Crisis Intervention Specialist

Our Crisis Intervention Specialists (CIS) work with individuals within our crisis center to develop and achieve goals that address any mental health or substance use disorder.

Essential Responsibilities include:

• The ability to remain calm is crisis settings and provide assistance to individuals struggling with mental health and/or substance use disorders,
• Work one-on-one with clients to develop individualized goal plans and complete daily skill-building sessions with individuals to achieve goals.
• Work on an interdisciplinary team to ensure continuity of care for individuals served.
• Assess individuals to determine appropriate level of care.
• Work on a Mobile Crisis Team to respond to calls out in the community alongside law enforcement officers to provide assessments to individuals struggling with mental health concerns.
• Be a part of an on-call rotation to assist in covering emergent facility needs.
• Advocate for the well-being of the clients we serve!

Requirements:

Requires mobility and physical activity; Having an adequate range of body motion and mobility to work in a residential or outdoor environment including standing and walking (even and uneven surfaces), sitting for extended periods of time, bending, twisting, reaching, balancing, occasional lifting and carrying of up to 20 pounds. Use of computers and telephones is required which includes coordination of eye and hand, and fine manipulation by the hands (typing and writing).

Requires talking, hearing, and seeing; Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken and written word. Ability to convey detailed or important spoken instructions to others accurately, loudly, or quickly. Ability to observe client behavior and activities and complete paperwork.

Requires the ability to collect and analyze complex numerical and written data and verbal information to reach logical conclusions. Requires the ability to work and cooperate with individuals served, co-workers, employees, and the public at all levels to exchange ideas, information, instructions, and opinions. Requires the ability to work under stress and in emotionally charged settings.

Staff providing crisis response services must meet one or more of the following qualifications:

• A mental health professional as defined in Iowa Code section 228.1.
• A bachelor’s degree with 30 semester hours or equivalent in a human services field (including, but not limited to, psychology, social work, nursing, education) and a minimum of one year of experience in behavioral or mental health services.
• A law enforcement officer with a minimum of two years of experience in the law enforcement officer’s field.
• An emergency medical technician (EMT) with a minimum of two years of experience in the EMT’s field.
• A peer support specialist with a minimum of one year of experience in behavioral or mental health services.
• A family support peer specialist with a minimum of one year of experience in behavioral or mental health services.
• A registered nurse with a minimum of one year of experience in behavioral or mental health services.
• A bachelor’s degree in a non-human services-related field, associate degree, or high school diploma (or equivalency) with a minimum of two years of experience in behavioral or mental health services, and 30 hours of crisis and mental health in-service training (in addition to the required 30 hours of Department-approved training).