FACT Therapist #2142

Description

Apalachee Center, Inc. is best known for helping individuals and families of North Florida succeed in recovering from emotional, psychiatric, and substance abuse crises. Apalachee Center, Inc. provides comprehensive behavioral health services across 8 counties (Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor, and Wakulla Counties).

Apalachee Center, Inc. offers competitive benefits for our full-time positions to include health, dental, vision, basic life insurance, long term disability, paid time off, and more.

Overview:

Florida Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) is a dynamic multidisciplinary treatment team dedicated to delivering intensive community-based support to the severely and persistently mentally ill adult population.  The purpose of the FACT Therapist is to be a part of the multidisciplinary treatment team designed to help individuals maintain stable functioning in the community as the primary provider of community based mental health treatment, rehabilitation, self-management counseling, integrated dual disorder treatment.  FACT Therapist’s responsibilities are specifically tailored to each client based on symptoms, diagnosis, and specific treatment needs to include mental health/substance abuse treatment, education, as well as needed support and consultation to families using a variety of strategies and available therapeutic modalities.  Services and service frequency should accurately reflect the individual needs, goals, and abilities of each recipient. The FACT Therapist will also provide cross training to other staff to enhance the knowledge and skills of the team in developing and utilizing supportive and therapeutic approaches with clients in the program. 

ESSENTIAL/CORE JOB-SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES  

Assessment:  Conducts comprehensive mental health assessments and ongoing assessments of persons served mental illness, symptoms, status, and response to treatment. Communicates client’s mental health status and history to the FACT team and helps the team to determine level of care based on client’s individual needs.  Completes initial assessment for assigned clients in collaboration with the team within 60 days and updates required assessments in accordance with established guidelines. Collect collateral information (i.e. family and other providers, with appropriate consent) to complete thorough assessments of client needs. Finalizes all documents in Avatar and turns in all assessments within 48 hours.

Individualized Treatment Team (ITT):  Schedules Individualized Treatment Team (ITT) meetings a month in advance of service plan expiring for assigned clients. Offers input and feedback (i.e. new issues, client response to treatment, client’s progress/lack of progress on service plan) to review clients’ progress and employment goals for the treatment plan with each client.

Therapeutic Services Delivery:  Assist clients on an individual, group, and family basis in the office and in community.  Develop an understanding and identification of symptoms, lessen distress, improve role functioning, and increase participation in and satisfaction with treatment and rehabilitative services through the utilization of  “here and now” strategies and practical problem solving.  Assist clients in alleviating and managing symptoms and in promoting personal growth and development by establishing causality, constructing a personal history, and assisting clients in adapting to or coming to terms with having mental illness and its effects in daily life.  Provide EBP psychotherapeutic treatment. Core service includes:

• Engagement and mental health assessments
• Utilization of a variety of mental health therapy modalities and treatment strategies
• Development and support of goal development and attainment
• Coaching and modeling of skills to improve daily living and overall functioning
• Advocacy and support in conjunction with team and community resources  

Supported Skill Development:   Provide individual supportive skills modeling and development (e.g., problem solving, role-playing, modeling and support), social skills development, and assertiveness training to increase the social and interpersonal activities in community settings for persons served (e.g., plan, structure, and prompt social and leisure-time activities on evenings, weekends and holidays; and provide side-by-side support and coaching to help persons served to socialize).  

Client Service Plan:  Develops individualized Client Service Plans (CSP) in partnership with the client and the client’s guardian (if applicable), especially with addressing therapeutic treatment. Develops CSP’s that include measurable goals and objectives derived from the client’s assessment and identifies time frames for achievement on goals which are signed and dated by the client and client’s guardian, if applicable. Assists with the implementation of the service plan, and follows-up with the client’s services to determine the status and the effectiveness of CSP towards enhancing the client’s inclusion in the community and autonomy. Updates CSPs at least every 6 months. Makes appropriate changes in CSP to ensure immediate and appropriate interventions are provided in response to changes in mental status or behavior which put persons served at risk (e.g., suicidality, hospitalizations, relapse). CSP must incorporate items obtained using enhancement funds and explain how it promotes client’s recovery goals.

Progress Notes:  Documents progress of persons served to maintain a permanent record of individual activity per established methods and procedures. Documentation must be finalized in Avatar within 48 hours from the time the services were rendered. Progress notes must be detailed and clearly reflect how the staff’s efforts are linked to the services and goals in the client’s service plan and the client’s progress or lack of progress relative to the service plan.

Qualifications

Education/Experience: 

• Masters degree with from an accredited university or college with a major in the field of counseling, social work, psychology, nursing, rehabilitation, special education, health education, or a related human services field.
• Two years of professional experience in providing services to persons with psychiatric and behavioral illness preferred.  
• Professional experience working with persons with severe mental illness include Substance Abuse/Dependence disorders and Personality disorders preferred.
• Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) experience working in community setting consistent with the PACT model of service delivery preferred.

Licensure or Certification:

• Must possess valid driver’s license.
• Maintain authorization as a designated driver in accordance with Agency policy.

Salary : $26 - $28