Senior Counselor

SUNY Delhi•Delhi, NY

About The Position

The Senior Counselor serves as a lead counselor in designing and implementing mental health programs for the campus community. The role provides individual and group counseling, assessment, referrals, case management, crisis intervention, and consultation to students, faculty, staff, administrators, and families on college students’ developmental and psychological needs. Services are expected to be developmentally appropriate, culturally responsive, and student-centered, taking into account students’ varied backgrounds, lived experiences, identities, abilities, values, and circumstances while applying consistent professional and clinical standards. The counselor may be assigned more complex cases and assists with departmental responses to mental-health-related emergencies. The position develops and facilitates educational programs and training that support interpersonal skills, academic success, well-being, help-seeking, healthy relationships, effective communication, and student development. It also supports residence hall staff training, specialized programs and services, student withdrawals and leaves of absence, department policies and procedures, staff onboarding and clinical supervision as appropriate, and enrollment and retention events. The counselor researches emerging college mental health and student-development issues and participates in assessment of service utilization, access barriers, student needs, program effectiveness, engagement, and outcomes. The role collaborates with the Director of Health Services to provide direction to staff when the Director of Counseling Services is absent, and supports specialized programs and services as assigned by the Director of Counseling Services. The position is an 11-month, calendar-year appointment with a non-obligation period in June or July, determined in consultation with the hiring manager. Regular residence hall presence is required, including one evening each week and one to two weekend days per month; specific schedules are coordinated based on residence hall needs and the position’s responsibilities. The anticipated starting date is ASAP.

Requirements

Master’s degree in Counseling, Social Work, or a closely related field.
New York State license or license eligibility to practice mental health counseling; listed credentials include LCSW, LMHC, LMSW, or Licensed Psychologist.
One year of clinical experience.
Generalist clinical skills and experience assessing and intervening with a range of disorders, concerns, and degrees of pathology.
Demonstrated cultural responsiveness and ability to provide effective counseling to students with varied backgrounds, identities, lived experiences, beliefs, abilities, and perspectives.
Ability to establish therapeutic relationships characterized by respect, curiosity, trust, and effective communication with students whose experiences, perspectives, values, or identities may differ from the counselor’s own.
Awareness, knowledge, and skills to provide services to members of marginalized populations.
Commitment to a developmental philosophy toward clients and a proactive student-development perspective involving an active relationship with the campus community.
Ability to manage a busy caseload in a dynamic environment and handle spontaneous work demands while undertaking projects requiring advance planning.
Outstanding interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills, and ability to work effectively and cooperatively with a team of professionals.
Ability to maintain accurate, up-to-date documentation.

Nice To Haves

Experience providing counseling, outreach, education, or consultation to college students representing a broad range of backgrounds, abilities, experiences, and perspectives.
Experience in crisis intervention.
Experience with electronic medical records.
Experience giving presentations and leading group discussions.
Experience providing training and education to students, faculty, and staff.

Responsibilities

Design and implement mental health programs for the campus community.
Provide assessment, individual and group counseling, case management, referrals, and treatment planning for students with a wide range of concerns.
Provide crisis intervention, consult or refer students to psychiatric and medical resources as needed, and assist with departmental responses to mental-health-related emergencies.
Provide consultation and resources to faculty, staff, administrators, students, and families regarding college students’ developmental and mental health needs.
Develop and facilitate training and educational programs for staff, faculty, and students that promote interpersonal skills, academic success, well-being, help-seeking, healthy relationships, and effective communication across differences.
Assist with initial and ongoing training for residence hall and other appropriate staff.
Support specialized programs and services responsive to student and campus needs, as assigned by the Director of Counseling Services.
Assist with processing student withdrawals, leaves of absence, and readmissions as directed.
Assist in developing and implementing department and unit policies and procedures.
Assist with onboarding and clinical supervision of new clinical staff as appropriate.
Research college mental health and student-development issues and use evidence-informed practices to support departmental programming and services.
Participate in enrollment and retention initiatives, including open houses, orientation, and other events.
Participate in Counseling Center assessment, including evaluation of service utilization, barriers to access, student needs, program effectiveness, and opportunities to improve student engagement and outcomes.
Collaborate with the Director of Health Services to provide direction to staff when the Director of Counseling Services is absent.
Maintain a regular evening and weekend presence in the residence halls, including one evening each week and one to two weekend days per month.