Military & Family Life Counselor - Pensacola, FL

VetJobs•Pensacola, FL

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Military & Family Life Counselor (MFLC) provides short-term, surge, and on-demand coverage for military and family life counseling needs, including post-deployment events and temporary coverage for absent counselors. The Summer Assignment Ready Counselor covers assignments between May 15 and September 15. Candidates must be local to the Pensacola, Florida area and independently licensed in a state as a mental health counselor, therapist, or social worker. With minimal guidance and oversight, the counselor provides adult or Child and Youth Behavioral (CYB) counseling services to military service members and their families at military installations. Services include non-medical, short-term, solution-focused assessment and counseling, consultation, action planning, referrals and follow-up. The role may also involve training and health and wellness presentations, parent guidance, consultation with daycare centers and schools, and consultation with installation command about behavioral health issues. CYB assignments may include DoDEA and community schools, youth programs, summer camps, and on-demand assignments; counselors backing up school positions must have school-setting experience. Adult counselors may serve in military community and readiness centers and on surge or on-demand assignments. The counselor works with installation and military branch Points of Contact (POCs) to ensure services are within scope and meet installation needs. The role also includes maintaining community-resource relationships, responding to critical incidents and special requests as directed, participating in supervision and assigned program activities, and submitting daily counselor activity data through a smartphone or web application while protecting the confidentiality and anonymity of service members and families. Duties may include other work aligned with the role.

Requirements

Master’s degree from an accredited graduate program in a mental-health-related field or social work.
Current independent licensure as a behavioral health clinician, meeting applicable state, Commonwealth, or customer-specific requirements; examples listed include LPC and other qualifying licenses.
Clinical work experience.
Ability to accept assignments on short notice for undefined periods, including weekends.
Ability to cover full-time assignments ranging from a weekend to two weeks.
Ability to quickly build rapport with service personnel, family members, students, parents, and coworkers.
Adaptability to new working conditions, locations, and site-specific rules.
Ability to work effectively with minimal instruction and guidance and to follow instructions carefully.
Ability to quickly engage and communicate with military members, spouses, or children and respond to emergent situations.
Ability to travel across military installations and school settings, including indoor and outdoor locations, uneven or rugged terrain, stairs, and steep inclines, and to work in outdoor weather and other military-base conditions.
Ability to meet site-specific requirements; some assignments may require current immunizations or vaccinations and proof of receipt.
Ability to prove U.S. citizenship and fluency in English.
Advanced knowledge of brief therapy and solution-focused counseling methods.
For CYB positions, meet Magellan MFLC CYB experience criteria for working with children and youth and have a specialty in child and adolescent development or psychology.
For coverage of school positions, experience working in a school setting.

Nice To Haves

Prior military service, military-family-member experience, or strong familiarity with military culture.

Responsibilities

Provide non-medical, short-term, solution-focused counseling to military service members, adults, children, and youth, including assessment, brief counseling, consultation, action planning, referrals, and follow-up as indicated.
Provide coverage for short-term, surge, on-demand, post-deployment, absent-counselor, and summer assignments.
Provide training and health and wellness presentations and participate in health fairs and other installation activities.
For CYB assignments, support staff and personnel at child development centers, DoDEA and community schools, youth programs, and summer camps, and provide parent training and guidance.
Consult with parents, school and daycare personnel, and installation command regarding behavioral health needs.
Coordinate with installation and military branch POCs to provide services that meet installation or facility needs and remain within program scope.
Establish and maintain relationships with community resources and provide appropriate referrals and linkages.
Create an approachable presence on installations and, for CYB assignments, in child and youth settings; follow line-of-sight protocol when working with children.
Manage duty-to-warn and restricted-reporting situations according to DoD protocol and consult with the Regional Supervisor or Regional Director.
Respond to critical incidents and special requests as directed by the POC and approved by the OSD program manager.
Communicate with Regional Supervisors and participate in individual and group supervision, sharing relevant installation and facility trends and issues.
Participate in assigned in-services, training, Quality Improvement committees, and other contract activities.
Enter counselor activity data daily through a smartphone or web application, maintaining accurate reporting and service-member and family-member confidentiality and anonymity.