Primary Care Counselor/Therapist - Jacksonville

Overview

Are you passionate about supporting mental health and making a meaningful impact? As a Primary Care Counselor/Therapist, you'll provide compassionate care to adults and children in a dynamic outpatient setting within our Primary Medical Care locations.

What You'll Do:

Deliver brief therapy sessions tailored to individual needs.
Conduct assessments and develop personalized treatment plans.
Monitor progress and adjust treatments to help patients achieve their goals.
Collaborate with medical staff to provide holistic, integrated care.
Maintain accurate records and stay current with best practices in mental health.

Join us in a role where your expertise will contribute to improving lives while meeting high standards of care set by our governing board and accrediting bodies. If you're ready to make a real difference, we'd love to hear from you!

Qualifications

Education:

Minimum Master's in Social Work, Psychology, or Counseling required, preferably in social services field
Minimum age of 21

Licensure/Certification/Registry:

LPC or LSW required

Experience:

Behavioral health experience preferred.

Other Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

Other Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:
Must have computer and keyboarding skills required by position. Must have valid IL driver's license, reliable transportation, and proof of automobile insurance. Must pass background checks and drug screen.

Responsibilities

Direct Clinical Services

Conduct assessments of patient, including completion of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-+) depression scale and General Anxiety Screening (GAD-7).
Develop initial comprehensive assessment data including patient presenting problems, mental status, relevant psychiatric, medical and developmental histories to make decisions regarding diagnosis (per DSM-V), treatment objectives and ongoing treatment plans and/or to provide information and make appropriate referrals to other treatment resources in the community.
Provide 25 hours of billable services per week to patients.
Consult with patient and primary care provider about treatment options and preferences; coordinate initiation of treatment plan.
Monitor patient closely for changes in severity of symptoms and medication side effects. Educate patients about medication and side effects as needed. Encourage treatment adherence.
Use behavioral activation techniques with patient as an adjunct to other treatments.
Provide evidence-based, brief structured psychotherapy (PST-PC).
Participate in regular caseload supervision with treatment team, focusing on patients improving adequately (e.g., less than 50% reduction in symptoms after 8-12 weeks in treatment).
Coordinate communication between patient and primary care physician and consulting psychiatrist; provide recommendations for change in treatment plan.
Document all encounters according to policies and procedures.
Implement crisis or pre-crisis intervention procedures with potentially suicidal, homicidal, or severely disabled patients. Where appropriate referrals will be made to consulting psychiatrists or inpatient psychiatric facilities to prevent further destabilization.
Interview collateral contacts, previous and current treatment professionals, and significant others, to further establish a database for assessment and ongoing treatment plan as needed.
Clarify priority problems, goals for change, and session limits according to agency policy to assist patients in developing appropriate expectations for treatment in relationship to the agency. Use a variety of psychotherapeutic treatment approaches and interventions to change targeted behaviors and stabilize adaptive behaviors with individuals, couples and families.
Manage the termination process and discharge planning to enhance patients' abilities to retain treatment changes and/or use other available support services.
May organize, plan and participate in therapy groups for patients and/or their families, as assigned.

Patient Information System

Establish appropriate professional files, including: comprehensive assessments, progress notes, treatment objectives and plans, previous treatment records, patients' consent to current treatment and for exchange of information.
Complete required administrative forms. Collect necessary information for billing and fee collection for both community mental health and private pay patients.
Provide necessary patient information to other agencies or health care providers to coordinate services to identified patients.
May prepare necessary documents/reports for DCFS as needed.

Training Activities/Professional Growth

Supervisor and employee mutually identify professional goals that will enhance job related skills.