What are the responsibilities and job description for the Mental/Behavioral Health Counselor position at Hospice & Palliative Care Buffalo?
Company Description Hospice & Palliative Care Buffalo (HPCB) provides comprehensive care to individuals living with serious illness, as well as their families and caregivers. The organization offers an integrative, holistic approach that addresses physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs, focusing on the whole person rather than isolated symptoms. HPCB supports patients and families across the continuum of care, from diagnosis through end-of-life and into bereavement. Its knowledgeable, compassionate team helps individuals make informed choices about their care, offers grief support, and educates both professional and community members on best practices for end-of-life experiences.
Role Description -
Variable day time hours. Evening group hours as needed.
A Mental/Behavioral Health Counselor provides ongoing assessment and counseling services to families within the hospice care and palliative care programs. Facilitate clinical mental and behavioral health therapeutic support congruent to the plan of care. Provide customized intervention to accompany evolving needs relative to function, obstacle, and opportunity inherent in the experience of navigating serious, life-limiting, and terminal illness as a family amidst ever-increasing psychosocial burden and challenge. Provide direct support presence, advocacy and service linkage coordination to ensure indicated mental/behavioral health resources are aligned and engaged.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities for a Mental/Behavioral Health Counselor:
Maintain counseling caseload. Formulate a plan of care, initiate and support clients throughout the trajectory of program engagement within the interdisciplinary team model.
Assess risk factors that may contribute to obstacles in provision of overall care.
Assess for short and long-term service linkage and community resource engagement.
Provide enhanced telephonic support to clients for enriched outreach and engagement.
Provide psychoeducation to clients and facilitate resource linkage.
Provide consultation to interdisciplinary team upon acute patient/family crises.
Demonstrates knowledge of counseling theory and interventions in the areas of individual, family, and group work.
Manage and maintain community mental/behavioral resource database and materials.
Participate in supervision.
Adhere to EMR and written documentation in an effective and timely fashion.
Meet productivity guidelines established by HPCB.
Qualifications for a Mental/Behavioral Health Counselor:
Education / Certification
Master's degree in counseling/social work
NYS Licensure required: LMHC/LCSW/LMFT
Must have a current driver's license, free of serious violations, and vehicle required to travel offsite.
Experience
At least 5 years of experience counseling in healthcare or mental/behavioral health setting.
- Experience and expertise in pediatrics/perinatal and family systems with a strong knowledgebase of community resources and healthcare organizations