PEER SUPPORT SPECIALIST, GS5 - Mental Health Service

I. MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The incumbent is a present or past consumer of mental health services, and already trained and experienced in providing peer support services to people with psychiatric illness. He/she will be assigned to participate in the multidisciplinary Mental Health Service. The incumbent will be an active member of that service, and as such, provides a wide range of peer support services to consumers to assist them in regaining control over their own lives and their own recovery process. The Peer Support Specialist will assist in the development and maintenance of a recovery-oriented environment by providing any of the following services to consumers with a serious mental illness (SMI):

a. Models for consumers good communication skills, recovery-oriented living skills, effective coping skills, and self-help strategies.

b. Assists consumers in identifying their personal recovery goals, assists in setting objectives for each goal, and determines interventions to be used based on the consumer’s recovery/life goals. Is actively involved in the development of the consumer’s treatment plan.

c. Assists consumers in maintaining self-care needs.

d. Orients new consumers to their Mental Health Team.

e. Develops and maintains a therapeutic relationship with consumers so that he/she can identify emotional, psychiatric or behavioral changes which may require further intervention or treatment. The incumbent helps the consumer resolve the problem, and/or refers the consumer to the appropriate clinical staff.

f. Provides input in staff meetings and interdisciplinary treatment planning.

g. Assists consumers in attending their activities and appointments, and provides escort or transportation services to consumers as needed. This may require the use of public transportation or transporting a consumer in a government vehicle.

h. Independently facilitates structured support groups, such as Dual Recovery Anonymous (DRA) or Schizophrenics Anonymous (SA).

i. Independently provides psychoeducational groups on a variety of mental health issues using printed, audiovisual, or modular material.

j. Independently facilitates structured skill training groups, such as social skills, assertiveness, anger management, symptom management, etc.

k. Uses and teaches problem-solving skills to individuals and groups.

l. Provides a liaison to community resources, and assists consumers in using these resources to enhance their independent living skills.

m. Provides telephone support to consumers through a “warm-line” service in non-emergency situations.

n. Provides supportive visits to consumers in their communities.

o. Organizes a variety of supportive groups for consumers in the community.

p. Stays abreast of the recovery and psychosocial rehabilitation literature by ongoing reading and attendance to related conferences.

q. Maintains active involvement in the further development of peer supports services within the Mental Health Service.

II. FACTOR 1. KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED BY THE POSITION:

a. Knowledge and skills sufficient for establishing effective relationships with consumers who have a mental illness.

b. Knowledge about mental illnesses, the recovery model, and components of psychosocial rehabilitation. Maintains a working knowledge of current trends and developments in the mental health field.

c. Knowledge and skills sufficient to observe behavior problems and symptoms of mental illnesses for the purpose of documentation and communication with members of the treatment team.

d. Knowledge and skills sufficient to provide skills training, educational, and support groups.

e. Knowledge and skills sufficient to use community resources necessary for independent living and to teach those skills to those consumers with a serious mental illness.

III. FACTOR 2. SUPERVISORY CONTROLS:

The Supervisor of the Peer Support Specialist may be any certified or licensed professional in the Mental Health Service. The incumbent is expected to handle routine administrative and rehabilitation duties independently. The incumbent is expected to establish priorities for his/her own assignments. Work will be reviewed by assessing the process and outcomes of the tasks and interventions used. However, unique or unusual situations are to be referred to the immediate supervisor or appropriate clinical staff.

IV. FACTOR 3. GUIDELINES:

a. The incumbent relies on a variety of written policies and procedural guidelines for administrative and clinical issues, as well as traditional practice in the VA system.

The incumbent uses best judgment in selecting and adapting techniques, procedures, and materials most appropriate for the specific condition of each consumer. Situations requiring deviations from established guidelines are referred to the supervisor.

b. The incumbent maintains a valid Texas driver’s license.

V. FACTOR 4. COMPLEXITY:

a. Work consists of selecting from a variety of interventions based upon consumer need. The incumbent applies those interventions to assist the consumer in achieving stated specific goals.

b. Work requires the ability to prioritize tasks based on time, resources, and the importance of goals.

c. Communication with consumers, the treatment team, other staff in the medical center, and community agency staff is an ongoing responsibility

VI. FACTOR 5. SCOPE AND EFFECT:

a. Work assignments involve carrying out prescribed treatment procedures that contribute to and support a consumer’s recovery.

b. Work assignments also impact program and medical center activities in the service of providing excellent consumer care.

VII. FACTOR 6. PERSONAL CONTACTS:

Contacts are with designated consumers, their families, sponsors, community contacts and supporting medical center personnel.

VIII. FACTOR 7. PURPOSE OF CONTACTS:

Contacts with consumers are for the purpose of assisting consumers to define and achieve their stated recovery goals, assisting them in managing their emotional and behavioral symptoms, and supporting their development of independent living skills. Contacts with families are for the purpose of intervening or providing treatment activities that will support the consumer’s recovery plan. Contacts with the treatment team are for the purpose of providing and receiving information concerning the consumer’s treatment plan. Contacts with other medical center personnel are for the purpose of accessing services within the medical center. Contacts within the community are for the purpose of assisting consumers in enhancing their independent living skills.

IX. FACTOR 8. PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

Work requires regular and recurring periods of standing, walking, lifting and accessing transportation, and driving a government car or van.

X. FACTOR 9. WORK ENVIRONMENT:

Work will be performed in a wide range of settings, including within the medical

center; in the consumer’s home; in community-based settings; or in transport vehicles. Work areas are often noisy, irregular and unpredictable and can be stressful at times. Consumers can present with active psychiatric symptoms, mixed responses to interventions, and unstable living and relationship situations.