Job Description

Peer Specialist –ACCESS Mental Health Yale Hub

ACCESS-Mental Health (AMH) seeks a 0.5 FTE Peer Specialist to join our team! ACCESS-Mental Health is a statewide program providing free consultation to Pediatric Primary Care providers regarding the mental health needs of their patients. Our team includes Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists, a Program Coordinator, Social Worker Clinicians, and a Peer Specialist.

The Peer Specialist is an integral member of the team, assisting with engaging and identifying resources for families and children. The family peer specialist arranges appointments with local behavioral health providers. He/she assists with making phone calls to families referred for behavioral health services to monitor follow up/engagement with keeping of appointments. The family peer specialist provides both traditional and non-traditional referrals to families and works with the program coordinator to ensure successful coordination of referrals. The Peer Specialist position is a faculty position with the Yale Child Study Center, at the rank of Lecturer.

The Peer Specialist will provide general duties and responsibilities such as:

  • Connects clients with resources that promote recovery and independence
  • Assists with follow up calls to consulting AMH families
  • Identifies resources within the community that support children and families
  • Documents client contacts and progress according to department standards
  • Community engagement

Requirements:

  • The parent of a child with mental health challenges with lived experience in advocating for services for the child’s psychiatric illness
  • Position requires that the candidate cannot be a mental health counselor.
  • Familiarity with local mental health services
  • Completion of the Recovery University course to be a certified Recovery Support Specialist or equivalent prior to or within6 months of date off hire
  • Ability to engage and counsel stressed families presenting with special needs
  • Good communicational and organizational skills
  • Some computer skills needed

Desirable skills/abilities:

  • Working collaboratively with others
  • Dependability, flexibility, and ability to shift priorities readily
  • Ability to communicate concisely and understandably
  • Ability to gather appropriate information, assess circumstances, and make sound decisions
  • Ability to manage high levels of emotion from stressed families while remaining calm and helpful
  • Ability to access AMH procedures and follow them
  • Ability to work with supervision
  • Motivated and thorough
  • Bilingual/Spanish speaking a plus

Training Needed Prior to or 6 months after date of hire:
Completion of the Recovery University courses to be a certified Recovery Support Specialist

If interested, please email Signy Peck, signy.peck@yale.edu

The Yale University School of Medicine Child Study Center is an equal opportunity employer.