Mental Health Counselor Job Description

What is a Mental Health Counselor?

Mental health counselors work with individuals and groups to promote optimum mental health. They help individuals deal with addictions and substance abuse; family, parenting, marital problems and suicide. Mental health counselors work with families, couples and individuals to help in overcoming emotional and psychological problems. Additionally, mental health counselors should also be skilled at discerning people's words and actions, helping them to see how what they say and do reveals the root causes of their issues. Mental health counselors work in hospitals, schools, and medical offices.

A Masters degree in Psychology or Sociology along with a current practitioner license through the state's clinical therapy board is required for mental health counselors. Successful mental health counselors are deeply compassionate and possess excellent listening, verbal and written communication skills.

Mental Health Counselor Job Description Template

Job Overview

Come work at Example Co., a leading firm in our industry in the metro area. We're pleased to have a 4.0 Glassdoor rating. We are looking to hire an experienced Mental Health Counselor to help us keep growing. If you're hard-working and dedicated, Example Co. is an ideal place to get ahead. Apply today!

Responsibilities for Mental Health Counselor

  • Provide an array of outpatient mental health services to promote individualized patient recovery
  • Conduct intakes, individual, group, and family therapy
  • Develop service plans and conduct reviews as needed throughout the duration of treatment
  • Provide mental health assessments, counseling, referrals, and intervention services
  • Complete and maintain documentation in a timely and accurate manner and according to Federal, State and Center guidelines
  • Write reports to court, school, or other community agencies as necessary
  • Follow up with psychiatrists and/or attending physicians in cases involving hospital admissions
  • Collaborate with external psychiatric care providers as well as representatives from civic assistance programs to help schedule treatment sessions for those patients who need them

Qualifications for Mental Health Counselor

  • Able to make professional evaluations, decisions, and recommendation for treatment planning and implementation
  • Current practitioner license through the state's clinical therapy board
  • 3 years of experience in counseling or mental health services
  • Working knowledge of legal guidelines stipulating psychiatric admission requirements
  • Able to work independently and as a positive member of a team
  • Able to establish and maintain effective working relationships with mentally or emotionally disabled persons and their families
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Comfortable treating both routine and serious mental health illness
  • Strong computer literacy skills

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Employers: How to Write Great Job Descriptions

  • Be sure to mention requisite years of experience and educational requirements
  • Tell job seekers what's unique about your company and job
  • Ideal length is a few paragraphs or about 200 words
  • Make sure to use appropriate paragraph breaks and bullet points so it's easy on the eyes
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