Military & Family Life Counselor, Surge and On-Demand

Magellan Health•Pensacola, FL

About The Position

The Military & Family Life Counselor (MFLC) Assignment Ready Counselor (ARC) provides short-term, surge, on-demand, summer camp, and backfill coverage for the MFLC program. Candidates must be local to the Pensacola, Florida area and independently licensed in a state as a mental health counselor, therapist, or social worker. Summer ARC assignments cover the period from May 15 through September 15. Assignments may range from a weekend to two weeks and may be of undefined duration. With minimal guidance, counselors provide non-medical, short-term, solution-focused services to military service members and their families at military installations. Services include assessment, brief counseling, consultation, action planning, referral and linkage to resources, follow-up, training, and health and wellness presentations. Depending on assignment, counselors may serve adults, children, and youth; support DoDEA and community schools, child development centers, youth programs, and summer camps; consult with parents and staff; and advise installation command on behavioral health issues. Counselors work with installation and military branch Points of Contact to ensure services meet installation needs and remain within program scope. They maintain confidentiality and anonymity, record activity data daily using a smartphone or web application, respond to critical incidents and approved special requests, and participate in supervision, training, and other assigned contract activities. CYB counselors may be assigned to school settings and must have relevant school-setting experience to back up a school position. The duties described are representative and may not include all duties assigned.

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 that meets applicable state, Commonwealth, or customer-specific requirements; examples listed include LPC.
Fluent in English and able to prove U.S. citizenship.
Willing to accept assignments on short notice, including assignments of undefined duration and assignments that include weekends.
Able to cover assignments full-time for varying durations, from a weekend to two weeks.
Able to quickly build rapport with service personnel, family members, students, parents, and coworkers.
Adaptable to changing work conditions, locations, and site rules, and able to work effectively with minimal instruction and guidance.
Able to quickly engage and communicate with military members, spouses, or children and respond to emergent situations.
Able to traverse short and long distances on military installations and in schools, including stairs, steep inclines, grass, rugged or uneven areas, and indoor and outdoor locations and conditions.
Able to comply with site-specific requirements for designated locations, which may include current immunizations or vaccinations and providing proof of receipt.
Advanced knowledge of brief therapy and solution-focused counseling methods.
For CYB positions, must meet Magellan MFLC CYB experience criteria involving children and youth and specialization in child and adolescent development or psychology.
For ARC coverage of a school position, CYB counselors must have experience working in a school setting.
Must follow DoD protocol for duty-to-warn and restricted-reporting situations.

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.
Conduct assessments, brief counseling, consultations, action planning, referrals and resource linkages, and follow-up as indicated.
Provide coverage for short-term, surge, on-demand, summer camp, and backfill assignments.
Deliver training and health and wellness presentations and participate in health fairs and other installation activities.
For CYB assignments, support child development center, school, youth program, and summer camp staff; consult with parents; and provide parent training and guidance.
Consult with installation command regarding behavioral health issues affecting military personnel and their families.
Coordinate with installation and military branch Points of Contact to provide services that address the needs of the installation or facility.
Build and maintain working relationships with community resources and provide appropriate referrals and linkages.
Create a visible, approachable presence while preserving the confidentiality of the program; follow line-of-sight protocol when working with children.
Enter counselor activity data daily through a smartphone or web application while maintaining service-member and family-member confidentiality and anonymity.
Manage duty-to-warn and restricted-reporting situations according to DoD protocol and staff cases with the Regional Supervisor or Regional Director.
Communicate with Regional Supervisors and participate in individual and group supervision, sharing relevant trends and issues.
Respond to critical incidents and special requests as directed by the Point of Contact and approved by the OSD program manager.
Participate in assigned in-services, training, Quality Improvement committees, and other contract activities.