Location: CHA Somerville Campus

Work Days: 8-hour shifts with every other weekend rotation and holidays

Category: Human and Social Services

Department: 5 East and 5 West

Job Type: Full time

Work Shift: Various Shifts

Hours/Week: 40.00

Union: Yes

Union Name: SH Laborers 381

In partnership with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts we will be expanding inpatient psychiatric care in the region, by adding 42 new child, adolescent and specialized autism spectrum/neurodevelopmental beds at our Somerville Campus. The new CHA Center of Excellence for Child and Adolescent Inpatient Mental Health Care at Somerville will provide a transformative continuum of patient and family-centered care for diverse youth with mental health needs.

Cambridge Health Alliance's Child and Adolescent Neurodevelopment Inpatient Unit provides specialist assessment and care for children and adolescents who have severe mental health and neurodevelopmental needs. CHA provides services for children experiencing complex and persistent emotional and behavioral difficulties due to neurodevelopmental disorders. We care for our patients in a newly renovated secured 24-bed unit at the CHA Somerville Campus. Our unit offers private rooms, communal eating and living areas, an outdoor activity space, an active sensory room, quiet ‘calming’ spaces for both individual and group play and learning.

Job Purpose

The Milieu Counselor is a member of the multidisciplinary team who, under the supervision of a registered nurse, is responsible for a safe and structured service as well as attending to the individual needs of patients in crisis in an inpatient psychiatric setting.

The role of a Milieu Counselor will assist with ADL'S lead or co-lead groups, perform safety checks, 1:1 meetings with patients, and will accurately chart patients B/P, TPR & weight. Notifies RN of any changes in vital signs. Accurately measures and documents patient's intake and output. Assists patients following through with ADL's (bathing, laundry, toileting, organizing room), maintaining nutritional and hydration needs, and assisting & monitoring elimination needs and other tasks as assigned by the charge RN.

Qualifications/Experience:

• High school diploma required; B.A, B.S., or M.A. preferred or equivalent years of human service experience.

• Current American Heart Association Basic Life Support (BLS) certification

• Prior human services, behavioral or psychiatric experience required.

• Experience working with individuals who have Autism and/or Intellectual Disability is strongly preferred.

• RBT Certification (Registered Behavior Technician) preferred or attained within 4 months of employment; CHA will assist with training and expenses related to certification.The Registered Behavior Technician(RBT) is a paraprofessional certification in behavior analysis. RBTs assist in delivering behavior analysis services and practice under the direction and close supervision of an RBT Supervisor

• All newly hired candidates must successfully complete a job specific physical agility test.

KEYWORDS: Mental Health Counselor / Resident Counselor / Mental Health / Behavioral / Pediatric / Therapist / Therapy / Neurodevelopmental / Autism / Neurology

In keeping with federal, state and local laws, Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) policy forbids employees and associates to discriminate against anyone based on race, religion, color, gender, age, marital status, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by law. We are committed to establishing and maintaining a workplace free of discrimination. We are fully committed to equal employment opportunity. We will not tolerate unlawful discrimination in the recruitment, hiring, termination, promotion, salary treatment or any other condition of employment or career development. Furthermore, we will not tolerate the use of discriminatory slurs, or other remarks, jokes or conduct, that in the judgment of CHA, encourage or permit an offensive or hostile work environment.