Clinical Counsellor, Mental Health & Substance Use Services

1. Provides comprehensive clinical counselling and psychotherapy to clients affected by mental illness and/or addictions, chronic disease or complex cases including people in crisis, utilizing a variety of clinically sound psychotherapeutic techniques.
2. Assesses client needs and available services and contributes to the shared care plan with the clients input. Facilitates clients' utilization of appropriate community services and rehabilitative programs through methods such as researching available services, liaising with the service and program providers and providing advice and consultation to colleagues.
3. Screens referrals from the interdisciplinary team by gathering background information, determining service priorities and providing rapid response to urgent referrals, providing outreach, crisis intervention, and short-term treatment stabilization, and referral.
4. Provides short term brief interventions, follows-up, monitors, and evaluates treatment outcomes.
5. Delivers group therapy and education sessions to clients and their families by using various group processes and theory.
6. Identifies gaps and problems with service and recommends solutions to assist in the development and maintenance of a coordinated mental health care system within the community.
7. Provides education on mental health issues to interdisciplinary shared care team in conjunction other MH&SU team members or with Psychiatrist, community groups and agencies; presents information/education sessions to professional colleagues and other government/non-government agencies.
8. Carries out treatment plans and interventions, provision of support and crisis intervention, including facilitation of hospitalization where necessary.
9. Facilitates the process of cognitive, emotional and behavioral change utilizing crisis intervention and short-term psychotherapy based on treatment goals.
10. Provides referral to appropriate agencies and collaborative information sharing of psychiatric situations including substance abuse/dependence.
11. Facilitates clients' utilization of appropriate community services by keeping knowledgeable about other services and liaising with them; collaborates with key agencies in order to ensure clients receive appropriate and timely service delivery and continuity of care.
12. Maintains written reports and statistics and prepares written reports according to established polices and procedures.
13. Identifies gaps in service in order to offer more comprehensive care in the Physicians office.
14. Communicates and consults with psychiatrists and interdisciplinary shared care team regarding client care and progress.
15. Performs other related duties as required.

Masters in Counseling Psychology, Social Work or other related discipline from an accredited educational institution.

Two (2) years of recent related experience in community and/or hospital settings providing programs for individuals with mental health and substance use disorders, or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.

• Comprehensive clinical counselling and therapy skills including crisis counselling.
• Demonstrated clinical skills in working with the seriously mentally ill.
• Thorough knowledge of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) as a therapeutic modality.
• Demonstrated comprehensive knowledge of mental health psychiatric assessment skills, crisis intervention techniques, de-escalation techniques, brief/short-term therapy skills and interventions, abnormal psychology, general counselling theory/principles, DSM IV multi-axial diagnosis, community response procedures, community resource utilization and knowledge of psycho-pharmacology used in psychiatric treatment.
• Demonstrated comprehensive knowledge of substance misuse, relapse prevention and harm reduction.
• Ability to undertake client assessment tools.
• Demonstrated ability to deal with others effectively, including establishing and maintaining rapport with psychotic, crisis-prone, non-compliant people, and working collaboratively and co-operatively with other care providers to facilitate and enhance interdisciplinary, inter-departmental, and interagency communication and problem solving.
• Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.
• Demonstrated ability to network with other services and agencies.
• Ability to work on interdisciplinary teams.
• Ability to deal with others effectively.
• Physical ability to carry out the duties of the position.
• Ability to plan, organize, and prioritize work.
• Ability to operate related equipment including computers.
• Ability to work independently under the direction of physicians and/or psychiatrist.

Fraser Health is the heart of health care for over two million people in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley in British Columbia, Canada, on the traditional, ancestral and unceded lands of the Coast Salish and Nlaka’pamux Nations and is home to 32 First Nations within the Fraser Salish region.

People - those we care for and those who care for them - are at the heart of everything we do. Our hospital and community-based services are delivered by a team of 48,000+ staff, medical staff and volunteers.

We are committed to planetary health and value diversity in the work force. We strive to maintain an environment of respect, caring and trust. Fraser Health’s hiring practices aspire to ensure all individuals are treated in an inclusive, equitable and culturally safe manner.

Together, we are the heart of health care.

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