Mental Health Counselor - Adolescent Behavioral Health

The Inova Kellar Center is looking for a dedicated Mental Health Counselor to join the team! Inova Kellar Center's comprehensive mental health and substance use disorder treatment programs and an innovative special education school support families throughout Northern Virginia. This counselor will work primarily with our Partial Hospitalization Program and also lend support to our Intensive Outpatient Program as needed.  This role will be full-time day shift from Monday – Friday, 7:30 am – 4:00 pm, with occasional evening hours.  The Kellar Center is located in Fairfax, VA.

Inova is consistently ranked as a national healthcare leader in safety, quality and patient experience. We are also proud to be consistently recognized as a top employer in both the D.C. metro area and the nation. 

Featured Benefits:

• Committed to Team Member Health: offering medical, dental and vision coverage, and a robust team member wellness program.
• Retirement: Inova matches the first 5% of eligible contributions – starting on your first day.
• Tuition and Student Loan Assistance: offering up to $5,250 per year in education assistance and up to $10,000 for student loans.
• Mental Health Support: offering all Inova team members, their spouses/partners, and their children 25 mental health coaching or therapy sessions, per person, per year, at no cost.
• Work/Life Balance: offering paid time off, paid parental leave and more.

Mental Health Counselor Job Responsibilities:

• Appropriately gathers and assesses information regarding the patient’s mental and physical well being. Analyzes and interprets relevant data to determine treatment recommendations and priorities. Formulates mutually agreed-upon treatment goals and objectives with the client utilizing all available resources. Interacts with parents/guardians at arrival and communicates pertinent information when indicated to physicians and/or clinical staff. 
• Ensures that appropriate staff/patient scheduling for classes and activities is adequately and appropriately covered. Provides written scheduling to staff who are covering activities. Provides crisis prevention in terms of a consistent staff presence. 
• Identifies potential problem times and places (lunch, passing time) through ongoing observation in the milieu, groups, and lunchtime, and provides directs supportive crisis intervention when indicated. Consistency present in milieu to provide supportivecrisis stabilization and support to support to clinical staff. Provides daily safety assessments and develops safety plans under the supervision of clinical staff and/physicians. 
• Maintains medical record documentation in compliance with The Joint Commission (TJC) standards and Inova's policies. Maintains the inventory of materials and the provision of stock for the Program related areas; completes required documentation and assists with filing and other clerical and record keeping tasks. 
• Develops and delivers psychoeducational programming as directed by the director. Supports Clinical Staff in providing process groups if indicated, through co-leading groups, assist in the preparation of materials for groups, managing/supervising patients in crisis, and documentation of the group process. 
• Education: Bachelor's degree in education, psychology, social work, special education, mental health discipline, or related field.
• Certification: Basic Life Support within 3 months, CPI in-person training for non-violent crisis intervention, receive CPI blue card within 6 months of hire. After 9/1/25, Vistelar replaces CPI for new and renewed de-escalation certifications.  
• Previous experience with adolescent patients strongly preferred
• Experience dealing with patients with acute mental illness preferred

Minimum Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor's degree in education, psychology, social work, special education, mental health discipline, or related field.
• Certification: Basic Life Support within 3 months, CPI in-person training for non-violent crisis intervention, receive CPI blue card within 6 months of hire. After 9/1/25, Vistelar replaces CPI for new and renewed de-escalation certifications.  

Preferred Qualifications:

• Previous experience with adolescent patients strongly preferred
• Experience dealing with patients with acute mental illness preferred

Salary Range: $50170.00 - $81776.00

Pay Rate Frequency: ANNUAL