COUNSELOR (BA/BSW)

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Provides individual substance use disorder counseling to assigned patients consistent with assessed needs, individualized treatment/service plans, counselor credentialing, competency, and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Facilitates substance use disorder counseling groups, therapeutic groups, psychoeducational groups, recovery-focused groups, and other structured clinical programming utilizing evidence-informed approaches appropriate to the patient population.
• Establishes therapeutic relationships with patients using professional boundaries, motivational interviewing, trauma-informed approaches, person-centered care, and other evidence-informed counseling techniques.
• Develops, implements, reviews, and updates individualized treatment/service plans in collaboration with the patient and interdisciplinary treatment team and in accordance with regulatory and organizational requirements.
• Completes timely and accurate clinical documentation, including individual counseling notes, group notes, treatment/service plans, treatment plan reviews, progress notes, discharge-related documentation, and other required clinical records.
• Recognizes and appropriately responds to changes in patient behavior, emotional status, safety concerns, relapse risk, and other clinically significant issues and immediately escalates concerns according to established protocols.
• Demonstrates knowledge of and adherence to organizational policies regarding patient rights, grievances, abuse and neglect, mandated reporting, safety, emergency response, infection prevention, and incident reporting.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Must be able to work in a fast-paced environment with demonstrated ability to juggle multiple competing tasks and demands.
• Must have high level of interpersonal skills. Position continually requires demonstrated poise, professionalism, tact and diplomacy.
• Must have strong knowledge of a variety of computer software applications in word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations (MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint).
• Understanding of diverse cultures and gender specific issues and the ability to incorporate needs of gender and culturally diverse groups into the organization.
• Understands need for and maintains appropriate confidentiality at all times when interacting with patients, residents, families, visitors, referral sources and all other contacts.
• Exhibits excellent customer relation skills as evidenced by supportive and constructive communication with all contacts including coworkers, patients, residents, visitors, families and referral sources.
• Knowledge of case management for dual diagnosis patients.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in an MCBAP-recognized discipline applicable to the CADC pathway, such as: Counseling, Psychology, Social Work, Addiction Studies, Art Therapy, Marriage and Family Therapy, Family Studies, Sociology, Human Services, Criminal Justice, Public Health, Nursing, Social Science, or another discipline accepted by MCBAP for the applicable credential.
• Current Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC) credential through MCBAP; or
• Current MCBAP-approved status permitting the individual to function as a Limited Certified Counselor, with all required supervision and limitations followed; or
• Eligibility to obtain the applicable MCBAP development/limited certification status within a defined period following hire, provided the employee does not independently perform duties requiring that credential until authorization has been verified.