Lydia Michela Giordano

• Managed a team of Behavioral Health Care Managers, including accountability for hiring, firing, and team development over time, with ultimate responsibility for their panel of patients.
• Provided supervision of Behavioral Health Care Managers to include meeting with each Behavioral Health Care Manager individually as needed to go over performance and quality of work.
• Completed staff training and key performance indicators and engage in ongoing performance
  management and coaching with behavioral health care manager staff; document performance;
  ensure performance issues, conduct, and ethical issues were addressed and resolved in a timely
  manner; followed through with disciplinary actions as necessary.
• Monitored Behavioral Health Care Manager clinical care of patients to ensure clinical improvement was met.
• Monitored billing performance of Behavioral Health Care Managers to ensure billing metrics were met.
• Held Behavioral Health Care Manager staff meetings to ensure all patients are meeting quality
  standards.
• Audited case notes to ensure high quality documentation that enables the patients to receive the best treatment possible.

● Efficiently accepted patient handoffs from an Intake Care Manager and seamlessly continued care.
● Developed rapport with patients to create a safe therapeutic environment and assisted them in
developing insight into themselves, their patterns, and their relationships.
● Encouraged patients to express feelings and discuss what was happening in their lives, assisting them
in developing insight into themselves and their relationships.
● Guided patients in the development of skills and/or strategies for managing problems and triggers
to increase relapse prevention and reduce risk.
● Encouraged patients to develop work skills and to participate in social, recreational, or other therapeutic activities to enhance interpersonal skills and develop social relationships through brief therapeutic interventions including but not limited to motivational interviewing, behavioral activation, and problem solving therapy.
● Educated patients on medication, the importance of medication adherence, and monitored patients
medication and medication related problems. Reported all findings to ordering providers and psychiatric consultants.
● Was responsible for communicating treatment recommendations, ensuring recommendations were
being addressed by the ordering provider and communicating updates reported by the ordering
provider and/or the patient to the consulting psychiatrist.
● Matched daily calendar to documentation in mMR.
● Reflected all billable activity in case notes on mMR entered within 24 hours after billable activity.
● Presented follow-ups to the psychiatrist with necessary information during case presentation.
● Counseled patients about their mental or physical illness, abuse, medication, and available community and social resources.
● Assessed patients for risk, made quick evaluations for risk, developed safety plans and responded within
the parameters outlined within their safety plan, formulating and performing crisis intervention
ensuring the safety of patients as necessary.
● Monitored, evaluated, and recorded patient’s progress using validated assessments each month.
● Prepared and maintained all required records, reports, paperwork, and patients’ diagnostic records,
maintaining confidentiality of patients at all times.
● Used clear and accurate verbal and written communication skills to facilitate communication with
patients, patients’ family/caregivers, staff, and treatment team
● Produced high quality documentation that enabled the patients to receive the best treatment
possible.
● Competently related to patients, their families, and agencies involved with patients through above
average interpersonal skills.

• Employ SAMHSA’s SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) model to complete SSI/SSDI client applications
• Interview HOMES clients to assess SOAR eligibility and conduct weekly meetings with eligible candidates
• Collaborate with primary care providers and psychiatrists to obtain and discuss clients’ medical records and case formulation to finalize Medical Summary Report for application submission
• Consult with state’s SOAR representative and local Social Security Administration and Disability Determination Process offices to determine claimant nonmedical eligibility and confirm benefits assessments
• Provide case management for U.S. Department of Housing Urban Development (HUD) vouchers, housing and rent assistance, transportation, employment resources, medical care, prescription delivery services, SNAP/WIC, Gold Card, ID restoration, etc.

• Manage a 50+ caseload and support the program’s 160+ enrolled clients experiencing homelessness diagnosed with a serious mental illness (SMI) and/or co-occurring disorder (COD)
• Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team to provide services at partnered sites: Harris County Psychiatric Center (HCPC), Healthcare for the Homeless Houston (HHH) clinics, The Beacon Homeless Day Shelter, Houston Central Library, Open Door Mission, and permanent supportive housing (PSH) facilities
• Administer 19 clinical assessments at intake and follow-up interviews and ongoing 2-8 standardized, validated screenings measures related to physical, psychological, and social functioning and substance use monitoring
• Conduct evidence-based individual and group psychotherapy using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), Seeking Safety, harm reduction model, and other evidence-based practices (EBPs) outlined in program’s SAMHSA funded grant proposal
• Manage crisis interventions a involving suicidal and homicidal ideation and facilitate referrals to the Mobile Crisis Outreach Team (MCOT), Crisis Intervention Response Team (CIRT), and Houston Police Department
• Collaborate with research team in data collection in REDCap software and SAMHSA’s SPARS database
• Provide treatment planning, diagnosis based on the DSM-5 criteria, symptom monitoring, and medication adherence and management within an interdisciplinary team
• Assist program’s Field Instructor on the supervision and clinical training for 6 MSW student interns
• Screen clients for COVID-19, provide CDC recommendations and make referrals to medical providers and testing

• Performed short-term therapy, provided education and responded to crisis situations, all well as much of the same work while in the full time Therapist role once by internship ended