Department: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department

Salary: $89,552.00 - $128,730.99 Commensurate with Experience

SUMMARYThe Senior Behavioral Health Specialist with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) provides a variety of professional services. The position will provide therapy to traumatized/distressed employees of CMPD; training incident debriefing counselors; coordinating critical incident stress debriefs; group counseling sessions; teaching police academy courses; and maintaining confidential records.

This position may be subject to after-hours callback to support during emergency response and other critical situations.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

• Establishes and maintains a wellness program for employees considered high risk for secondary trauma due to the nature of their assignment in the department.
• Supervises employees, as first line supervisors, to include handling all related personnel issues and concerns.
• Provides referral care for all employees; provides therapy to traumatized or distressed officers; performs diagnostic assessments and applies appropriate therapeutic techniques and intervention; continuously monitors therapy progress; provides referrals to other health care facilities/professionals, as needed.
• Maintains security and confidentiality of information created or encountered in the performance of assigned duties in strict adherence with all applicable laws and regulations.
• Provides crisis counseling in the field, and the office for individuals experiencing acute episodes; evaluates patients and arranges for voluntary or involuntary admission to facilities for observation and treatment.
• Conducts critical incident group debriefings with all involved personnel (sworn and civilian), as appropriate.
• Organizes, develops, and serves as clinical advisors to, the Department Peer Support Program including participation in the selection and training of new members.
• Provides training and instruction to police employees; develops and presents Police Psychology curriculum providing training related to resilience and positive coping mechanisms.
• Conducts research and maintains knowledge on applicable therapy techniques and relevant reference materials related to police psychology.
• Performs other duties of a similar nature and level as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in psychology or related human service field with coursework in behavior analysis
• Licensed Professional Counselor
• Three (3) years of experience
  • Requires one of the following licensures with the ability to practice in North Carolina:
    • Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
    • Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC)
    • Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Supervisor (LCMHCS)
    • or similar certifications and/or licenses issued by the State of North Carolina. 

Licensing/Certifications:

A valid License from the North Carolina license social work, or clinician with no history of complaints or disciplinary action.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Principles and practices of clinical and/or police psychology.
• Methods of diagnostic assessment of psychological health needs.
• Psychological treatment methods of acute stress disorders, trauma and related illnesses.
• Principles and practices of program administration and management.
• Best practices, trends and emerging technologies.
• Principles and methods of qualitative and quantitative research.
• Principles and applications of critical thinking and analysis.
• Principles and practices of group facilitation and building consensus.
• Applicable federal, state and local laws, codes, regulations (based on assignment).
• Customer service principles.
• Specialized equipment relevant to area of assignment.
• Modern office technology.
• Performing clinical psychological assessments;
• Providing psychological care and treatment related to traumatic stress and incidents;
• Providing appropriate therapeutic techniques and intervention, or making resource referrals as required;
• Providing consultation and serving as a department liaison and subject matter expert.
• Preparing and delivering training curriculum and related presentations.
• Researching industry trends, solutions and best practices.
• Reading, analyzing, evaluating, interpreting and summarizing written materials and statistical data.
• Exercising political acumen, tact and diplomacy.
• Maintaining confidential assessment and treatment files and records.
• Interpreting and applying applicable laws, codes, regulations and standards (based on assignment).
• Providing customer service.
• Utilizing a computer and relevant software applications.
• Utilizing communication and interpersonal skills as applied to interaction with coworkers, supervisors, the general public and others to sufficiently exchange or convey information and to receive work direction.

ADA and Other Requirements:

Positions in this class typically require grasping, talking, hearing, seeing, and repetitive motions.

Physical Requirements:

• Essential and marginal functions may require maintaining physical condition necessary for sitting, standing, climbing, or walking for extended periods of time
• Light to moderate lifting and carrying; some crouching, stooping, squatting, crawling, reaching, pushing, and pulling when performing tasks
• Ability to see, hear, and communicate information effectively
• Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects including the human body.

Sensory Requirements:

• Concentrated and attentive use of one or more senses (visual, audio, and other sensory modalities) for proofreading, data entry, tabulating data.
• Ability to operate in an environment with frequent interruptions from people and or noises, which in return could result in some level of stress, fatigue, or strain.
• Comprehend written information in work-related documents.
• Ability to hear, understand, and distinguish speech.

Working Conditions:

Work is routinely performed in an indoor office environment. May be required to be on call and/or work outside of normal business hours.

HOW TO APPLY

Apply online.

You are welcome to visit the City of Charlotte Human Resources Department lobby, where self-service application kiosks are available. They are located in our office at 700 East 4th Street, Suite 200, Charlotte, NC 28202. We are open Monday through Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (EST), excluding official City holidays.

For questions about your application or the hiring process, please email [email protected]

BENEFITS

The City of Charlotte provides a comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees.

Clickhereto learn more about the City of Charlottes benefits.

The City of Charlotte is a drug and alcohol-free workplace.