Behavioral Health Technician

Programs Behavioral Health Technician

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Behavioral Health Technician Program is a 6 week of full-time instruction with a total of 78 clock hours of comprehensive training designed for individuals seeking to become skilled technicians in the behavioral health field. This program provides a solid foundation in the core competencies necessary to support individuals with mental health, substance use, and co-occurring disorders across diverse settings. Through a combination of classroom instruction and hands-on clinical experience, students will gain the knowledge, skills, and ethical framework to work effectively and compassionately with patients from a variety of backgrounds.

This program is licensed by the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

All Interested participants must submit a completed admission application either by mail or in person. The Admission Representative will contact and interview the participant to ensure all requirements for acceptance are met. The following items are required to process the application:

Admission Application.
Request for High School Diploma or GED.
Pass the Test for Adult Basic Education (TABE): The TABE test is a diagnostic test used to determine a student’s skill levels and aptitudes. Students must obtain 8.0 score in order to enroll in classes at the College of Health Careers and/on under the discretion of the President & CEO student may be admitted to the program. Individuals with a post-secondary degree (i.e. Associates, Bachelors, Masters) may be exempt from taking TABE if official documentation is provided.
Tuition Payment Plan Contract; if applicable.

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

To graduate from Regional Center for Border Health, Inc. College of Health Careers, a student must:

Pass all required program of study programs laboratory/clinical, and internships.
File a completed application for Graduation form.
Clear any indebtedness to the training center before certificate is awarded.

CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

To practice as a Behavioral Health Technician, students may be required to pass a background check, obtain a fingerprint clearance and be CPR Certified.

Orientation & Introduction to Behavioral Health

Clock Hours: 3 lecture hours, 0 Lab hours.
Students will be provided an overall orientation of Regional Center for Border Health, Inc./College of Health Careers and complete required student file forms. During this orientation, students will be provided with a short Behavioral Health terminology handout with common terms used along with a handout of Behavioral Health acronyms/abbreviations. Students will go over the course outline to better understand their future readings, assignments, exams, and clinical experiences.

Ethics/Mental Health Law

Clock Hours: 6 Lecture hours. Prerequisites: Orientation & Introduction to Behavioral Health
Students will be introduced to ethics and the role they have in utilizing ethics to guide their interactions with clients, colleagues, and other interdisciplinary teams. They will compare and contrast their own ethical beliefs with those found in the Behavioral Health field. Privacy will be discussed, and confidentiality regulations will be reviewed.

Cultural Competency

Clock Hours: 6 Lecture. Prerequisites: Ethics/Mental Health Law
During this course, the students will learn about the cultural differences that could impact the way they do assessments, and they will also be made aware of any cultural biases they may have. Becoming familiar with cultural differences will allow students to consider that culture plays a role in how clients/patients may demonstrate signs and symptoms differently. This will also allow students to be aware of other differences, such as religious and spiritual beliefs, gender and sexual orientation inclusivity, and age and generational differences that may appear when working with clients/patients.

Evidence Based Practices

Clock Hours: 9 Lecture. Prerequisites: Cultural Competency
During this course, the students will learn about the various foundations based on behavioral and social theories. Students will learn and understand substance use disorders and addiction, advocacy, some assessment/treatment planning, suicide risk assessment, crisis intervention, case management, discharge planning, care coordination, psychoeducation, and chronic disease self-management. Students will learn about common modalities, such as motivational interviewing used during appointments to be able to ask open-ended questions. Students will become familiar with agency resources such as skills training, employment services, and peer support.

Establishing the Helping Relationship

Clock Hours: 9 Lecture hours. Prerequisites: Evidence Based Practices
During this module, students will become familiar with how to build trust and rapport with clients as they begin to foster a therapeutic relationship. Students must demonstrate professionalism, practice active listening and communication skills while using a client-centered approach. Students will identify establishing goals and expectations when working with clients. Students will learn to manage transference and countertransference by being able to identify it and being self-aware. Students will become familiar with the ending of the helping relationship also known as termination.

Clinical Documentation

Clock Hours: 6 Lecture. Prerequsites: Establishing the Helping Relationship
Students will learn the best practices for clinical documentation to ensure that they not only comply with legal requirements but are also consistent and accurate. Students will become familiar with mental health terminology. Students will be able to describe and document a Mental Status Exam. Students will learn how to utilize the SOAP Format. Students will learn strength-based notes to emphasize positive attributes and coping strategies. Students will navigate and learn how to use the Electronic Medical Record system to accurately use for clinical documentation.

Clinical Externship/Experience & Orientation

Clock Hours: 3 Lecture and 24 Clinical /Practicum Experience
Students will observe, demonstrate and assist depending on their selection of their clinical experience. Students will be supervised by their instructor and program assistant. Students are expected to safely demonstrate skills learned in the classroom, apply knowledge gained from lectures and report/document any unusual client/patient events. Students will take into consideration the way they manage their stress by observing their self-care routine.

Social Determinants of Health (SDOH)

Course Hours: 6 Lecture. Prerequisite: Clinical Experience Orientation
Students will learn about Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), becoming familiar with the definition of SDOH, identifying common SDOHs, assessing for SDOHs, and learning what resources may be available to clients/patients by becoming aware of what’s in their agency or facility.

Integrated Care

Clock Hours: 6 Lecture. Prerequisite: Social Determinants of Health
Students will learn Cardio-Pulmonary resuscitation techiniques. Students will be able to recognize the emergency when this CPR may be necessary to be initiated. Students will demonstrate CPR techiques on the adult mannequin and child mannequin. Students that successfully test and demonstrate these techniques will be certified at the end of this course.