The Behavioral Health Counselor is responsible for providing Virtual Behavioral Health (VBH) Consultant services and/or Collaborative Care Management (CoCM) services through WakeMed Outpatient Behavioral Health. VBH includes assessment, crisis intervention, counseling, short-term care management, and patient/family education. The Counselor delivers short-term, focused, evidence-based interventions tailored to patients’ care plan needs. They conduct assessments and psychosocial evaluations using criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association and implement crisis plans and interventions for high-risk patients, such as those who are suicidal, homicidal, psychotic, or aggressive. The Counselor identifies and resolves barriers to accessing behavioral health services and demonstrates effective decision-making in a fast-paced environment, utilizing logical clinical judgment. Effective communication, both written and verbal, is essential to ensure clarity and organization in interactions with medical staff, leadership, and team members. Documentation of assessments and progress updates in the medical record must meet departmental standards. The Counselor also participates in primary care and community initiatives addressing behavioral health issues, provides interdisciplinary team support, including in-service education, and maintains current knowledge and expertise in specialty areas and various treatment modalities. Adherence to professional standards and the code of ethics set forth by applicable licensing boards is required.
CoCM includes coordinating care between primary care providers (PCPs) and consulting psychiatrists. They will perform initial evaluations to identify presenting problems and create provisional diagnoses for review with the consulting psychiatrist. Utilizing a registry, the Counselor will track all patients and prioritize those for regular review. After conducting case reviews with the consulting psychiatrist, the Counselor will provide suggested treatment plans to the referring PCP. They may also offer brief, evidence-based psychotherapy, including problem-solving therapy, motivational enhancement therapy, and behavioral activation, along with brief psychosocial interventions to support treatment. These interventions may include encouraging medication adherence, scheduling follow-ups, and providing referrals to specialty care as appropriate. The Counselor will implement and coordinate other care recommendations, conduct longitudinal symptom monitoring, and liaise with both the PCP and consulting psychiatrist. Bilingual (English/Spanish) skills and experience in Behavioral Health Care Management are preferred.