Peer Support Specialist

Description

Our mission is to provide dynamic, culturally sensitive, high quality behavioral healthcare in the most effective, caring and efficient manner. We serve the individuals who come in our doors in the most effective, meaningful, compassionate, and empowering way. Our staff are specialist experts on the resources available in our community, actively engaged, and inspiring to those that they come across. Does this resonate with you?

The Peer Support Specialist position provides quality peer support, consumer-centered services through a rehabilitation and recovery approach to clients, in support of the client managing psychiatric symptoms, adapting to life situations, learning independent living skills, and preventing or reducing hospitalizations.

Essential Functions

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• As a present or former consumer of mental health services, assists clients in achieving individualized treatment, recovery, and personal growth goals through delivery of quality peer support services.
• Provides direct peer support services to clients in an effort to promote skills that integrate individuals into the community, to include small group and individual sessions. Serves as a mentor and creates a positive model for peers to emulate.
• Assists clients to develop a network for information and support from others who have encountered similar experiences and allow for sharing of lived experiences.
• Assists clients to identify, secure, and maintain community resources, to include networking clients with one another and with consumer-run organizations.
• Provides leadership to clients in their attempt to practice new skills in the community.
• Guides clients in regaining the ability to make independent choices and to assume a proactive role in treatment including discussing questions or concerns about medications, diagnoses, or treatment approaches with their treating providers and to assist clients to articulate their goals in the development of an individualized treatment plan.
• Assists clients with identifying and effectively responding to or avoiding identified triggers that result in functional impairments by sharing and supporting client use of recovery tools.
• Completes the Wellness Action Recovery Plan (WRAP for Work) for personal development and to better assist clients in using the WRAP for their recovery.
• Provides and coordinates necessary referrals and delivery of services among community agencies, employment contacts, and within the organization to ensure that client is receiving necessary services.
• Maintains accurate and complete records of all client services, as defined by state licensing agencies, funding agencies, and CrossWinds standards and requirements. Submits daily appointment sheets, progress notes, treatment plans, client status reports, timesheets, and all work-related paperwork in a timely manner and in acceptable format as determined by agency requirements.
• Attends professional workshops and seminars in order to maintain and improve professional skills and meet licensure/certification requirements.

Work Environment

This job operates in a community setting, as well as in a professional office setting. This position primarily works with clients out in the community and within the agencys residential facilities. This role occasionally uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. This list is not exhaustive and may be supplemented as necessary.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; handle objects; grasp and reach for items with hands and arms; manipulate hands and fingers; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, or crouch; and talk or hear. The employee must occasionally lift or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. Language skills are required, including the ability to read, write, comprehend, and speak the English language. This position also requires the ability to interpret written materials, write reports and business correspondence, and effectively present and respond to questions.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work

This is a full-time position consisting of 40 hours per week.

Travel

Regular travel within Lyon and Chase counties to provide case management services, is required.

Qualifications

Required Education and Experience

High School diploma or equivalent and prior experience in the human services field.

Additional Eligibility Qualifications

Must have lived experience of mental health recovery; must be eligible for Peer Support Specialist certification training; ability to work with persons with severe and persistent mental illness; must be able to demonstrate knowledge of recovery practice and wellness philosophy; possess demonstrated interpersonal skills and ability to work independently and as a member of a therapeutic team; must have satisfactory results from KBI, SRS child abuse registry check, adult abuse registry check, and motor vehicle reports before hire.