Senior Social Worker-Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI)

Major duties and responsibilities

• The PCMHI provider provides PCMHI services to Veterans who are referred by PACT as potential candidates for mental health/behavioral health services. The PCMHI provider provides a full range of mental health services (assessment/treatment) as indicated for primary care environment and diagnoses mental disorders, particularly for complex or unusually difficult patients including those with medical conditions that have mental health components ( e.g., diabetes, thyroid disorders, digestive system disorders, chronic pain, other chronic illnesses as well as substance use disorders).
• Support same-day access to mental health services, including crisis intervention, for Veterans as deemed necessary by the service, in person and by telephone and telehealth.
• Makes the clinical decision to enroll Veterans in BHL telephone services for conditions warranting additional attention ( e.g., depression monitoring, watchful waiting) and any of a number of dispositions within PC-MHI (e.g., brief therapy, referral management).
• Provides education appropriate to patients with mental and behavioral health concerns, their family members, and significant others.
• Provides comprehensive, evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions (EBP) appropriate to patients, including individual, family, and group psychotherapy ( e.g., Motivational Interviewing (Ml) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), etc.) as indicated.
• Provides consultation to PACT staff, other care providers within The VA Medical Center at Memphis, CBOCs, VISN 9 BHL and PCMHI, and to community providers, concerning clinical assessment findings and appropriate treatment plans for patients.
• Develops, implements, and documents all patient care including treatment plans, crisis intervention and suicide risk assessment in CPRS to assure ongoing communication with PACT Teams and VISN 9 BHL. The PACT Psychologist communicates with PACT teams via face-to-face meetings and telephone communications as well as VISN 9 BHL. The relationship between the PCMHI provider and the associated BHL services, the medical P ACTs, and the Veteran are the foundation of successful PC-MHI treatment.
• May provide clinical supervision and instruction to trainees on rotation in PCMHI.
• Assists the PACT and other PCMHI providers in the design, development, and implementation of clinical programs for Primary Care Clinics.
• Adheres to operational policies and procedures for the PACT Teams established by the Chief of Primary Care and/or Ambulatory Care Director.
• Assists the PCMHI and PACT in the execution of ongoing program evaluation and data driven quality improvement projects to monitor the effectiveness of the clinical program.
• Facilitates liaisons with other care programs ( e.g., Homeless Program, Veterans Justice Outreach, specialty mental health, etc) in the VA Medical Center at Memphis in order to effectively coordinate services for PACT patients.

Qualifications

• Have a master's degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).
• Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level.
• Must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an advanced generalist or clinical examination, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure.
• Demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
  • Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management.
  • Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
  • Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes.
  • Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area, as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills.
  • Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession, and to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area.