Mental Health and Substance Abuse Counselor

The Recovery Services Mental Health Counselor is a critical member of our ministry, serving by providing recovery services based upon client’s personalized service plan goals and objectives. 

Essential Responsibilities:

• Orients clients to the counseling process, guidelines, and expectations
• Conducts client interviews to review substance use disorder and treatment history
• Evaluates client response to treatment to recommend modifications to the treatment plan and assist with caseloads and development of personalized service plan and preparing individually appropriate goals, interventions, and necessary support
• Assists with and provides basic didactic group counseling, including psychoeducation, drug education, and family education to ensure peer support occurs
• Provides individual client counseling, educational programs and lectures to address relapse prevention, problem solving, behavior modification, anger management, etc., and to assist in overcoming substance use disorder, adjusting to pro-social life, and making cognitive and behavioral changes
• Assist with crisis intervention management through the utilization crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques 
• Communicate client status updates through verbal or written communications utilizing various systems
• Participates in weekly team meetings to discuss case consultations 

Attributes:

• The heart to serve in a Christian ministry, a passion for serving those experiencing homelessness, and the desire to lead others to Christ by sharing your faith
• Belief and commitment to Atlanta Mission's Statement of Faith
• Listen without judgment to understand where each person is at and find Christ-centered ways to reach them and bring them along

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Master’s Degree in one or more of the following: mental health counseling, marriage and family therapy, social work or related field
• Strong Crisis intervention and de-escalation skills
• Ability to apply theoretical framework and practice models to work with clients in resolving complex social issues
• Possess a working knowledge of (1) the process of mental illness, (2) the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and (3) recovery philosophy. Specialized knowledge or experience with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) principles or Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), preferred. Specialized knowledge/experience around dual diagnosis and Recovery Treatment is extremely helpful
• Knowledge and appropriate therapeutic boundaries for working with vulnerable populations
• Ability to demonstrate understanding and adheres to all laws related to the mental health field ( i.e. Code of ethics for Social workers, Code of ethics for Counselors, etc.) which establishes standards for the relationship between clients/counselors
• Strong oral communication skills required to effectively communicate with a broad range of individuals
• Strong written communications skills required to maintain quality documentation including all mandated forms in accordance to Atlanta Mission policy, state confidentiality, ADA and HIPPA laws
• Ability to prioritize all aspects of the job through time management and organizational skills while maintaining accuracy and attention to detail
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret clinical documents including but not limited to medical reports, psychological evaluations, and psychiatric diagnoses. 
• Ability to work independently, collaboratively, and cross functionally to carry out a variety of critical and time sensitive projects without detailed instructions
• Ability to work with diverse individuals to collect the necessary information
• Ability to respond effectively to the most sensitive inquiries or complaints

CERTIFICATION OR LICENSE  REQUIREMENTS:

• GA state license or license eligible for Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW); Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC); or Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) 
• Certified by the Alcohol and Drug Certification Board of GA (ADACB-GA)/International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium/Alcohol (IC&RC). OR  CADC-II (or its equivalent)  preferred

SPECIAL JOB REQUIREMENTS:  (OPTIONAL SECTION:  ANY TRAVEL, SECURITY, RISK, HAZARD OR RELATED SPECIAL CONDITION WHICH APPLY TO THE POSITION):  

While this position will primarily serve one campus, this position may require travel to additional campuses associated with Atlanta Mission for training and cross training purposes. 

This position is consider an essential role for Atlanta Mission. It is the expectation that those working in this role be available to work in the case of an emergency (i.e. health or weather related, government intervention, etc) that requires the organization to reduce employee capacity. Work schedules during such a time may be outside of normal scheduled days, time and/or role duties.