Residential Crisis Counselor

About the role

The Residential Crisis Counselor is not a general residential counselor role. This is a dedicated clinical resource position for someone who has spent meaningful time in behavioral health, mental health, or psychiatric settings and who understands, from direct experience, what it looks like when a teenager is in psychological crisis — and how to bring them back from the edge.

Job Duties

• Working knowledge of adolescent mental health conditions: trauma and PTSD, mood disorders, impulse control disorders, ADHD, conduct disorder, anxiety, co-occurring substance use, suicidal ideation, and psychotic features
• Ability to recognize and respond to acute psychiatric symptoms requiring medical or psychiatric escalation
• Priced proficiency in verbal de-escalation with individuals in active behavioral or emotional crisis — applied in real settings, not just training
• Knowledge of the regional mental health and psychiatric system, including crisis stabilization, inpatient psychiatric, and residential treatment resources for adolescents
• Ability to communicate effectively with medical and psychiatric professionals in clinical terms regarding a resident's mental health presentation
• Ability to build genuine therapeutic rapport with adolescents, including youth who are hostile, withdrawn, or deeply distrustful of adults
• Understanding of trauma-informed care principles and their application in a residential milieu
• Skill in reading a person's emotional state, triggers, and escalation pattern quickly and accurately
• Skill in remaining calm, grounded, and clinically effective under high-pressure, high-stakes conditions
• Competency in clear, accurate, timely written documentation using facility paper-based records
• Cultural competency in working with diverse youth populations
• Orientation toward restraint-free de-escalation; physical intervention viewed as a last resort

Qualifications

• 4 years of direct crisis intervention work in a psychiatric residential setting, including de-escalation, experience with adolescent populations with trauma, PTSD, depression, bipolar disorder, impulse control disorders, ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder, anxiety, dissociation, suicidal ideation, and co-occurring substance use
• Experience with facilitating psychiatric hospitalizations or higher-level-of-care placement and knowledge of navigating mental health placement systems
• Experience/comfortable in operating in a structured, secure, residential environment serving challenging adolescent males — and who does not personalize aggression, hostility, or provocative behavior from youth in distress
• Associate’s degree or 60+ college credits in Human Services, Psychology, Social Work, Counseling, Criminal Justice, or a related behavioral sciences field preferred OR High school diploma or GED plus relevant experience in behavioral health, mental health, crisis intervention, or psychiatric residential care
• Ability to stand, walk, and remain active and engaged throughout an 8-hour residential shift
• Ability to perform essential job functions with or without reasonable accommodation

Benefits

• Competitive Compensation
• DailyPay – Access Your Earned Wages Before Payday
• Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Paid Time Off
• Employee Assistance Program
• Wellness Programs
• Employee Referral Bonuses
• Company-Paid Training

Career Growth & Development

• Paid Training Programs
• Professional Development Opportunities
• Certification Opportunities
• Lifetime Advancement Opportunities
• Opportunities Across Multiple Service Lines

What We Offer

• Meaningful Work That Matters
• Make a Difference Every Day
• Support Individuals and Families
• Build Meaningful Relationships
• Strengthen Communities
• Join a Mission-Driven Organization