of the treatment team.
Provide evidence-based individual, family, couples, and/or group psychotherapy consistent with the Therapist's training, licensure, competency, and clinical privileges.
Provide therapeutic interventions appropriate to the individual's diagnosis, treatment goals, developmental stage, cultural background, and identified needs.
Provide brief behavioral-health interventions and consultation within primary care, prenatal, postpartum, reproductive health, and other medical settings as appropriate.
Provide crisis assessment, intervention, safety planning, and appropriate referral or coordination for individuals experiencing behavioral-health crises.
Assess suicide risk, self-harm risk, homicidal risk, abuse, neglect, intimate partner violence, and other safety concerns and take appropriate action consistent with Kanza policies and applicable law.
Provide psychoeducation regarding mental health, emotional wellbeing, stress management, coping skills, relationships, parenting, trauma, substance use, and other relevant behavioral-health concerns.
Utilize evidence-based, trauma-informed, strengths-based, person-centered, culturally responsive, and recovery-oriented approaches to treatment.
Maintain current knowledge and competency in relevant behavioral-health practices, treatment modalities, clinical guidelines, screening tools, and community resources.

II. Maternal, Perinatal, and Postpartum Mental Health

Provide behavioral-health assessment and treatment to individuals during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
Screen for depression, anxiety, trauma-related symptoms, substance use, suicide risk, intimate partner violence, psychosocial stressors, and other behavioral-health concerns during pregnancy and postpartum.
Assess and treat common perinatal mental-health concerns, including depression, anxiety, adjustment disorders, trauma-related symptoms, grief and loss, parenting stress, and other conditions within the Therapist's scope of practice.
Provide counseling and psychotherapy addressing the emotional and psychological changes associated with pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum recovery, parenting, reproductive health, and family transitions.
Support individuals experiencing pregnancy loss, miscarriage, stillbirth, infertility, complicated pregnancies, traumatic birth experiences, or other reproductive or maternal losses.
Provide support related to postpartum adjustment, maternal identity, parenting stress, sleep disruption, relationship changes, social isolation, and other challenges associated with the transition to parenthood.
Provide trauma-informed counseling for individuals who have experienced traumatic pregnancy, birth, medical, interpersonal, or childhood experiences.
Support individuals experiencing postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, birth trauma, or other perinatal mental-health concerns and coordinate medication evaluation or management with the APRN or other qualified medical provider when clinically appropriate.
Identify individuals who require a higher level of psychiatric, medical, obstetric, or emergency care and facilitate timely referral and coordination.
Provide education regarding maternal mental health, postpartum warning signs, emotional wellbeing, coping strategies, available supports, and when to seek additional care.
Support healthy parent-child attachment and adjustment to parenting when clinically appropriate and within the Therapist's scope.
Provide family and/or partner counseling when appropriate to address communication, support systems, parenting, relationship changes, and family adjustment.
Coordinate behavioral-health care with prenatal and postpartum healthcare providers, obstetric providers, APRNs, nurses, hospitals, pediatric providers, WIC, home-visiting programs, and other community resources.
Promote continuity of behavioral-health care during transitions from pregnancy to postpartum care and from Health Department services to ongoing community behavioral-health services.
Participate in maternal-health initiatives, community education, outreach, and prevention activities as assigned.

III. Substance-Use and Co-Occurring Disorders

Provide assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing behavioral-health services for individuals experiencing substance-use disorders within the Therapist's education, training, licensure, and scope of practice.
Screen for substance use and substance-use disorders as clinically appropriate.
Provide individual, family, and/or group therapy addressing substance use, recovery, relapse prevention, coping skills, motivation for change, and related behavioral-health concerns.
Utilize evidence-based approaches such as motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral interventions, relapse-prevention strategies, and other clinically appropriate treatment modalities within the Therapist's training and competency.
Support individuals receiving medication-assisted treatment (MAT) or medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) through coordinated behavioral-health services.
Collaborate with the APRN and other healthcare providers regarding individuals receiving MAT/MOUD, consistent with patient authorization, HIPAA, 42 CFR Part 2, and other applicable privacy requirements.
Provide pregnancy-specific behavioral-health and substance-use counseling for pregnant and postpartum individuals.
Address co-occurring mental health and substance-use conditions through integrated treatment planning and coordinated care.
Provide overdose-prevention education and connect individuals with appropriate recovery, harm-reduction, peer-support, and community resources.
Assist individuals in developing recovery goals, coping strategies, relapse-prevention plans, and appropriate support systems.
Participate in multidisciplinary case consultation and treatment planning for individuals with complex behavioral-health, medical, and substance-use needs.

IV. Integrated Behavioral Health and Medical Care

Collaborate closely with Kanza APRNs, nurses, medical assistants, and other medical staff to integrate behavioral-health services into medical care.
Participate in integrated care planning for individuals receiving prenatal, postpartum, reproductive, primary, chronic disease, and substance-use treatment services.
Provide behavioral-health consultation to medical providers regarding screening results, treatment needs, psychosocial factors, and appropriate behavioral-health interventions.
Conduct warm handoffs and same-day behavioral-health assessments when clinically appropriate and operationally feasible.
Participate in coordinated care for individuals whose medical, behavioral-health, and social needs are interconnected.
Support identification and treatment of behavioral-health factors that may affect medication adherence, chronic disease management, pregnancy outcomes, postpartum recovery, and overall health.
Collaborate with the APRN and other providers regarding medication concerns, treatment response, safety concerns, and referrals for psychiatric or medical evaluation.
Participate in case consultation and interdisciplinary treatment planning.
Promote integration of behavioral health, substance-use treatment, primary care, maternal health, and public health services.

V. Family, Parenting, and Social Wellbeing

Provide counseling and support related to parenting, family relationships, communication, adjustment to parenthood, and family functioning.
Assess psychosocial factors that may affect maternal and family wellbeing, including housing instability, food insecurity, transportation barriers, financial stress, social isolation, interpersonal vio