Mental Health Therapist - Clinic

POSITION SUMMARY: 
This position provides professional mental health services and case management to clients and their families. Responsibilities include therapeutic interventions, assessments, referrals, crisis planning, and collaborative service planning to promote development and recovery within a natural environment. 

This position does not require availability on weekends, on-call, overnights, and holidays. 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: 
The following duties are normal for this position. These are not to be construed as exclusive or all-inclusive. To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each duty satisfactorily. Other duties may be required and assigned. 

• Provides individual, family, and group therapy for mental health, substance use, and co-occurring disorders in an integrated outpatient clinic setting, including in-person, telehealth, phone contact, and written correspondence. 
• Conducts integrated mental health and substance use assessments, including completion of ASAM Criteria (3rd Edition) multidimensional evaluations to determine appropriate level of care. 
• Develops diagnoses, treatment plans, and recovery plans in collaboration with clients and interdisciplinary team members, incorporating evidence-based practices for co-occurring disorders. 
• Performs ongoing risk assessments, creates crisis plans, and determines appropriate levels of care as needed.
• Delivers emergency and crisis stabilization services including screening, referral, and short-term care planning.
• Conducts ongoing assessment of client stability, including evaluating risk of harm to self or others, development of crisis/safety plans, and determining level of care needed. 
• Provides substance use counseling services including individual and group counseling, relapse prevention, psychoeducation, and aftercare planning. 
• Documents assessments, ASAM evaluations, treatment plans, progress notes, referrals, and discharge summaries in accordance with agency, professional, state, and federal standards.
• Prepares and submits service billing and completes data collection and state reporting requirements in a timely and accurate manner.
• Provides community education, psychoeducational groups, and prevention activities on mental health, substance use, and co-occurring disorders. 
• Offers training, screening, consultation, and collaboration to internal divisions, law enforcement, schools, and other community partners. 
• Provides clinical input to justice-system-aligned programs including Drug Court, including assessments, staffing participation, treatment recommendations, and court communication. 
• Participates in clinical staffing, case consultation, and team-based care planning across mental health and substance use programs. 
• May provide services or coverage in other program areas within Health and Human Services.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES   

• Ability to work independently and prioritize tasks in a fast-paced environment with minimal supervision.
• Strong organizational and time management skills to meet deadlines and adapt to changing priorities.
• Proficient in preparing accurate, legible, and timely documentation and reports.
• Knowledge of modern office procedures, standard software, and electronic health records.
• Understanding of local and county government operations, agency protocols, and interdepartmental workflows.
• Ability to build and maintain collaborative relationships with clients, community partners, legal entities, and internal staff.
• Skilled in analyzing information, preparing functional reports, and exercising sound judgment in decision-making.
• Ability to work the allocated hours of the position.

LANGUAGE SKILLS   

• Ability to communicate effectively in English, both verbally and in writing, with a wide range of individuals, including the public, colleagues, and supervisors. 
• Capable of reading and interpreting policies, manuals, correspondence, safety data, and instructions.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS 

• Ability to perform basic mathematical computations required for billing, data reporting, and clinical documentation.

REASONING ABILITY 

• Ability to interpret and implement federal, state, and local regulations and agency policies.
• Effective problem-solving and critical-thinking skills to address diverse and complex client situations.
• Capacity to work under pressure, manage stress, and respond effectively in crisis situations.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise discretion in compliance with applicable laws.
• Skilled in evaluating information, exercising judgment, and making informed decisions.

PHYSICAL AND WORK ENVIRONMENT: 
The physical and work environment characteristics described in this description are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions or as otherwise required by law.  Employees needing reasonable accommodation should discuss the request with the employee’s supervisor.   

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS 

• This work requires the occasional exertion of up to 10 pounds of force; work regularly requires sitting, frequently standing, using hands to handle, feel, and perform fine motor skills and repetitive motions, and occasionally requires walking, stooping, kneeling, or crouching; and reaching with hands and arms overhead or below the waist. 
• Sufficient vision to perform tasks such as reading documents, operating vehicles, or working with detailed data.
• Vocal communication required to express or exchange ideas verbally.
• Ability to hear and understand speech at normal levels for tasks such as communicating with the public, colleagues, or over the phone. 
• Work requires preparing and analyzing written or computer data, operating machines, and observing surroundings and activities.
• May involve interaction with individuals who are hostile, aggressive, abusive or violent, posing potentially threatening conditions.
• Work is generally in a moderately noisy location (e.g. business office, light traffic). 

WORK ENVIRONMENT 

• Work settings may include office environments, detention centers, correctional facilities, treatment and residential facilities, health care centers, remote locations, County work sites, and various community locations.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: 

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS 

• Master's degree in social work, clinical psychology, counseling, or related behavioral health field.
• Three (3) years’ experience providing clinical services to clients in a clinic setting. 
• Experience working with young children preferred. 
• Experience with criminal justice-involved services and conducting substance use assessments, specifically ASAM, 3rd edition, preferred. 
• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) training and experience, preferred. 

LICENSURE AND CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

• State of Wisconsin Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), or Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), preferred.
• State of Wisconsin Advanced Practice Social Worker (APSW), Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT-IT), or Licensed Professional Counselor-In Training (LPC-IT) will be considered.  Full licensure is required within one (1) year of employment 
  • Applicants who are not fully licensed should have:
    1. Completion of a qualifying licensure exam (preferred), such as: 
       • LCSW – Association of Social Work Board Exam (ASWB)
       • LMFT – National Examination in Marriage and Family Therapy
       • LPC – National Counselor Examination or National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination 
    2. Verification of completed clinical hours (required): 
       • Applicants must have completed at least 1,500 clinical hours at the time of application/hire to ensure eligibility for full licensure within one (1) year of hire.