| Position Title |
Mental Health Counselor 2 |
| About the University |
Western Washington University, with over 16,000 students in seven colleges and the graduate school, is nationally recognized for its educational programs, students and faculty. The campus is located in Bellingham, Washington, a coastal community of 90,000 overlooking Bellingham Bay, the San Juan Islands and the North Cascades Mountain range. The city lies 90 miles north of Seattle and 60 miles south of Vancouver, British Columbia. Western is the highest-ranking public, master's-granting university in the Pacific Northwest, according to the 2022 U.S. News & World Report rankings. Western Washington University is committed to achieving excellence through advancing inclusive success, increasing our Washington impact, and focusing on transformational education grounded in the liberal arts and sciences and based on innovative scholarship, research, and creative activity. Western's greatest strength is the outstanding students, faculty, staff, and alumni/ae who make up its community. Western supports an inclusive governance structure for all and provides a learning and working environment in which everyone can thrive. In pursuit of this excellence, individual employees are expected to establish and maintain productive and effective inclusive working relationships amongst diverse populations including staff, faculty, administration, student, and external constituents. Further, individual employees are expected to have the ability to operationalize sustainability concepts (economic, societal, environmental) into all aspects of performing their job duties. |
| About the Department |
The Counseling and Wellness Center (CWC) supports Western's mission, which states that together with our students, staff, and faculty, we are committed to making a positive impact in the state and the world with a shared focus on academic excellence and inclusive achievement. We encourage applications from women, people of color, people with disabilities, veterans, and other candidates from underrepresented backgrounds and with diverse experiences interested in this opportunity.
The Mission of the Counseling and Wellness Center is to facilitate student success and psychological well-being through culturally sensitive clinical services, outreach, and consultation. In keeping with the educational mission of the university, we also contribute to the mental health professions by serving as a training site for graduate students in psychology and counseling. We support the professional development of our staff and strive to embody the wellness we promote within the campus community.
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| About the Position |
This is an 11-month Mental Health Counselor position that will provide assessment, referral, psychological counseling, and crisis intervention to university students. This position will need to diagnose according to the current DSM, provide clinical supervision to graduate trainees, facilitate group therapy, and provide consultation and outreach to faculty, staff, parents, student organizations.
Position Duties and Responsibilities
Provide direct clinical service, outreach, and supervision (60%)
Clinical service
- Provide culturally informed, time-limited clinical services to university students in the form of individual, group, and couples counseling for a diverse student population across the spectrum of developmental and mental health issues.
- Provide triage to students.
- Apply skills and techniques of evaluation, assessment of risk of harm to self or others, psychometry, and psychotherapy.
- Diagnose according to the current DSM.
- Intervene in student mental health crises.
- Facilitate therapy groups in response to student needs.
Outreach
- Facilitate workshops in response to student needs.
- Provide consultation and outreach to faculty, staff, parents, student organizations, and other campus offices to facilitate student development, increase awareness and understanding of general counseling issues, and identify appropriate responses to student mental health needs within the University setting.
Supervision
- Supervise graduate-level trainees.
- Meet once a week at a minimum to provide face-to face supervision, providing case consultation and session videotape review if applicable.
- If applicable, review and assign cases that are appropriate to the level of trainee development.
- Review trainee documentation.
- Teach intern seminars.
- Guide trainees in clinical, ethical, and professional development.
Complete required support activities (20%)
- Maintain accurate and timely case documentation.
- Make accurate and timely updates to client disposition.
- Provide case management as needed for clients.
- Coordinate treatment and services with both on-campus and off-campus professionals.
- Communicate with students’ families, when appropriate, in response to crises and to facilitate off-campus care.
- Network with community professionals and relay current information to Counseling & Wellness Center staff.
Participate in office administrative activities (10%)
- Participate in Counseling & Wellness Center administration activities including staff meetings and Director check-ins.
Participate in other consultation, support, and training activities (10%)
- Consult with other staff and trainees about student mental health issues as needed, participate in Peer Consultation Group, Med Consult, Supervisors Meeting, and professional development trainings.
- Participate in continuing education activities as required for licensure and to build on professional skill development through professional workshops, online training, and conferences. This should include development and maintenance of skills in working with individuals from a wide range of backgrounds, cultures, abilities, and lifestyles to support diversity and inclusivity in the Western community.
- Provide consultation and training to staff and pre-professional trainees in the counselor's areas of expertise.
- Keep the Counseling & Wellness Center Director apprised of latest research and treatment modalities in areas of expertise.
- Contribute to the University community by serving on committees, program involvement, or other campus-wide activities.
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| Required Qualifications |
- Master’s degree in mental health discipline.
- Fully and independently licensed as a Master's-level mental health professional by the start of position.
- Ability to provide brief and focused counseling.
- Demonstrated competency working with multicultural and other diverse populations.
- Experience providing risk assessment and crisis response.
- Experience facilitating counseling groups.
- Experience working as a part of a collaborative, team-based approach to clinical services in a fast- paced work setting.
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| Preferred Qualifications |
- Experience working in a college or university counseling center (practicum/internship may be included).
- Fully licensed two or more years as a mental healthcare provider.
- WA state approved supervisor.
- Graduate of a CACREP-accredited or CSWE-accredited graduate program.
- Experience with substance abuse prevention, suicide prevention, Latinx mental health, AAPI mental health, trauma recovery, or neurodiversity.
- Ability to provide therapy in a language other than English.
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| Conditions of Employment |
All employees must comply with our Immunization policies, including Proof of Rubeola Measles Immunity within 60-days of hire. Please reach out to HR@wwu.edu if you need information regarding medical or religious exemption and applicable accommodations. |
| Salary |
Hiring range for position is $68,638 - $78,933/year. Through longevity position tops out at $89,229/year.
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| Benefits Information |
Benefits Overview for Administrative Professional Position.
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| Application Instructions |
Please submit a cover letter, a resume/CV, and contact information for three professional references. In the submitted cover letter, please address how you meet the required position criteria and any preferred criteria of the position.
Application materials should address your experience related to the position responsibilities and the required and preferred qualifications.
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| Closing Date Notes |
Position is open until filled.
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