Stabilization (Detox) Counselor Tues. - Sat 11A-7P

Cumberland Heights Foundation Inc • Nashville, TN

7d

About The Position

The Stabilization Counselor focuses on patients’ first days of treatment, when they may be most likely to leave. The counselor makes initial clinical contact with new admissions, learns about their goals and immediate concerns, initiates treatment planning within their scope, and completes a warm handoff to the primary counselor. The role provides documented check-ins and interventions for patients at risk of leaving, facilitates early recovery and relapse prevention programming, and serves as the first-line available counselor during late-day and Saturday hours. It does not carry a standing caseload, coordinate aftercare, or determine medical clearance.

The counselor responds to crises across residential programs, supports discharge readiness and continuity, collaborates with clinical and support teams, and completes timely documentation and handoffs. The regular schedule is Tuesday through Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.; hours may vary with patient needs, meal periods, weather, and staffing.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required; a master’s degree in counseling, social work, psychology, or a related field is preferred.
• Licensed or license-eligible in Tennessee as a LADAC, LPC-MHSP, LCSW, or LMFT; clinical leadership and HR will confirm.
• At least two years of behavioral healthcare experience.
• Ability to demonstrate leadership, model quality patient care, and show initiative in problem solving.
• Skill in motivational interviewing and evidence-based counseling practices supporting 12-Step philosophy.
• Ability to design and facilitate brief, open-entry psychoeducational and relapse prevention groups.
• Knowledge of intoxication and withdrawal, overdose risk after detox, harm reduction including naloxone, and levels of care.
• Ability to recognize early signs of treatment ambivalence and calmly de-escalate people in crisis.
• Cultural humility and ability to apply age-, cultural-, and population-specific considerations to patient care.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.
• Strong computer skills, including Microsoft Outlook, electronic medical records, and presentation media.
• Collaborative, courteous, and adaptable approach to changing circumstances and patient needs.
• Ability to become certified in CPR/First Aid or already hold certification.
• Ability to lift up to 20 pounds and/or push or pull up to 40 pounds; move around campus on uneven and rural terrain; and speak, hear, see, sit, walk, stand, reach, and use fine and gross motor skills.

Nice To Haves

• Addiction treatment, detox, crisis intervention, or group facilitation experience.
• Spanish language skills.
• For applicants in recovery, five years of verifiable abstinence is preferred; active participation in the appropriate Twelve Step program is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Make first clinical contact with new admissions when nursing confirms medical appropriateness; document the reason if a patient cannot be seen during the admission shift.
• Assess patients’ goals, immediate concerns, readiness for change, risk of early departure, and safety concerns; initiate an individualized treatment plan within credential, scope, policy, and payer requirements.
• Complete a structured warm handoff to the primary counselor, who assumes ownership of the treatment plan.
• Provide and document purposeful 15-minute motivational interviewing check-ins for new admissions during their first 72 hours, patients at risk of leaving, and patients returning from a crisis or near-AMA.
• Respond promptly and in person to intent-to-leave situations, assess safety, offer alternatives, and follow AMA procedures.
• When a patient chooses to leave, use harm-reduction practices, including overdose-risk education, naloxone per policy, safe transportation, crisis contacts, and an invitation to return; do not coerce, threaten, misrepresent consequences, or delay lawful discharge.
• Design and facilitate an open-entry, modular early recovery and relapse prevention curriculum aligned with the Cumberland Heights Model of Care and 12-Step philosophy.
• Determine clinical appropriateness for group after nursing or medical staff determine medical appropriateness; provide bedside or individual engagement when group is not appropriate.
• Submit a curriculum outline to the Chief Clinical Officer within the first 30 days and review it at least annually.
• Serve as the first-line available counselor across residential programs during late-day and Saturday hours for treatment ambivalence, behavioral escalation, interpersonal conflict, and clinical crises.
• De-escalate within scope and escalate emergencies and mandated-reporting situations through established protocols; complete post-crisis communication, follow-up, and incident reporting.
• Prepare detox-only patients and patients with unplanned discharges for transition with a written relapse prevention plan, overdose-risk education, crisis contacts, recovery supports, and an explanation of the recommended next level of care.
• Work with Case Management, which owns aftercare coordination, and verify before departure that the appointment, transportation, and handoff to the receiving provider have occurred.
• After admission, engagement, and crisis needs are addressed, facilitate scheduled groups, support understaffed programs, and assist with time-sensitive documentation; raise conflicting coverage requests with the director on call.
• Prioritize work in the stated order: active crisis and safety concerns; intent-to-leave and AMA interventions; admission engagement and at-risk check-ins; scheduled early recovery groups; discharge readiness and transition support; and flexible coverage.
• Work regular Saturday coverage and plan group programming around the increased expected volume of crisis and intent-to-leave work.
• Complete structured handoffs in the electronic health record and communicate directly with the receiving counselor or team, including patient goals, readiness, concerns, risk of leaving, interventions, treatment-plan status, and outstanding needs.
• Complete admission handoffs before the patient’s first primary-counselor session or by the end of the next business day, whichever comes first.
• Collaborate with primary counselors, nursing and medical staff, Case Management, Admissions, and milieu staff to share risk information, coordinate group participation, and support continuity of care.
• Document every encounter by the end of the shift, including clinical purpose, intervention, patient response, risk findings, and follow-up plan; individualize group notes and label late entries according to policy.
• Complete an end-of-shift close-out with the director on call, identify at-risk patients for the next shift, and notify Case Management of unresolved discharge barriers the same day.
• Share recurring early-departure patterns with Admissions and contribute to review of role outcomes, including AMA and early-departure rates, first-contact timeliness, and handoff quality.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage effective the first day of the month following 28 days of employment.
• Employer contribution to a Health Savings Account or Health Reimbursement Account.
• 401(k) with company match, with eligibility after 90 days of employment.
• Paid Time Off accrual beginning on the first day of employment, with up to 20 days in the first year.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level