Counselor I – Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences (Addiction Treatment and HIV Prevention)

What we do here changes the world. UTHealth Houston is Texas’ resource for healthcare education, innovation, scientific discovery, and excellence in patient care. That’s where you come in.

UTHealth Houston Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences is hiring a Counselor I for the HEARTS Program for Addiction Treatment and HIV Prevention. The Counselor will assist in providing professional assessment and referral services to clients by assisting in developing, maintaining, and evaluating a local referral network of treatment resources in the community, monitor and coordinate client care, conduct screening and assessment of potential clients to determine appropriateness for ongoing studies and provide therapy to clients enrolled in one or more protocols.

In the Counselor position, previous experience working with addiction is important. In addition, it is also important to have experience in delivering evidence based interventions with adults seeking treatment for substance use disorders. Counselors will be trained in HIV prevention counseling. 

Location: Behavioral and Biomedical Services @ 1941 East Road, Houston, TX 77054

Once you join us you won’t want to leave. It’s because we reward our team for the excellent service they provide. Our total rewards package includes the benefits you’d expect from a top healthcare organization (benefits, insurance, etc.), plus:  

• 100% paid medical premiums for our full-time employees
• Generous time off (holidays, preventative leave day, both vacation and sick time – all of which equates to around 37-38 days per year)
• The longer you stay, the more vacation you’ll accrue!
• Longevity Pay (Monthly payments after two years of service)
• Build your future with our awesome retirement/pension plan!

We take care of our employees! As a world-renowned institution, our employees’ wellbeing is important to us. We offer work/life services such as… 

• Free financial and legal counseling
• Free mental health counseling services
• Gym membership discounts and access to wellness programs
• Other employee discounts including entertainment, car rentals, cell phones, etc.
• Resources for child and elder care
• Plus many more!

Position Summary:

Assists in providing professional assessment and referral services to clients by assisting in developing, maintaining, and evaluating a local referral network of treatment resources in the community. Monitors and coordinates client care. Conducts screening and assessment of potential clients to determine appropriateness for ongoing studies. Provides therapy to clients enrolled in one or more protocols.

Position Key Accountabilities:

1.  Assists in obtaining client and family historical medical data and interprets data obtained to determine possible problem area and to help determine eligibility for studies and programs.
2.  Assists clients in understanding the situation in order to provide professional counseling services
3.  Assesses patient needs and primary problems and overall situation.
4.  Conducts study specific manualized therapy with clients who are admitted to programs. 
5.  Makes proper referral recommendations and motivates clients to seek assistance with appropriate community agency.
6.  Interviews and evaluates service of agencies and may participate in continuing education training programs and seminars.
7.  Completes and submits client documentation and inputs data in a timely manner as indicated by each protocol. 
8.  Monitors results of treatment and reviews cases for further evaluation to assure continuity of client care and education of client/family.
9.  Approximately 10% of work will occur in community settings on evenings and weekends

10. Performs other duties as assigned.

Certification/Skills:

None

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in relevant field. Counseling, Clinical Psychology, or Counseling Psychology preferred.

Minimum Experience:

Two years of experience. May substitute required experience with equivalent years of education beyond the minimum education requirement.

Physical Requirements:

Exerts up to 20 pounds of force occasionally and/or up to 10 pounds frequently and/or a negligible amount constantly to move objects.

Security Sensitive:

This job class may contain positions that are security sensitive and thereby subject to the provisions of Texas Education Code § 51.215