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

Cumberland Heights Foundation • Nashville, TN

6d • Onsite

About The Position

Cumberland Heights is seeking a Stabilization Counselor to provide early treatment engagement and clinical support for patients in residential programs. The position focuses on the first days of treatment, when patients may be more likely to leave. It makes the first clinical contact with new admissions, initiates treatment planning, provides documented check-ins and interventions for patients at risk of leaving, facilitates early recovery programming, and serves as the first-line available counselor during late-day and Saturday hours. The role does not carry a standing caseload, coordinate aftercare, or determine medical clearance.

The counselor collaborates with primary counselors, nursing and medical staff, Case Management, Admissions, and milieu staff to support continuity of care. Duties include crisis response and de-escalation within scope, harm-reduction support when patients choose to leave, transition preparation for detox-only or unplanned discharges, structured handoffs, timely documentation, and communication about open risks and discharge barriers. The role also provides flexible clinical coverage after admission, engagement, and crisis needs have been addressed.

The regular schedule is Tuesday through Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., with Saturday as a standard workday. Hours may vary with patient needs, meal periods, inclement weather, and critical staffing. Work takes place in offices, group rooms, community settings, and across residential programs and campus locations, including the medical area. The position involves frequent contact with people in crisis and may require additional safety precautions.

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.
• Skilled in motivational interviewing and evidence-based counseling practices in support of 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.
• Culturally humble, with 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 to changing circumstances and patient needs.
• If recovering, two years of verifiable abstinence is required.
• CPR/First Aid certification or eligibility is required.
• Ability to lift up to 20 pounds and/or push or pull up to 40 pounds; move around campus on uneven, 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 is strongly preferred.
• Spanish is a plus.
• A master’s degree in counseling, social work, psychology, or a related field is preferred.
• If recovering, five years of verifiable abstinence is preferred; active participation in the appropriate Twelve Step program is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Make timely first clinical contact with new admissions after nursing confirms medical appropriateness, and document any admission not seen during that shift and the reason.
• Learn each new patient’s goals, immediate concerns, readiness for change, risk of early departure, and safety concerns; initiate an individualized treatment plan within scope and complete a warm handoff to the primary counselor.
• Conduct purposeful, documented 15-minute check-ins using motivational interviewing with 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. If a patient chooses to leave, provide harm-reduction support, including overdose-risk education, naloxone per policy, safe transportation, crisis contacts, and an invitation to return.
• 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; provide bedside or individual engagement when a patient is not appropriate for group.
• Submit a curriculum outline to the Chief Clinical Officer within the first 30 days and review it at least annually.
• Provide first-line counselor availability 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 on transition support 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 competing coverage requests to the director on call for prioritization.
• Prioritize active safety concerns, AMA interventions, new admission engagement and at-risk check-ins, scheduled early recovery groups, discharge support, and flexible coverage; document deferred work and reasons when demands conflict.
• Plan Saturday group programming to accommodate the higher volume of crisis and intent-to-leave work expected when fewer clinical staff are on campus.
• Complete structured handoffs in the electronic health record and communicate directly with the receiving counselor or team, covering patient goals, readiness, concerns, departure risk, interventions, treatment-plan status, and outstanding needs.
• 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 without taking on primary counselor responsibilities or a standing caseload.
• Document every encounter by the end of the shift in which it occurred, including purpose, intervention, patient response, risk findings, and follow-up; individualize group notes and label late entries per 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, timeliness of first contact, and handoff quality.
• May perform CPR/First Aid as needed.

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; 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