Group Life Counselor

Sea Mar Community Health Centers, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) founded in 1978, is a community-based organization committed to providing quality, comprehensive health, human, housing, educational and cultural services to diverse communities, specializing in service to Latinos in Washington State. Sea Mar proudly serves all persons without regard to race, ethnicity, immigration status, gender, or sexual orientation, and regardless of ability to pay for services. Sea Mar's network of services includes more than 90 medical, dental, and behavioral health clinics and a wide variety of nutritional, social, and educational services. We are recruiting for the following position:

Sea Mar is a mandatory COVID-19 and flu vaccine organization

Position Summary

The Group Life Counselor II is a mid-level Human Service position that is part of the multi-disciplinary treatment team providing direct services to patients in a residential setting. Direct services may include a combination or all of the following: group care, intake procedures, evaluation, individual and group counseling, milieu management, evaluation, and supervision of patients. Services are provided to adults and out-of- control, high-risk, chronic runaway youth and their families. These adults and youths have a primary diagnosis of chemical dependency and may also have mental health problems. A mid-level person is expected to have a, “moderate to complete” understanding of how to provide the direct services listed above. This job description does not suggest or imply that these are the only duties to be performed by this employee. The person in this position will be required to follow other instructions and to perform other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Duties and Responsibilities

As a mission-driven organization, the core values of, and the services offered at Sea Mar are based on the belief that everyone deserves to be respectfully treated in a way that preserves dignity and enhances self-worth. Sea Mar is an advocate for its clients and aims to achieve industry-leading, client-centered, culturally-aware services.

Sea Mar employees serve as an extension of this mission and demonstrate their commitment to an excellent client experience by:

• Understanding and empathizing with client needs
• Surpassing client expectations
• Demonstrating a high level of integrity
• Exhibiting compassion and commitment
• Advocating for social justice
• Taking pride in individual work as well as that of the team
• Continually learning to stay current with industry standards, best practices and technology As a Sea Mar employee, the individual in this position commits to adherence to these values to their utmost ability and endeavors to strengthen and embody this mission daily.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Maintains professional standards and follows the treatment policies and procedures of the agency, as well as applicable federal, state, and local regulations, especially WAC 8-388-877 requirements.
•  Gains a thorough working knowledge of appropriate WAC's, WIG's, and RCW's.
• Attends regular staff meetings and in-service training for clinical personnel.
• Completes all staff responsibilities as required, with emphasis on timeliness and accuracy.
• Supports the Chemical Dependency Professional/Trainee with the patient's individualized treatment plan as designed and implemented by the treatment team.
• Supports the Chemical Dependency Professional/Trainee in providing clear and accurate behavioral observations of clients, screening and evaluation of psychological, social, and emotional problems and works under their supervision to refer clients to other treatment / service programs in the facility and in the community as needed.
• Provides group counseling for persons in the process of discovering and dealing with emotional, social and behavioral problems with attentions on building self-esteem, problem solving skills, healthy communication habits and tools needed to develop a positive peer culture.
• Demonstrates clear and concise written and verbal communication.
• Demonstrates knowledge and skills necessary to provide care appropriate to the age, gender, and sexual preference of the patients served.
• Demonstrates knowledge of the principles of growth and development over the life span.
• Able to identify and categorize each patient’s age-specific grouping of needs, such as those for infant, adolescent, or geriatric patients.
• Completes daily record keeping as directed by the Program Manager, following the structure of the problem - oriented patient records system.
• Completes daily logging, Extraordinary Incident Reports (EIR's), medication logging, etc. on time and accurately.
• Prepares current patient progress reports and completion notices and provides them to the courts, probation departments and referral sources when appropriate.
• Completes on time all of the required Federal, State, County and Local forms for each patient.
• Provides all physical care of patients required to meet their physical and emotional needs, consistent with agency policy and applicable licensing WAC's.
• Gains an accurate knowledge of available community and statewide referral resources.
• Maintains consistent and positive relationships with all collateral contacts.
• Provides training and oversight to patients in the area of housekeeping, meal service and various daily activities.
• Performs related work as assigned, including assisting staff and patients with laundry, dishes, housekeeping, and garbage.
• A mid-level GLC is expected to provide the above services independently and with minimal supervision the Clinical Director.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• The person in this position must be of good character and able to maintain the understanding, physical health, emotional stability, and personality suited to meet the physical, mental, emotional, and social needs of the adolescent and adult populations served.
• Must have good organizational, communication skills, and legible hand writing.
• This person must understand that chemical dependency is a public health problem and a treatable illness.
• Must complete an annual clinical competency test.
• Demonstrates professionalism and appropriate boundaries in all interactions.
• The person in this position shall have no history or evidence of alcohol or other drug misuse for a period of two (2) years prior to the date of employment at the facility, and no misuse of alcohol or other drugs while employed at this facility.
• This individual cannot be a person who has been convicted of a felony within the last seven years or ever been convicted of child abuse and / or any crime involving physical harm to another person nor be a perpetrator of substantiated child abuse.
• Shall have a desire to work with behaviorally difficult youth or adults.
• This person must sign an oath of permanent confidentiality covering all patient-related information.
• With regards to his/her driving record, this person may not have violations/accidents in excess of the limits in the table below at time of hire, or anytime thereafter

LANGUAGE SKILLS

• Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals.
• Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.
• Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of the organization.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS

• Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.

REASONING ABILITY

• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
• Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form. Education and Experience, Certificates, Licenses, Registrations, and Medical Screening

EDUCATION and EXPERIENCE

• Must either hold an Associate’s degree, OR have a high school diploma with at least two years of experience that is relevant to the primary responsibilities of this position. A Bachelor’s degree may replace years of experience with high-risk youth and adults.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Must possess a current First Aid Certificate.
• Pre-hire and annual employee health screening is required. Must pass a TB test at time of hire, and annually thereafter. Annual influenza vaccine required. Only exception is for employees with a medical or religious exemption approved by Administration. Employees with an approved medical or religious exemption must wear a mask at all times during the flu season.
• Must have a valid Washington State driver's license.
• Must receive a satisfactory background check.
• Must pass required BH EHR system trainings.
• Must hold and maintain an active Washington State Agency Affiliated Counselor License within 90 days of hire date.
• This position must obtain a CPR certificate within 90 days of the hire date and is required to maintain a current CPR certificate throughout employment.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here 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. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to high.

Physical Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. This employee may also monitor recreational activities, which may require prolonged walking. Facility ranges from quiet to loud depending on activities of patients.

Hourly - Hourly Plan, 21.48 USD Hourly

What We Offer:

Sea Mar offers talented and motivated people the opportunity to work in a dynamic and growing community health organization. Working at Sea Mar Community Health Centers is more than just a job, it’s a fulfilling career with opportunity for advancement. The fringe benefits surpass most companies. For example, Full-time employees working 30 hours or more, receive an excellent benefit package of:

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Prescription coverage
• Life Insurance
• Long Term Disability
• EAP (Employee Assistance Program)
• Paid-time-off starting at 24 days per year + 10 paid Holidays.
• We also offer 401(k)/Retirement options and an exciting opportunity to work in a culturally diverse environment. 

Sea Mar is an equal opportunity employer.

Please visit our website to learn more about us at www.seamar.org. You may also apply thru our Career page at this link.