Residential Counselor
The Residential Counselor’s goal is to provide clients with serious and persistent mental illness a higher quality of life in a safe and therapeutic environment. The Residential Counselor will be expected to work with a diverse population and must be sensitive to the culture, religion, language, age, gender, and sexual orientation of the population served.
RESPONSIBILITIES
1) Develops and implements individualized treatment plans to assist clients to develop the skills needed to successfully live and work more independently in the community.
2) Precisely monitors and documents client medications during each shift and takes action to encourage reluctant clients to comply with medication regimens. Educates clients regarding the role and use of medications.
3) Develops therapeutic and effective working relationships with clients, while maintaining professional boundaries.
4) Spends a majority of time in the house milieu, motivating, teaching and assisting clients in self-care, practical living, leisure, and interpersonal skills, as appropriate.
5) Plans for and addresses clients’ health care needs and substance abuse issues.
6) Effectively intervenes in client crisis, including consulting with agency staff, lead agency Crisis Services staff, and Designated Mental Health Professionals regarding potentially dangerous or problematic situations.
7) Encourages and assists clients to engage in work or other meaningful activities.
8) Assumes a specialized responsibility role for eliciting and coordinating client success in some function of the running of the cooperative household, e.g. upkeep of certain rooms, management of a portion of the household budget, operation of the self-governance group, providing classes or groups.
9) Ensures that clients meet their appointments outside TRY House, accompanying clients to these appointments and to access other resources when indicated.
10) Carry an assigned caseload, including maintaining responsibility for high quality, professional records of client progress completed and other necessary correspondence in a timely manner.
11) Ensures transfer planning coordinated with the array of services offered by Navos and access to supervised and supported living options in King County BHO.
12) Tolerates unruly client behavior.
13) Based on individual strengths, assumes responsibility for coordinating treatment team efforts, e.g. in verifying record keeping, billing, or planning.
RELATIONSHIP WITH COMMUNITY AND CO-WORKERS
1) Contributes to cooperative working relationships with clinical team-mates and with supervisors.
2) Solicits and provides case consultation and coordination as needed.
3) Presents a positive professional image of the agency to referral sources and other service providers and community resources needed by agency clients.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
BA in Human Services plus treatment experience working with individuals with serious and persistent mental illness. Other residential or social service experience may substitute. The position requires state agency affiliated counselor registration, home care aide certification, first aid/CPR training, HIV related training, 2-step TB test, criminal background and fingerprint ID, valid driver’s license, an acceptable driving record in order to drive Agency vehicles.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
Two years treatment experience working with individuals with serious and persistent mental illness
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS
$21.87 BA level to $23.97 MA level, non-exempt position. Additional $2.50 per hour for weekend shifts.
Benefits include 22 paid leave days and 9 paid holidays per year employer paid medical, dental and long-term disability insurance; voluntary participation in one of the Agency sponsored 403(b) retirement plans, AFLAC cafeteria and FSA plans.
HOURS
40 hours per week, swing shifts with one weekend shift included.
Counseling staff are expected to participate in the agency’s on-call system. On-call hours require being available by phone to be called in immediately and are reimbursed at a rate of $3.00 per hour while off-site, with an additional $100 paid if called in to work. Staff working a weekend shift receive an extra $2.50 per hour. Counseling staff are encouraged to be flexible in providing coverage for overnight, weekend, or holiday shifts, when needed.
SUPERVISED BY
Chief of Clinical Services
TO APPLY
Submit cover letter and resume to Darcell Slovek-Walker, CEO, darcellw@transitionalresources.org