Imt Peer Specialist

Overview

The Intensive Mobile Treatment (IMT) is a mobile practice model designed to provide treatment, rehabilitation and support services to individuals living with a serious mental health condition and whose needs have not been effectively met by traditional mental health services. Community Access' Bronx IMT Team will serve individuals with mental health conditions who are street homeless or living between institutional settings and housing. Team members will work collaboratively with settings in which the participant is living and use assertive engagement strategies to proactively engage individuals in services. IMT team members share responsibility for the people they serve, helping individuals attain housing and other personal goals that may be of a health, social, work or education nature. IMT teams are multi-disciplinary and include psychiatry, nursing, social work, Peer Specialists and other staff members offering rehabilitation, treatment, and recovery support services. With a small staff to participant ratio, services are brought to the participant and offered in natural settings, 24 hours a day, and seven days a week.

The Peer Specialist is an integral part of a multi-disciplinary team of mental health clinicians. The Peer Specialist is a resource to participants and other team members in issues related integrating wellness goals.  The Specialist is a person with the lived experience of a mental health condition who has a willingness to share personal and practical experience, knowledge, and first-hand insight to benefit IMT program participants; recovery experience related to substance use services or criminal justice system preferred. The Peer Specialist engages and builds trusting relationships with program participants and their networks to support the person’s recovery.   

Core Principles

The job responsibilities of all staff extend to understanding and incorporating certain principles into their work and into their relationships with program participants.  These principles are:

• Program participants’ right to self-determination
• Respectful communication
• Services that support recovery and healing consistent with and nurturing each participant’s cultural background, experience, identity, and values
• Clear professional boundaries to support the limits and possibilities of services

Essential Job Functions:

Peer Specialist activities: 

• Screen and assess participants to develop a person-centered treatment plan.  
• Identify participant treatment and support service needs and associated service plan objectives based on participant goals assessment results, including risk associated with harmful behaviors. 
• Advocate for and liaise with participants within the criminal justice, shelter system, hospitals, and outpatient services. 
• Provide or connect participants with employment counseling, vocational rehabilitation, completion of housing applications and placement, and provision of life skills training. 
• Assist participants with navigating service systems, including behavioral and medical health, criminal justice, shelter system, entitlements and transportation.  
• Educate participants about self-help techniques, processes and community options. 
• Teach coping strategies based on personal experience. 
• Assist participants with acquiring symptom management skills.
• Assist in identifying and clarifying rehabilitation and recovery goals. 
• Assist in the development of community support systems and networks. 
• Consistently practice according to the principles of recovery-oriented and trauma-informed service delivery 
• Provide harm reduction services, integrated substance use treatment and relapse prevention. 

Comprehensive IMT service activities:  

• Assess and provide services to participants to address health and wellness, housing, income support, education, vocational training, employment and social supports. 
• Complete assessments and evaluations as required based on a rotating schedule 
• Provide IMT treatment services including: service planning and coordination; problem solving; support with obtaining housing; developing social connections; strengthening family and other relationships; developing independent living skills and obtaining necessary resources; accessing and accessing education and training; employment supports (job search, placement and support); entitlement and financial management; empowerment and self-help; wellness self-management with a focus on the development of coping skills; support with medications; and weekly groups. 
• Use motivational interviewing, recovery and trauma-informed approaches when delivering services. 
• Complete crisis intervention and relapse prevention plans. 
• Collaboration with participants, families and natural supports, shelter, jail and community partners to promote attainment of treatment and recovery goals. 
• Coordinate discharge in collaboration with inpatient and ER staff when participants have involvement. 
• Complete thorough, timely and accurate documentation of all contacts. 
• Utilize public transportation for travel throughout boroughs. 
• Provide 24-hour crisis intervention services on rotating basis. 

This job description reflects management’s assignment of essential functions; it does not prescribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned.