Occupational Therapist - Mental Health

Reports to: Occupational Therapist Lead OTR/L, OT/L, OTD - Mental Health Hours: 40/week Classification: Exempt SUMMARY: The DMH Occupational Therapist provides therapeutic and rehabilitation/case management support services as a member of the Homeless Services Team(s).
Clients will either be housed in permanent supportive housing or pending housing, still requiring outreach while homeless.
All clients have a history of chronic homelessness, mental health diagnoses and co- or tri-morbid medical or substance disorders.
The program will use a modified ACT model of care and services to ensure successful permanent placement.
The objectives of the program are to sustain those in housing and house those pending housing, then develop life skills with a particular focus on educational and vocational outcomes and positive mental health behaviors which will support their recovery and promote wellness.
Step Up as an agency subscribes to a Psychosocial Model of Rehabilitation and Wellness and Recovery for all members to achieve their highest level of engagement, functioning and recovery.
DUTIES: The following reflects essential functions for this job but does not restrict other tasks, which may be assigned: Leadership, Administration, Oversight Utilize occupational therapy knowledge and skills to provide consultation to team members across HHSP continuum regarding the functional, activity engagement and context/environmental support needs of clients.
Collaborate with team members to assist clients in identifying needs and goals and completing work towards those goals and concrete objectives established on the Coordinated Care Plan.
Coordinate with team members to assure client has access to local resources, including psychiatric and medical care/appointments, housing, benefits establishment, community rehabilitation and socialization activities, educational and vocational services, drug/alcohol services, providing transportation and accompanying the client using personal or public transportation when necessary.
Collaborate and coordinate with team members to provide flexible support services in full-fidelity with SAMHA’s Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Evidence-Based Toolkit once housed to ensure successful transition from the streets to permanent housing.
Collaborate and coordinate with team members to support homeless outreach efforts to sustain contact, rapport, and treat adults experiencing homelessness for symptoms of mental illness, co-occurring substance use and other health care needs in the community until housing and services are accepted and available.
Communicate regularly with team and other treatment providers involved in client’s care.
Support with supervision of Occupational Therapy interns.
Direct Service and Support Evaluate client’s functioning, with particular focus on cognitive and sensory problems associated with mental health/physical health conditions, AND their housing, employment, education and other environments in order to promote client’s recovery and optimal functioning and contribute to comprehensive bio-psychosocial evaluation.
Utilize information from evaluation of client’s functioning and their contexts/environments to collaborate with client and others involved in their care to implement task and environmental adaptations to optimize client’s highest level of engagement, functioning and recovery.
Conduct client and/or family centered evidence-based interventions informed by occupational therapy and recovery-oriented principles targeting symptom management, emotion regulation, engagement in meaningful activity, self-care management of chronic medical conditions and other life skills to optimize client’s highest level of engagement, functioning and recovery.
Collaborate and coordinate with team members to actively outreach clients on caseload who have not been in contact and ensure engagement in services.
Documentation and Data Collection Complete all DMH chart paperwork and maintain documentation according to MediCAL standards of practice in Electronic Health Record – Welligent within proscribed timeframes as outlined in SUOS documentation policy.
Meet weekly, monthly and quarterly billing quota as presented by Program Manager.
Attend staff meetings, supervision and trainings as requested.
Other duties as assigned.
SKILLS: Knowledge of recovery-oriented perspective, trauma-informed care, psychiatric rehabilitation principles and/or experience with community-based mental health practice models implemented as part of California’s Specialty Mental Health Medicaid services like SAMHSA’s Evidence-Based Practice models of Assertive Community Treatment (ACT), Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH)/Housing First, Supported Employment (SE), Supported Education (SEd), EBPs developed by Person’s in Recovery (e.
g.
Deegan’s Personal Medicine, Copeland’s Wellness-Recovery Action Plan), DSM 5 psychiatric disorders (from both clinical and lived experience perspective), occupational therapy informed EBP’s targeting activity engagement (e.
g.
Krupa et al’s Action over Inertia) evidence-based occupational therapy and other recovery-oriented evaluation tools/methods for assessing client function and environments, DMH documentation.
Ability to work independently and on a collaborative team.
Initiative and solution focused practice.
Uses good time management skills and resources to balance case load direct service and paperwork.
QUALIFICATIONS (Education & Experience): Must be graduate of a University-based ACOTE accredited entry-level occupational therapy educational program, be NBCOT certified and hold a current California occupational therapy license as a OTD, OTR/L, or OT/L.
Experience working with adults with mental illness in a community setting.
Candidate must have own transportation and current California driver’s license and insurance.
Position requires frequent driving and transporting.
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION: Work with people experiencing homelessness whether on the streets, in shelters or other places of habitation or services, may present inherent challenges and difficulties such as: exposure to bed bugs or other infestations, unpleasant smells or odors, individuals who may have poor hygiene or unclean homes due to homelessness, mental health symptoms, or poverty.
Additionally, in working with our members, employees may encounter instances of profanity, sexually explicit or derogatory language, or verbal or physical expressions of anger and trauma.
Very rarely do these situations ever escalate to physical contact, and negative or derogatory communication patterns can often be negotiated successfully.
All direct care staff are provided adequate training to develop skills to deescalate crisis situations that may arise and Step Up has established procedural safeguards for all employees to mitigate (but not eliminate) these inherent risks of employment.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands and fingers; handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; talk; and hear.
The employee is frequently required to walk, balance, stoop, kneel, and/or crouch.
The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 15 pounds.
Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
Keyboard data entry required.
Step Up utilizes the principles of trauma-informed care and mental health recovery.
These principles inform our Core Values of Hope, Wellness, Voice and Choice, Respect, and Collaborative Relationships.
As representatives of Step Up, employees agree to adhere to these values in their interactions with members, colleagues, supervisors, and associated community members.
STEP UP CORE VALUES HOPE – We believe all people have the capacity for positive growth and change.
We use hope to inspire and motivate ourselves, our members, our colleagues, and our community.
WELLNESS – We believe in promoting a culture that supports healthy and fulfilling lives.
We use a supportive environment to foster well-being for ourselves, our members, our colleagues, and our community.
VOICE AND CHOICE – We believe in the right to choose and be heard.
We use voice and choice to create meaningful outcomes and empowerment for ourselves, our members, our colleagues, and our community.
RESPECT – We believe in promoting interactions that are non-judgmental, transparent.
We use respect to guide all of our words and actions with ourselves, our members, our colleagues, and our community.
COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIPS – We believe in forming partnerships to share resources, knowledge, and experiences.
We use collaborative relationships to strengthen accomplishments for ourselves, our members, our colleagues, and our community.
Step Up is committed to providing quality services that adhere to the highest ethical standards and principles.
All Step Up employees agree to adhere to the ethical policies and codes of conduct, as outlined in the Employee Handbook and those specified for this grant.
STEP UP IN AN EQUAL-OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER