Staff Counselor
JOB TITLE SUMMARY
Job Title: Staff Counselor
Division: Academic Affairs
Evaluation Group: Staff
FLSA Status: Exempt
Reports To: Director, Student Counseling and Resource Center (SCRC)
Positions Supervised: N/A
Job Summary
The staff counselor is responsible for providing clinical services, crisis management, and education/outreach related to mental health and substance use to Lindenwood University students. The staff counselor also builds rapport and relationships with students, faculty, staff, and campus/community partners.
Essential Job Functions and Performance Indicators
The intent of this job description is to provide a representation of the types of duties and level of responsibility that will be required of positions given this title. This job description shall not be construed as a declaration of the total of the specific duties and responsibilities of any particular position. Employees may be directed to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically presented in this description.
Job Responsibilities and Execution
- Provides clinical evaluations to determine student needs and establish individualized treatment plans and goals
- Provides culturally sensitive individual and group counseling to a diverse student body, that presents with a variety of challenges including, but not limited to: depression, anxiety, substance use, eating disorders, trauma, suicidal ideation, grief, personality disorders, and academic/family- related stressors
- Provides crisis intervention, assesses students in crisis; maintains working knowledge of diagnostic criteria; and provides appropriate, effective therapeutic crisis intervention strategies
- Maintains timely and accurate psychotherapy records in the electronic health records system; upholds confidentiality
- Collaborates with community mental health providers, when appropriate, and provides outreach-education and consultation
- Teaches relaxation, coping strategies, positive self-talk, and skills training to help students maintain academic goals and enhance and manage their college experience and transition into adulthood
- Provides oversight and supervision to interns of the counseling center and university program
- Assists the director with overseeing the administration of SCRC policies and procedures
- Maintains an active role in the development and implementation of the SCRC’s objectives and goals
- Develops marketing materials for the SCRC and Wellness Center; assists with strategic marketing to students, faculty, and staff
- Monitors and posts information to social media sites
- Participates in continuing education by attending conferences, seminars, and reading current scholarly articles
Service Excellence
- Maintains best practices for counseling diverse student body
- Builds and fosters relationships with students, administrators, faculty, and staff
- Supports the mission of the university and serves as an ambassador of the Q2 culture of service excellence
- Models, supports, and holds others accountable to the university’s values – integrity, dedication, excellence, creativity and teamwork
Communication, Teamwork and Collaboration
- Works independently and collaboratively on a professional team with strong clinical, leadership, interpersonal, organizational, and communication skills
- Acts as a liaison to campus groups, offices and faculty as needed
- Communicates any duty to warn issues
Job may require other duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications – An equivalent combination of education, training and experience will be considered. Additional requirements may be designated by position.
- Master’s degree in counseling, clinical psychology, social work or mental health counseling
- Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) or Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) designation in the state of Missouri
- Two years’ experience in providing evidenced based psychotherapy (individual and group), preferably in a college/university counseling center setting
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities – May be representative, but not all inclusive, of the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to perform this job competently.
- Demonstrated ability to work effectively with individuals from diverse communities and cultures and presenting with a variety of diagnoses and needs
- Strong professional integrity and ability to maintain strict confidentiality
- Competency in individual and group psychotherapy and outreach programming
- Ability to communicate effectively with students, administrators, faculty and staff
- Knowledge of the unique mental health issues of diverse clients, including: individuals from ethnically and racially diverse backgrounds; individuals representing varying sexual orientations and gender identities; and international students
- Ability to work not only independently but also collaboratively on a professional team with strong clinical leadership, interpersonal, organizational, and communication skills
- Knowledge of counseling and psychotherapy theories, evidence-based psychotherapy interventions, crisis intervention techniques, strong conflict resolution skills, and ability to assess and manage ethical dilemmas
Work Environment – Environmental or atmospheric conditions commonly associated with the performance of this job’s functions.
- General office setting
Physical Abilities – The physical demands described below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform this job’s essential functions. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
- Ability to work effectively at a computer for up to eight hours daily
- Ability to sit for extended periods of time
- Regular attendance is a necessary and essential function
Equal Opportunity Employer
Lindenwood University is an Equal Opportunity employer. The University complies with appropriate federal, state, and local laws and provides equal employment opportunities and access to educational programs without regard to race, color, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability, or any other protected status to all qualified applicants and employees. Lindenwood University is committed to a policy of non-discrimination and dedicated to providing a positive discrimination-free educational work environment.