Bilingual Crisis Counselor

CONTACT Workplace Expectations

As part of their duties and responsibilities, all CONTACT employees are expected to consistently demonstrate the following:

• Deliver high-quality work within established timelines, maintaining focus and accountability whether working independently or with guidance.
• Engage respectfully and professionally with colleagues, supervisors, community partners, and individuals seeking services.
• Contribute meaningfully to team efforts, embracing collaboration as a core element of CONTACT’s mission and daily operations.
• Operate independently when needed, while maintaining strong communication and coordination with other team members to support shared goals and organizational continuity.
• Uphold a high level of integrity, responsibility, and trustworthiness when working remotely, ensuring confidentiality, appropriate use of time, and adherence to CONTACT’s standards in all settings.

Position Summary

CONTACT Care Line is East Tennessee’s first crisis hotline. Our 988 Crisis Program provides text and phone-based support for individuals experiencing emotional distress or suicidal crisis. Crisis Counselors are responsible for assessing suicide risk, offering compassionate support, ensuring timely documentation, and collaborating with visitors to create safety plans. In addition to responding on the front lines, counselors are expected to engage in follow-ups, maintain communication standards, and adhere to all clinical, legal, and operational guidelines.

CONTACT’s team culture values mutual support, professional growth, and a shared mission to make a difference— every single day.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

Crisis Intervention and Support

• Respond to 988 telephone interactions in Spanish in a timely, compassionate, and culturally sensitive manner
• Assess and mitigate suicide risk using established protocols and safety planning procedures
• Deliver emotional support utilizing active listening and de-escalation skills
• Provide referrals to appropriate community resources as needed
• Follow all clinical and operational protocols, including making outbound calls to high-risk visitors and conducting independent follow-ups
• Initiate and conduct follow-up outreach based on visitor needs, program and services guidelines, and clinical judgment
• Participate in and complete training for phone-based services in both Spanish and English; maintain readiness to support Spanish-speaking visitors at all times

Clinical Documentation and Communication

• Accurately and thoroughly document all visitor interactions in accordance with organizational procedures
• Complete documentation within 8 minutes per interaction, ensuring clinical details are clear, timely, and aligned with documentation standards
• Engage in SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) consultations for escalated visitor cases and mandatory reporting (MR) conversations
• Use Slack as the virtual home office, maintaining an active presence and responding promptly and professionally to al work-related messages within 3 minutes during scheduled shifts. This include shift-chat consults, DMs from staff and your supervisor during your shift. Social or update channels do not require a response within 3 minutes.
• Participate in meetings and supervision sessions on Microsoft Teams and be prepared to join video calls professionally when requested during scheduled shifts or for pre-arranged meetings
• Read and appropriately engage with all communications and updates from leadership, including the #updates and #paid-staff-topics channels on Slack
• Attend monthly staff meetings and actively participate in team-wide discussions and initiatives

Mandatory Reporting and Compliance

• Be knowledgeable of and adhere to all mandatory reporting requirements, policies, and procedures
• Assist in the completion of reports involving suspected child or vulnerable adult abuse
• Keep current with Title VI training and ensure adherence to non-discrimination and equity standards
• Comply fully with all policies and procedures outlined in the Operations Handbook, Clinical Policy Documents, Clinical Operating Procedures, and Lifeline metrics.

Professional Development and Team Collaboration

• Complete all required continuing education, including clinical refreshers, Mind Meld sessions, and other assigned trainings
• Attend regular supervision sessions and implement feedback from supervisors
• Participate in performance reviews, including probationary and ongoing evaluations
• Meet or exceed performance benchmarks for quality, productivity, attendance, and ethical conduct
• Support the onboarding of new team members through mentoring when requested

Experience, Skills, Licenses/Certifications:

• Must be 18 years of age or older
• Must not be a current or recent (within the past 3 years) client of any CONTACT Care Line crisis program
• Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited institution with a minimum of 120 college credits in Social Work or a related mental health field, or equivalent experience required
• Minimum of 1 year of experience in mental health, crisis intervention, or a related field
• Fluent in both Spanish and English, with the ability to provide culturally responsive care in both languages
• Strong empathic listening and reflective communication skills
• Ability to remain calm and apply logical reasoning in high-stress or high-risk situations
• Skilled in identifying and responding to imminent risk, with appropriate urgency and clinical awareness
• Demonstrated proficiency in using web-based applications, navigating websites, and troubleshooting basic technical issues
• Growth mindset with a willingness to receive and implement feedback promptly
• Commitment to non-judgmental, compassionate support for all visitors, regardless of personal, political, or philosophical differences
• Resourceful, solution-focused mindset with the ability to make independent decisions under pressure
• Commitment to open, timely, and respectful two-way communication
• All clinical staff at CONTACT Care Line are required to complete CONTACT Crisis Counselor Basic Training within the first two weeks of employment

Physical requirements include the ability to remain in a stationary position for prolonged periods and work continuously from a computer with high speed, secure internet.