What are the responsibilities and job description for the Hotline Counselor position at BALTIMORE CRISIS?
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Job Title: Hotline Counselor
Position Type: Full-Time
Available Shifts: FT - Monday thru Friday, 3pm to 11pm
Job Scope: The primary goal of the Hotline Counselor is to provide supportive counseling, information and referrals, crisis intervention counseling, suicide prevention and intake screening of callers to the Mobile Crisis Team and other community services. This position reports to the Director of Hotline Services. To support these goals, the following objectives and responsibilities are expected:
- Assess each caller’s presenting problem, support systems, coping skills and level of emergency to determine appropriate intervention. These assessments are also used to triage crisis calls.
- Intervene appropriately with callers who present imminent danger to self or others, including assessing lethality and taking necessary steps to intervene. Interventions may include, but are not limited to appropriate referral to Mobile Crisis Team, tracing calls, sending police/rescue, arranging follow-up, advocating for client, or providing other referrals
- Use counseling skills, active listening and empathy to establish rapport with a wide range of callers
- Complete all shift-to-shift communication forms, for effective transfer of information between shifts
- Monthly review of the BCRI/Lifeline Standard Operations Policy Manual
- Actively participate in the organization’s professional development program which includes regular supervision, regular Hotline meetings, clinical training seminars, professional development seminars and agency sponsored attendance at outside educational activities
- Other duties as requested and required
Note: Due to the nature of this work, flexibility and reliability are essential. This can be a highly stressful environment that deals with frequent suicidal callers
Educational Requirements: Bachelor’s Degree in related field
Experience: One year of community mental health experience highly desired
Physical Demands/Work Conditions/Hazards: Some walking, telephonic work, standing, climbing stairs, and sitting required. Moderate Lifting up to 20lbs. Potential exposure to highly emotional and stressful situation possible exposure to aggressive callers.
Full Time Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, 403(b) Retirement Plan, Vacation, Sick, Personal, and Holiday Leave. Medical participants receive a $1,500 debit card to cover eligible deductible and copay expenses.
COVID-19 considerations:
Because we are a healthcare service-oriented non-profit organization serving Baltimore City and want to provide a safe working environment for our employees, we require all new hires to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, subject to a verifiable medical and religious exemptions which does not cause undue hardship in protecting those we serve and fellow employees.
About Baltimore Crisis Response, Inc:
Baltimore Crisis Response, Inc. (BCRI) is a private, non-profit organization with a proven track record of providing behavioral health crisis services to individuals with mental health and substance use disorders. Established in 1992, the BCRI mission is to provide timely and effective behavioral health crisis response services and treatment in the least restrictive environment.
BCRI serves Baltimore as the city’s first and only comprehensive crisis response system of care, providing a telephone crisis hotline, mobile crisis teams, medical detoxification, case management, crisis residential alternatives, in-home support and critical incident response teams, along with community and police education services.
Learn more by visiting our website: www.BCResponse.org