Primary Counselor - Residential

Argus Community Inc•New York, NY

3h•$50,000 - $60,000

About The Position

The Primary Counselor provides counseling and abuse intervention services to residents of the OASAS Part 820 Chemical Dependency Services Program. Working closely with the Director, the counselor supports the agency’s mission of providing individual counseling, group therapy, and crisis intervention for people with substance-use disorders. Services are delivered within a drug- and violence-free residential treatment program. The counselor follows OASAS and agency policies and procedures and brings significant program or resident concerns to the Program Director.

Requirements

At least two years of experience working with substance abusers.
Thorough knowledge of residential treatment programs.
Working knowledge of regulations governing residential treatment programs.
Ability to relate effectively to contract managers, evaluators, regulatory agencies, and other agencies.
Computer literacy.
Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.
Ability to handle routine and crisis situations using good judgment and direction.
Must be a Qualified Health Care Professional or equivalent.

Responsibilities

Facilitate assigned therapeutic groups and document results in group notes, recording significant issues in progress notes.
Ensure weekly urine samples are collected from residents during their first 90 days and random samples are collected twice monthly for other residents; file toxicology results in residents’ clinical folders and provide the information to STARS data-entry staff for online reporting.
Monitor and encourage residents’ participation in daily meetings.
Facilitate daily meetings as needed to address treatment concerns and issues and communicate matters pertaining to the program.
Facilitate or attend general meetings addressing treatment concerns and issues and communicate matters pertaining to the program.
Facilitate abuse intervention with the treatment team during crises or special situations.
Conduct weekly individual counseling sessions with each resident on the counselor’s caseload, document the results in clinical folders, and ensure session content relates to treatment-plan goals and meets OASAS regulations.
Ensure reportable incidents occurring during program hours are documented and reviewed by the Program Director for possible submission to OASAS or another governing authority.
Monitor and support residents’ development of activities of daily living skills, addressing these matters in groups and individually.
Facilitate seminars as assigned by the Program Director or Coordinator.
Observe and engage with residents daily, provide behavioral feedback to the treatment team, and record relevant matters in the daily communication log.
Participate in daily feedback meetings, scheduled staff-development meetings, and staff-training sessions; attend progress-review meetings.
Attend weekly treatment-plan meetings led by the Program Director or Coordinator.
Help identify residents’ health and legal problems and communicate information to the treatment team in a timely manner.
Maintain documentation of staff supervision for monthly review by the Program Director.
Meet regularly with the treatment team to ensure treatment plans, counseling notes, and resident folders are accurate, and to support assessment, training, implementation and modification of individual treatment plans, and compliance of counseling notes with treatment plans and OASAS requirements.