Mental Health Professional-Triage Therapist

JOB SUMMARY:

The Behavioral Health Triage Therapist serves as a key member of the Triage and Evaluation Team within the outpatient Psychiatry Services department. This team is responsible for ensuring timely efficient and clinically appropriate access to behavioral health care for patients across the lifespan. The Triage Therapist focuses on conducting comprehensive initial evaluations identifying urgent needs and facilitating warm handoffs to internal or external services. The role includes brief clinical support and stabilization as needed with a smaller ongoing therapy caseload.

This position supports our commitment to rapid access integrated care and seamless coordination between triage psychiatry and therapy teams. Services are delivered both in-person and via telehealth with flexibility for remote work based on patient demand clinical priorities and departmental capacity.

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SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Serve as a frontline clinician on the Triage and Evaluation Team conducting timely diagnostic evaluations and risk assessments for individuals seeking behavioral health services.
• Identify clinical acuity and match patients to the most appropriate level of care including internal therapy psychiatry community resources or crisis intervention services.
• Provide short-term solution-focused support or follow-up sessions for patients awaiting placement into ongoing care.
• Maintain a smaller caseload of short-term therapy patients primarily focused on stabilization safety planning and bridging care. Monitor and evaluate patient progress and outcomes updating treatment plans in collaboration with the care team.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary team membersincluding therapists psychiatrists primary care providers and care managersto coordinate treatment planning and access to services.
• Participate in regular triage meetings to support patient flow staffing prioritization and access tracking across the department.
• Facilitate warm handoffs and referrals to internal and external providers ensuring patient needs are clearly communicated and transitions are patient-centered.
• Meet productivity expectations appropriate for triage roles balancing evaluation volume with clinical support and care coordination.
• Complete timely accurate documentation in accordance with clinical regulatory and organizational standards.
• Provide care that is safe ethical culturally responsive trauma-informed and aligned with evidence-based models.
• Serve in a rotating on-call schedule as assigned.
• May be asked to engage in teaching or mentoring activities with medical residents on a case-by-case basis.
• Participate in departmental meetings supervision and quality improvement initiatives.
• Support the mission and values of integrated team-based care.
• Maintain licensure training requirements and adherence to ethical standards as set forth by relevant professional boards.

This role description is a general description of the essential job functions. It is not intended to describe all the duties the Behavioral Health Triage Therapist may perform.

KEY COMPETENCIES:

Communication Skills

Effectively and respectably communicate with other individuals whether it be a colleague patient or patients family member and appropriately enumerate information in a manner easily understood by all parties. We do this to foster a culture of understanding between all parties especially in complex and difficult situations to ultimately provide the best care possible to our patients and their families.

Decision Making

Ability to make the most appropriate decision in a given situation and then taking the next steps to ensure appropriate and timely completion. This requires conflict resolution skills critical thinking skills confidence in your ability to make the right decision in most situations. This also includes ability to prioritize your workday appropriately to ensure the most important tasks are completed on time.

HealthCare Knowledge

Having the drive to keep yourself abreast and up to date on the new breakthroughs in your area of expertise and communicating them to the rest of the team as appropriate. This also includes keeping up with your licensure and yearly training requirements within your area expertise along with MAHECs organizational training. Finally the ability to apply the depth of knowledge maintained and gained through this process in real life scenarios as appropriate.

Interpersonal Skills

Showing the ability to meet difficult situations with grace professionalism and understanding. Within your area of expertise showing respect and showing empathy where appropriate with your colleagues patients and their family at all times even when its most difficult to do so. This is done in part by effective listening being your authentic self showing responsibility and dependability and being patient with others.

Organizational Values

Adherence to MAHECs founding principles and incorporating them every day. This includes among others having integrity and accountability reverence for other cultures and equitable practices ability to manage change and displaying a clear understanding of organizational dynamics. Doing these things creates a culture where people want to do the best for each other and gives personal ownership towards the goal of helping people in their time of need.

Problem Solving

Having an analytical mind and ability to work autonomously to solve complex problems that may arise. The wherewithal to think logically through a difficult problem and come to an appropriate resolution for a given issue. This helps to drive continuous improvement by thinking through where we can improve in a novel way. Measures success by understanding where we are currently and where we want to go and then applying those new ideas to affect positive change.

SPECIFIED SKILLS

• COMPUTER
  • Excellent skills in Microsoft Office including Word Excel PowerPoint and database applications required.
• FOREIGN LANGUAGE
  • Spanish speaking skills preferred.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Not Applicable.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Masters in Social Work Mental Health Counseling Marriage and Family Therapy or Doctorate in Clinical Psychology
• Two (2) years relevant experience or comparable combined experience and/or education preferred.
• Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist preferred.

REQUIRED LICENSES:

• Current North Carolina License to practice independently including Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) or Doctoral level Psychologist (PhD or PsyD)
• Current BLS certification required.

SCHEDULE:

• Regular attendance on-site is an essential function of this position. Typical business hours are Monday Friday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (or flexed to best meet the needs of the clients and/or the Division); 40 hours per workweek; weekend holiday or evening coverage is occasionally required. Work hours will need to be flexible in order to respond to special work assignments or evening activities as requested by the team leader.

At MAHEC we strive to equip all team members with Total Rewards (pay benefits) to honor their service support their health manage their financial security build their career and thrive.

All MAHEC employees and learners will be required to receive the Flu vaccine or have an approved exemption.

MAHEC Talent Management is located at 121 Hendersonville Road Asheville NC 28803. Equal Opportunity Employer.

If you are interested in this role and you have related experience and qualifications we encourage you to apply or reach out to for support in your job search process. You could be the talent we are seeking for this or other opportunities.