Disaster Mental Health Training

From Mark Russell, AUS Core Faculty, School of Applied Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy -

American Red Cross Seattle and Washington State Psychological Association–Disaster Response Network presents:

Disaster Mental Health Training

Topic: Two American Red Cross (ARC) courses required to become a certified ARC Volunteer in Disaster Mental Health and member of the Washington State Psychological Association (WSPA)-Disaster Response Network (DRN): (1) A combined ‘Introduction to Disaster Services’ and ‘Foundations of Disaster Mental Health Course,’ and (2) ‘Clinical Case Work’ course.

Who: Licensed mental health care providers interested in becoming a certified ARC Mental Health Volunteer and WSPA-DRN member. Non-licensed psychology graduate students are eligible to attend the training, but require faculty supervisor who has completed the ARC trainings.

What: The WSPA-DRN is a state network of mental health clinicians with training in disaster response who offer volunteer assistance to relief workers, victims, and victim’s families after man-made or natural disasters. The WSPA-DRN is a chapter of the APA’s national DRN that primarily assists the ARC’s disaster mental health activity and works with state departments of mental health, offices of emergency management, local fire and police departments, and other relief organizations.

Why: Disasters on every scale, from hurricanes to house fires, strike thousands of Americans every year. Many mental health clinicians have sought disaster training so they can use their professional abilities to help victims and relief workers carry on through often stressful and tragic circumstances.

Training objectives:
• Identify the ARC Fundamental Principles, Mission, Emergency Service structure and the setting in which disaster mental health professional work.
• Describe the mental health role in ARC disaster response and recovery communities.
• Recognize the psychological impact of disaster on adults, children, families, and communities.
• Apply the interventions used by the ARC disaster mental health works with clients, responders, and disaster workers.
• Describe the legal and ethical implications of disaster mental health work, including licensing, HIPAA regulations, confidentiality and professional ethics.
• Identify opportunities for volunteering with ARC’s Disaster Mental Health through the local chapters.

When: 9am-5pm, September 25, 2010 (‘Foundations’) and 9am-5pm, October 2, 2010 (Clinical Case Work). All participants must attend both days of training.

Where: Room 123, ARC bldg, at 1900 25th Avenue S; Seattle, easily accessible via I-90, I-5, downtown, Boren/Rainer Avenue and MLK.

Cost: ARC trainings are no-cost with free parking available.

Continuing Education: The APA offers 6.5 CE for the ARC Foundations of Disaster Mental Health course. ARC CE is available for the Clinical Case Work course. See ARC website www.seattleredcross.org for further details.

How: Registration for the ARC courses will be limited to 18 participants and is on a first come, first serve basis. The ARC Volunteer Application form needed for registration, can be completed on-line at www.seattleredcross.org. Once you have submitted your volunteer application you should receive a confirmation email. If you have any questions about the training or have trouble with the online application please contact James Bluher, the Volunteer Services Coordinator, at (206)726-3566 or at james.bluher@seattleredcross.org. Questions regarding the WSPA DRN can be directed to the WSPA-DRN Coordinator, Mark Russell, Ph.D., at mrussell@antioch.edu.

Job Lead- Temporary Peer Specialist

Position: Temporary Peer Specialist
Company: Program for Assertive Community Treatment (PACT)
Location: Seattle, WA and surrounding area
Pay Range: $2,651 - $3,381 per month DOQ
Position Closes: September 7, 2010

Position Description: This is a temporary position not eligible for benefits or SEIU membership. Applications must be received by September 7, 2010 in order to be considered. A person who is or has been a recipient of mental health services for severe and persistent mental illness holds this position. Because of their life experience with mental illness and mental health services, the peer specialist provides expertise that professional training cannot replicate. Peer specialists are fully integrated team members who provide highly individualized services in the community and promote client self-determination and decision-making. Peer specialists also provide essential expertise and consultation to the entire team to promote a culture in which each client’s point of view and preferences are recognized, understood, respected and integrated into treatment, rehabilitation, and community self-help activities. Staff hired must be certified by the Washington State Peer Support Counselor Training Program within 1 year of employment with PACT team. For more information, please see the complete job description at www.desc.org/jobs.html

Company Information: The Program for Assertive Community Treatment (PACT) is a client-centered recovery-oriented mental health service delivery model that has received substantial empirical support for facilitating community living, psychosocial rehabilitation, and recovery for persons who have the most severe and persistent mental illnesses, have severe symptoms and impairments, and have not benefited from traditional outpatient programs.

PACT serves clients with severe and persistent mental illness that are complex, have devastating effects on functioning, and, because of the limitations of traditional mental health services, may have gone without appropriate services. Consequently, the client group is often over represented among the homeless and in jails and prisons, and has been unfairly thought to resist or avoid involvement in treatment. PACT services are delivered by a group of multidisciplinary mental health staff who work as a team and provide the majority of the treatment, rehabilitation, and support services clients need to achieve their goals. The team is directed by a project manager, team leader and a psychiatric prescriber and includes a sufficient number of staff from the core mental health disciplines, at least one peer specialist, and a program or administrative support staff who work in shifts to cover 24 hours per day, seven days a week and to provide intensive services (multiple contacts may be as frequent as two to three times per day, seven days per week, which are based on client need and a mutually agreed upon plan between the client and PACT staff). Many, if not all, staff share responsibility for addressing the needs of all clients requiring frequent contact. PACT services are individually tailored with each client and address the preferences and identified goals of each client. The approach with each client emphasizes relationship building and active involvement in assisting individuals with severe and persistent mental illness to make improvements in functioning, to better manage symptoms, to achieve individual goals, and to maintain optimism. There should be no more than 8-10 clients to one staff member. The PACT team is mobile and delivers services in community locations to enable each client to find and live in their own residence and find and maintain work in community jobs rather than expecting the client to come to the program. Seventy-five percent or more of the services are provided outside of the program offices in locations that are comfortable and convenient for clients. PACT services are delivered in an ongoing rather than time-limited framework to aid the process of recovery and ensure continuity of caregiver. Severe and persistent mental illnesses are episodic disorders and many clients benefit from the availability of a longer-term treatment approach and continuity of care.

To Apply: Submit a cover letter and resume to: DESC-PACT, ATTN: Human Resources,
515 3rd Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104, fax to (206) 515-1501, or email to hr@desc.org.
Please note that cover letters and resumes attached to an email as separate documents will not be accepted unless they are in format readable by MS Word or Adobe Reader. The following document formats are unacceptable and will not be reviewed: .wps, .jpeg.

Job Lead- Social Worker

Job Title: Social Worker 4 (CFWS)
Company: King County
Location: King County, WA
Salary: $3,918.00 - $5,136.00 Monthly

Job Description: Full Time – Permanent. Closing Date/Time:Wed. 09/01/10 5:00 PM Pacific Time. Department: Dept. of Social and Health Services.

To Apply: Please complete the entire online application at www.careers.wa.gov http://www.careers.wa.gov/ using requisition number 01142.

Job Opening - Media Relations & Marketing Officer

The UW Law School is looking for a short-term contract employee who could help them fill the void that will be left after their Media Relations & Marketing Officer leaves on September 8th. They need a good writer and someone that can be flexible in helping them through this interim period. They also just hired an e-Communications and Web Content person that this person would work closely with while they are with them. (Stephanie indicated that this is an open position and that the contract person would be welcome to apply for the FT postion).

Specific Duties in the short-term could include:
• Help fill void in the Law school’s media, public relations, advertising, marketing and communications areas
• Some project management of print publications and other marketing materials to ensure all are developed in alignment with law school brand messaging and strategy
• Works collaboratively with faculty, students, staff, alumni, University of Washington Marketing Communications and News and Information.
• Help with the analysis of constituency research, current market conditions and competitor information; monitor, review and report on marketing activity and results.
• Manages the final mailing of UW Law Alumni Magazine; set to drop on October 1st
• Respond to media calls, gathers information and coordinates with appropriate expertise; serving as liaison for faculty, staff and students with the media and the public.
• Generates press releases & ads for local bar news, legal journals and magazines

Contact:
Stephanie D. Cox
Assistant Dean for Advancement
University of Washington School of Law
stephcox%40u.washington.edu

John Schinnerer, M.A. Whole Systems Design, 1999

Schinnerer will be offering a presentation/workshop on sociocracy, a.k.a. dynamic governance, at the Northwest Permaculture convergence taking place Sept. 17-19 at South Seattle CC.

Here’s the event main page:
http://www.washingtonstatepermaculture.org/wordpress/?page_id=7

Here’s the presenter list page:
http://www.washingtonstatepermaculture.org/wordpress/?page_id=120

The event as a whole and/or various other presentations and workshops may well be of interest to AUS alums in general. Fellow AUS alum Ben Kaufman of Greenworks Realty is one of the presenters.

Job Lead- Organizer

Position:Organizer
Company: Got Green
Location: Seattle, WA

Company Description: Got Green is a start-up organization - sponsored by the White Center Community Development Association - and we are seeking an experienced community organizer to build a racially diverse activist base of low income and working class young adults of color to fight to ensure that their communities fully benefit from the sustainable, green economy.

We are entering a historic time in our country where local efforts to reduce greenhouse gases and global warming are expected to generate thousands of job opportunities as well as new products that are healthier for our homes and families. Got Green believes that through community organizing, we can make sure that Seattle-area “green jobs” provide opportunity to communities most in need: low income communities of color; and that “green jobs” are also “good jobs” - paying a living wage and benefits. We also believe that through organizing, we can make sure that low-income families gain equal access to “green products” and “green lifestyles.”

Job Responsibilities:
. Recruit and develop the leadership of low income and young adults of color to participate in and lead all of Got Green’s activities.
. Develop and implement a broad-based outreach and recruitment plan to 1) Bring new members into Got Green; 2) Educate communities of color (including recent immigrant communities) about green jobs opportunities; 3) Recruit potential participants into a union-certified Weatherization Installer Tech training program.
. Work with volunteer activists to plan and lead community organizing campaigns aimed at 1) Shifting the balance of power in favor of low income communities; 2) Winning concrete demands that improve the lives of low income young adults of color.
. Organize events such as community forums; hip-hop shows; film showings; accountability sessions; etc. to advance Got Green’s outreach and organizing.
. Create leadership and personal development plans with each of Got Green’s core constituent leaders. Support Got Green leaders towards reaching their goals.
. Help to develop and lead organizing skills trainings and political education sessions for Got Green constituents/activists.
. Build and maintain a community-based interpreting/translation network
. Assist with fundraising activities such as grant writing; meetings with potential funders; event organizing; as needed.
. Support Got Green’s Weatherization Tech Installer training program and fieldwork. Build relationships with Got Green trainees to involve them in community organizing efforts.
. Participate in staff meetings, organization-wide retreats and on-going strategic planning sessions and support other staff where needed
. Represent Got Green’s mission, values and objectives in all interactions with the public.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

. Demonstrated connections to and “roots” in communities of color
. Minimum three years direct organizing experience around economic, racial, and/or gender justice issues - preferably in communities of color
. Experience developing the leadership skills of low income/working class constituents
. Excellent written and verbal communications skills
. Strong computer skills - MS Office, Web-based email, databases, etc.
. Ability to work evenings and weekends as required
. Valid WA State Driver’s license, owns a vehicle, is/can be insured.
. “Risk taker” and “Team player”

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
. Fluent in a second language
. Existing network in one or more local communities of color
. Experience with/knowledge of organized labor movement and specifically building trades unions
. Desktop publishing, graphic design, or web design experience
. Sense of humor

Compensation: $37K-$42K DOE, Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance, Sick Leave & Accrual, Vacation (12 days in the first year), 12 paid holidays

To Apply: Submit resume, cover letter and three references ASAP via email to:
<”ailto:info@gotgreen.org> info@gotgreen.org
SUBJECT LINE: Organizer position

Please also submit your answer (500 words or less) to the following: What have you found to be the greatest challenges and opportunities to building a grassroots activist base in low-income communities of color?

Job Lead- Mental Health Profesional

Position: Mental Health Profesional
Company: Program for Assertive Community Treatment (PACT)
Location: Seattle, WA

Company Description: The Program for Assertive Community Treatment (PACT) is a client-centered recovery-oriented mental health service delivery model that has received substantial empirical support for facilitating community living, psychosocial rehabilitation, and recovery for persons who have the most severe and persistent mental illnesses, have severe symptoms and impairments, and have not benefited from traditional outpatient programs. Office will be open 12 hours/day M-F, and 8 hours a day on weekends & holidays. Some staff will work 8am - 4pm, some staff will work 12 - 8pm. All staff will work at least one weekend day in their weekly schedule, so would work either Tue-Sat or Sun-Thu. All staff rotate holiday shifts. All staff will rotate on-call (paid) time since this team will cover our 24-hour crisis coverage (both on the phone & in person) for MH issues for PACT clients. Two staff will be on-call at any given time to ensure back-up coverage and safety while doing crisis work. All staff will need to have internet access at home for after-hours crisis coverage shifts. All staff will need to have Driver’s Licenses & access to an automobile for work purposes — 75% of services need to be delivered outside DESC offices. Experience working with adults who are homeless, have a mental illness and co-occurring substance abuse issues highly desirable. Bi-lingual English-Spanish fluency highly desirable. Desire highly dedicated, self-motivated, team-oriented, creative, resilient people ready for challenging & rewarding work.

Important characteristics of PACT programs: PACT serves clients with severe and persistent mental illness that are complex, have devastating effects on functioning, and, because of the limitations of traditional mental health services, may have gone without appropriate services. Consequently, the client group is often over represented among the homeless and in jails and prisons, and has been unfairly thought to resist or avoid involvement in treatment. PACT services are delivered by a group of multidisciplinary mental health staff who work as a team and provide the majority of the treatment, rehabilitation, and support services clients need to achieve their goals. The team is directed by a project manager, team leader and a psychiatric prescriber and includes a sufficient number of staff from the core mental health disciplines, at least one peer specialist, and a program or administrative support staff who work in shifts to cover 24 hours per day, seven days a week and to provide intensive services (multiple contacts may be as frequent as two to three times per day, seven days per week, which are based on client need and a mutually agreed upon plan between the client and PACT staff). Many, if not all, staff share responsibility for addressing the needs of all clients requiring frequent contact. PACT services are individually tailored with each client and address the preferences and identified goals of each client. The approach with each client emphasizes relationship building and active involvement in assisting individuals with severe and persistent mental illness to make improvements in functioning, to better manage symptoms, to achieve individual goals, and to maintain optimism. There should be no more than 8-10 clients to one staff member. The PACT team is mobile and delivers services in community locations to enable each client to find and live in their own residence and find and maintain work in community jobs rather than expecting the client to come to the program. Seventy-five percent or more of the services are provided outside of the program offices in locations that are comfortable and convenient for clients. PACT services are delivered in an ongoing rather than time-limited framework to aid the process of recovery and ensure continuity of caregiver. Severe and persistent mental illnesses are episodic disorders and many clients benefit from the availability of a longer-term treatment approach and continuity of care.

Qualifications: (MHP). Mental health professionals have: 1) professional degrees in one of the core mental health disciplines; 2) clinical training including internships and other supervised practical experiences in a clinical or rehabilitation setting; and 3) clinical work experience with persons with severe and persistent mental illness. MHP designation is defined by the Washington State Mental Health Division. MHP’S can either have an MSW degree OR a Master’s degree in another social service or counseling discipline + 2 years experience delivering adult mental health services under the supervision of an MHP.

Pay range:
CM 1 $31,815 - $35,943/yr DOQ = Master’s degree with less than 2 years post-graduate experience with chronically mentally ill adults who have similar backgrounds as DESC clients.
CM 2 $36,450 - $40,578/yr DOQ = Masters degree in a social or behavioral science or relevant field AND 2 years postgraduate experience with chronically mentally ill adults who have similar backgrounds as DESC clients.

Benefits: All DESC regular positions include medical, dental, life and long-term disability insurance, 403(b) retirement plan, and excellent time off benefits. New employees have the potential of accruing up to 6.8 weeks of paid time off in 1st year of employment.

To Apply: Submit a cover letter and resume to: DESC-PACT, ATTN: Human Resources,
515 3rd Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104, fax to (206) 515-1501, or email to hr@desc.org.
Please note that cover letters and resumes attached to an email as separate documents will not be accepted unless they are in a format readable by MS Word or Adobe Reader (.pdf format). The following document formats are unacceptable and will not be reviewed: wps, .jpeg.

The Downtown Emergency Service Center is committed to diversity in the workplace, and promotes equal employment opportunities for all staff members and applicants. The Agency will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, marital status, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability in any employment practice, unless based on a bona fide occupational qualification. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.

Job Lead- Data Manager/Analyst

Job Title: Data Manager/Analyst
Company: University of Washington
Location: Seattle, WA

Position Description: The Innovative Programs Research Group (IPRG) is an externally funded entity within the University of Washington School of Social Work. Funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) is currently supporting these randomized controlled trials:

o The Men’s Domestic Abuse Check-Up (MDACU) is evaluating a telephone-delivered motivational enhancement intervention with adult males who are abusing alcohol/drugs, engaging in intimate partner violence, and are neither in counseling nor undergoing adjudication.
o Motivating Treatment Seeking and Behavior Change by Untreated Military Personnel Abusing Alcohol or Drugs. In collaboration with Ft. Lewis, this study is evaluating a brief telephone-delivered intervention with military personnel who are abusing alcohol or drugs and are not currently in treatment.
o Marijuana Dependence Treatment (PRN). In collaboration with Virginia Polytechnic Institute, this two-year study is evaluating an in-person motivational enhancement intervention and cognitive behavior therapy with adults who are marijuana dependent.
o Teen Marijuana Check-Up 4 (TMCU4). This 5-year study is in collaboration with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and will evaluate a brief intervention conducted in high schools for adolescents who use marijuana heavily.

The Data Manager/Analyst will oversee the data management and assessment quality assurance activities associated with two or more of the above IPRG trials, as well as any future studies conducted at this group.

FTE 50%-100% (depending on project need).

To Apply: Please visit the University of Washington Employment Website
(http://www.washington.edu/admin/hr/jobs/apl/index.html) and refer to job #67240.

Five Job Openings - Office of the Superintendent for Public Instruction

The five job openings are:

Program Specialist
College Success Foundation Contracts Manager
Secondary Reading Assessment Specialist
Early Learning Director
Teaching and Learning Science Director

To apply to to http://www.k12.wa.us/employment/default.aspx

Job Opening - Clinical Supervisor, Mental Health

Clinically supervises Consejo’s King County Mental Health Services staff ensuring culturally appropriate client services. Ensures all services are delivered according to local, state and federal laws and in compliance with CARF and contractual requirements.

Responsibilities
• Provides clinical supervision to King County program staff members and grant funded clinical staff as assigned by the Program Manager to ensure a high quality of service is provided to clients.
• Supervise, train and mentor the program therapists, interns and other clinical staff as requested by the Program Manager.
• Conduct weekly supervision of staff to ensure compliance to agency, contractual and regulatory standards.
• Attend scheduled staff meetings and conduct staff meetings when assigned by the Program Manager.
• Conduct outreach efforts for the Mental Health Department as requested by the Program Manager.
• Provide outpatient evaluations, assessments, care plans, case management and therapy to the program clients and to other mental health clients.
• Provide direct services to a caseload of 5 program clients.
• Conduct weekly intake assessments.
• Assist the Program Manager in coordinating and supervising the assignment of referrals to individual therapists in King County sites.
• Responsible for follow up on intake appointments and case assignments to ensure timely response time to the clients.
• Responsible for working with the Program Manager in developing and implementing the strategic vision of the Mental Health Program to include establishing new services and ensuring growth of the programs in accordance with the strategic vision.
• Conduct quarterly file reviews and assure corrective actions are completed.
• Work as a member of Consejo’s clinical team to ensure overall efficiency and effective operation of the organization.
• Provide special population consultations and training regarding cultural competency issues
• Consult and collaborate with other professionals and/or agencies on client needs and agency operational needs.
• Conduct monthly QA reviews and work with Program Manager in ensuring file compliance
• Attend mental health meetings as required by the Program Manager or Administration.
• Provide support and assistance to Consejo’s Program Manager, Clinical Director, and Executive Director as needed.
• In coordination with Program Manager and Human Resources, conduct investigations regarding clinical issues and make recommendations to Mental Health Program Manager and Human Resources.
• In coordination with Program Manager and Human Resources, participate in interviewing, hiring, promotion, firing and layoff decisions.
• Oversee and manage contracts as designated by Program Manager.
• Participate in clinical meetings and decision-making processes for program.
• Serve on committees, task forces and special assignments as directed.
• Fulfill other duties as may be assigned to meet agency clinical needs.
Recovery Best Practices
• Ability to understand and use the ten core principles from the national consensus statement on recovery (hope, self direction, individualized and person-centered, empowerment, holistic, non-linear, strengths-based, peer support, respect, and responsibility).
• Ability to understand the mutually affirming roles of peer support and professional services.
• Knowledge on conducting strengths-based interviews and how to utilize strengths in implementing the care plan.
• Provide outpatient evaluations, assessments, care plans and progress notes that are individualized and recovery oriented.
• Ability to engender hope, optimism, and recovery for people at every level of disability, various degrees of insight, and/or various levels of motivation.
• Ability to assist consumers to assume or resume employment, education, or normalized housing, and to thrive in these roles.
• Ability to locate community resources outside of the mental health system and inspire consumers to use them.
• Provide culturally competent recovery practices for the Latino consumer.
• Knowledge on how to implement a Wellness Recovery Action Plan.
• Knowledge on motivational interviewing skills to enhance recovery potential.
• Skills in helping people who have experienced trauma to recover.
• Provide family psycho-education and engagement

Requirements
• Masters in Social Work, Psychology field or higher degree
• Active Counselors Registration in the state of Washington
• Licensed Social Worker, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist preferred
• Ethnic Minority Specialist or must obtain specialty within 1 year
• Children’s Specialist or must obtain specialty within 1 year
• Experience in conducting Quality Assurance Reviews
• Bilingual (Spanish/English) both oral and written
• Proficient in Microsoft Office
• Valid drivers license and car insurance
• 2+ previous supervisory experience
• Qualified to conduct clinical consultations
• Qualified to conduct cultural competency or other clinical training
• Lifting requirements up to 20 lbs.

To Apply: https://home.eease.adp.com/recruit/?id=501846

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