Employee Assistance Counselor

About the role

Inova Center for Personalized Health is looking for an experienced Employee Assistance Counselor to join the team. This is a full‑time, Monday‑Friday position with some flexibility depending on organizational needs. The counselor provides accessible, confidential, in‑the‑moment emotional and behavioral health support to Inova team members and leaders across the IFMC and ICPH campuses, serving as a visible, proactive presence in the workplace. The role focuses on brief individual support, crisis response, leader consultation, team support after difficult events, and connection to longer‑term resources through Lyra and other Inova programs, with an emphasis on early intervention, stabilization, resource connection, and strengthening wellbeing and resilience. Inova is consistently ranked a national healthcare leader in safety, quality, and patient experience and is recognized as a top employer in the D.C. metro area and nationally.

Responsibilities

• Establish on‑site resources for all team members.
• Collaborate with hospital system resources.
• Establish and foster relationships with hospital units, HR, and all levels of management.
• Evaluate and coordinate appropriate incident response.
• Provide individual team member counseling support and referral.
• Refer team members to needed resources.
• Support critical incidents.
• Support unit teams by rounding, visibility, and collaboration.
• Participate in on‑site engagement including HR meetings, management meetings, unit meetings, health fairs, etc.
• Consult with management by suggesting work‑environment improvements.
• Present to team members on topics of health and well‑being.
• Facilitate individual assistance for team members.
• Provide documentation and perform administrative functions appropriate to the clinical role.
• Adhere to Inova Health System's Culture of Safety and participate in maintaining a professional culture.
• Serve as mentor to new staff.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

• Certification: Basic Life Support within 3 months.
• Licensure: Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), or Licensed Clinical Psychologist (LCP).
• Education: Master's Degree, PhD, PsyD, or EdD in mental health, social work, counseling, or a behavioral‑health‑related field.
• Experience: 5 years of relevant experience, for example in mental health/substance use disorders, psychoeducational programming including brief, targeted, evidence‑based interventions (crisis intervention, trauma, integrative therapies).

Preferred Qualifications

• 3–5 years of post‑graduate experience in behavioral health, EAP, healthcare, crisis intervention, employee wellbeing, or a similar setting.
• Experience with crisis assessment, suicide‑risk assessment, psychological first aid, critical incident response, grief/trauma support, and brief solution‑focused interventions.
• Experience working within a hospital or healthcare environment, particularly supporting healthcare workers.
• Strong plus: CEAP (Certified Employee Assistance Professional) certification.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Robust team member wellness program.
• Retirement: Inova matches the first 5% of eligible contributions – starting on your first day.
• Tuition and Student Loan Assistance: up to $5,250 per year in education assistance and up to $10,000 for student loans.
• Mental Health Support: 2